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The Art Museum as a Socio-political Actor: El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria as Activist Cultural Productions in their Respective Communities

Erin C. Sexton College of William and Mary

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Recommended Citation Sexton, Erin C., "The Art Museum as a Socio-political Actor: El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria as Activist Cultural Productions in their Respective Communities" (2011). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 440. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/440

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Erin Sexton

Acknowledgements:

A very large —thank you“ to Alan Wallach, Silvia Tandeciarz, Sibel Zandi -Sayek, Susan Webster, and Alexa Hoyne for their edits, i n s i g h t , a n d encouragement along the way. I am also indebted to Ingrid Jaschek and Susan Delvalle who gave their time, energy an d invaluable knowledge t o s u p p o r t this endeavor .



—Revalorizing the culture from a democratic point of view implies empowering it as the stage for symbolic - institutional mediations, where codes and identities interactively plot significations, values, and forms of p o w e r . “ - Nelly Richard, The Insubordination of Signs: Political Change, Cultural Transformation, and Poetics of the Crisis (Durham: Duke University Press, 2004) 67.

Introduction

Cultural theorist Nelly Richard claims that power struggles are played out in cultural products. W h e n culture is viewed as a democratic tool, it becomes a viable source of power i n s o c i o -p o l i t i c a l m o v e m e n t s . El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de

Arte y Memoria have put this theory into a c t i o n . El Museo del Barrio, located in t h e grand Hechscher Building on Fifth Avenue , b o r d e r i n g New York City‘s East Harlem neighborhood ( F i g u r e s 1 a n d 2 ), is quite distinct f rom the Museo de Arte y Memoria, w h i c h occupies an unassuming former private home on a side street i n t h e city of La

Plata, Argentina (Figure s 3 a n d 4 ). Founded in 1969 as a small community project t o s e r v e New York‘s Puerto Rican neighborhood , El Museo del Barrio , or just El Museo, h a s g r o w n i n t o a m a j o r p a n -Latino institution that a t t e m p t s to increase the value of Latin

American culture in the United States through art. The museum is also a source of empowerment for the El Barrio community, offering knowledge and creative opportunities where the school system could not. T h e M u s e o de Arte y Memoria , founded in 2002, i s a branch of the human rights organization, La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, which p r o m o t e s art that examines the effects of human rights violations.



Located in La Plata, the capital of the Buenos Aires province , and one of the most targeted cities in the country during the latest period of state terrorism between 1976 and

1 9 8 4 , the museum is an active participant in the political struggle for recognition of a n d reparations for the human rights violations committed during the dictatorship in

A r g e n t i n a . B o t h museums were conceptualized as activist organizations that would u t i l i z e a r t in specific ways to create conscientious, critical, and empowered citizens within their respective communities. A comparison between the two art museums is useful in that it reveals how characteristically divers e a c t i v i s t art museums share many basic ideas about how to reach audiences and a t t a i n particular goals. Furthermore, a co m p a r i s o n is also constructive in that it illuminates ways that communities respond to d i f f e r e n t initiatives , and how museum s m a y a d a p t t o t h e c ommunity‘s needs i n o r d e r t o remain relevant . I n the following sections, I will argue that these museums, E l M u s e o d e l

Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria, while distinct in significant ways, even i n particular mission, use exhibits, educational and public initiatives, and their physical presence to achieve socio -political objectives.

Many intellectuals have espoused the argument that cultural products , including written text, performance, and the fine arts, can be used as socio -political weapons. T h e art museum is rarely viewed as a cultural product . H o w e v e r , I argue that El Museo del

Barrio and the Museo d e Arte y Memoria a r e institutions produced to present and reflect the culture of their immediate communities. This cultural representation occurs on a tangible level through the space that each museum occupies, but it is also reflected i n t h e programs that the museums are responsible for hosting. E a c h c o m p o n e n t o f t h e s e mu s e u m s i s capable of contributing to community activism . W h i l e f i n e a r t m u s e u m s

 have traditionally carried the s t i g m a o f elitist institutions that serve only the most e d ucated and —sophisticated“ portion s of the population, a c t i v i s t art, and the museums t h a t p r o m o t e i t such as El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria, s t r i v e t o challenge and change this perception. 1

Intellectual Field

Eduardo Galeano asserts in his Defensa de la Palabra (Defense of the Word) , t h a t in a resistance movement all forms of cultural production may be used as intellectual w e a p o n s to further or impede a c a u s e . G a l e a n o specifically c i t e s radio, film, television, popular song, a n d popular journalism as well as literature as potential types of persuasive cultural production. G a l e a no does not include art museums in h i s l i s t , b u t leaves room for o t h e r m e d i u m s, s t a t i n g , — The culture of resistance uses all means at its disposal as it is not granted the luxury of wasting any vehicle or opportunity for expression .“ 2 W h i l e

Galeano concludes that culture a l o n e cannot create change, he ass e r t s t h a t various forms of cultural production c a n i n spire it. Ar t m u s e u m s a l s o exist to promote and create cultural productions that can be provocative and help to facilitate so c i o -p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n s .

Further support for the museum as a cultural product i s expressed in Alison Jones‘ a r t i c l e , The Cultural Production of Classroom Practice . According to Jones, a cultural p r o d u c t i o n m a y take the form of an institution that encourages and develops c u l t u r a l activities. Her article claims that the classroom, a place that facilitates learning and h u m a n a c t i o n , is a type of structurally -l o c a t e d cultural production .3 According to t h i s

1 Lucy R. Lippard , —Activating Activist Art,“ C i r c a 17 (1984): 13 -14 . 2 Eduardo H. Galeano, "Defensa de la palabra." Nosotros decimos no : crónicas (1963/1988) . M e x i c o , D.F.: Siglo Veintiuno, 1989, 223 . —La cultura de resistencia emplea todos los medios a s u alcance y no se concede el lujo de desperdiciar ningún vehículo ni opo rtunidad de expresión.“ 3 Alison Jones, —The Cultural Production of Classroom Practice, “ British Journal of Sociology of Education 10 (1989): 19.

 mental frame w o r k , the museum c a n b e more completely considered a cultural product on an institutional level w h e n it is viewed as a visually oriented classroom . B o t h E l M u s e o d e l B a rrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria were founded up on educational initiatives and continue to value didactic components of museum work . Each institution p r o d u c es workshops, lectures, interactive tours, roundtables, and educational materials for their respective communities‘ consumption. 4

One of the many roles a museum can play includes participating in t h e interpretation a n d preservation of t h e p a s t , w h i c h i s i n e xtricably linked to notions of i d e n t i t y . Ron Eyerman explains this concept perceptively in his work, —The Past and

Present: Culture and the Transmission of Memory .“

[There is a] centrality of the past and collective memory in identity formation…Memory pr ovides individuals and collectives with a cognitive map, helping orient where they are, why they ar e here and where they are g o i n g . 5

Eyerman adheres to Susan Sontag‘s theory, citing that there is no collective memory, but rather an indication of what is i mportant by the dominant narrative. 6 The dominant n a r r a t i v e , t h e particular aspects or version of history that is perpetuated most prominently a n d o f t e n by society‘s institutions , can be reinforced or challenged by museums t h r o u g h t h e i r d i s p l a y , interpretations , and representations of objects .

4 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 (New York: El Museo del Barrio, 2010), 46 -57; S u s a n D e l v a l l e , interview conducted by author, N ew York, New York, October 21, 2010; Laura Ponisio, —Presentación del MUSEO DE ARTE Y MEMORIA de la Comisión Provincial por la Memoria. L a P l a t a , Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.“ (presented at El encuentro d e museos de la memoria, M ontevideo, Uruguay, April 1 -4, 2008). 5 Ron Eyerman, —The Past and Present: Culture and the Transmission of Memory,“ A c t a Sociologica (2004): 160 -1. 6 Susan Sontag, Representing the Pain of Others (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Gir oux, 2003) pp. 85 -6, quoted in Eyerman, —The Past and Present,“ 162.



Leszek Koczanowicz, in his —Memory of Politics and Politics of Memory.

Reflections on the Construction of the Past in Post -Totalitarian Poland,“ reinforces the i d e a o f i d entity formation through memory by citing experts in East European thought.

…we are what we remember…the way we present ourselves in our memories, the way we define our personal and collect ive identities through our memo ries, the way we order and structure our ideas in our memories, and t he way we transmit these memories to others œ is a study of the way we are. 7

Nevertheless, he also notes that memory can be manipulated by those in power s o t h a t t h ey may maintain dominance .8 For Coco Fusco, the fight for cultural and symbolic representation is a crucial political struggle over identity for those who have been geographically, politically, culturally, and economically marginalized in and by the

United States. 9 El Museo del Bar rio in New York plays a crucial role in this struggle for the Hispanic population. However, this assertion is also applicable outside the United

States. In A r g e n t i n a , the fight to construct s y m b o l i c representations that acknowledge and interpret t h e u n s p o ken atrocities in the nation‘s recent p a st have become ingrained in the e f f o r t to redefine Argentine identity in the new democratic nation. The Museo de Arte y

Memoria is one such representational construction that developed during this process.

A l t h o u g h museums can perpet uate the dominant narrative, El Museo del Barrio and the

Museo de Arte y Memoria were created through community initiatives t h a t a i m e d t o q u e s t i o n i t . Each museum continues t o actively engage in this resistance t o d a y f o r contemporary socio -political reasons.

7James Fentress and Chic Wickham, Social Memory (Oxford and Cambridge: Blackwell, 1992), p. 7, quoted in Leszek Koczanowicz, —Memory of Politics and Politics of Memory. Reflections on t h e Construction of the Past in Post -Totalitarian Poland,“ Studies in East European Thought 49.4 (1997): p. 259. 8 Koczanowicz, "Memory of Politics and Politic s of Memory,“ 259 . 9 Coco Fusco, —Passionate Irreverence: The Cultural Politics of Identity,“ English Is Broken Here: Notes on Cultural Fusion in the Americas (New York: The New Press, 1995). p. 26 -8.



B e r n a r d Armada reinforces the argument for museums‘ relevance as socio - political actors with his case study o f the National Civil Rights Museum . Armada says that museums are —… material places from which mu ltiple community identities are crafted, reinforced, and even transcended .“10 He demonstrates t h a t the museum can restore a community culturally, historically, and economically by illuminating forgotten or lost history, fortifying a sense of pride in the community‘s heritage, and attracting n e w v i s i t o r s t o generate revenue . He even asserts that museums have a —vital role…in literally restructuring the past to promote healing in the present. “11 It is clear from Armada‘s case study that museums can b e , an d h a v e b een , used successfully for community activism.

Armada and S i l v i a Tandeciarz agree that a museum‘s architectural aesthetic c a r r i e s political messages. For Armada, museums are political structures that express status that is then associated with the community . This occurs in part because of how the physical structure of a museum presents the institution i t h o u s e s . T h e renovation and transformation of the Lorraine Motel into a museum paralleled the alteration of psychological perspectives , e c o n o m i cs and culture with in the community. I n "Citizens of

Memory: Refiguring the Pas t in Postdictatorship Argentina ," Tandeciarz notes the subtle effect that architecture can have on the public. Tandeciarz states that architecture reflects a society‘s values a nd norms, and can even instruct p e o p l e to think in certain ways. I n

Argentina specifically, she argues that m e m o r i a l s created in recent years to recognize and commemorate specific events, locations, and victims in relation to the period of State

T e r r o r i s m , have marked the urban landscape i n o r d e r to solidify and make more permanent reminders of national history . Such memorials include both officially planned

10 B e r n a r d J . A r m a d a , "Place Politics Material Transformation and Community Identity at the N a t i o n a l Civil Rights M u s e u m , " Journal of Black Studies 40.5 (2010): p. 898. 11 Armada, —Place Politics,“ p. 898.

and executed sites like Buenos Aires‘ Parque por la Memoria (Figure 5), as well as u n o r g a nized and unofficially marked sites like many graffitied ex -concentration camps such as Club Atlético ( F i g u r e 6 ) .12 These memorials are not unlike museums, which p r e s e r v e and promote aspects of culture that the population deems important . T h e M u s e o d e A r t e y Memoria , while not a historical landmark, acts as a cultural landmark i n L a

Plata. Its physical presence demonstrates society‘s desire to remind the population of human rights issues t h r o u g h a r t .

Susanna Sirefman discusses the architectural i n f l u e n c e of museums in her article

—Formed and Forming: C ontemporary Museum Architecture. “ S h e c l a i m s that museums h a v e a vital representational role that is, in large part, conveyed through its architecture.

The museum‘s narrative is inextricably linked to its a rchitecture , w h i c h —represents its public image and defines the institution's relationship to its setting, and constructs the framework of the visitors' experience. “13 Sirefman also argues that the museum‘s architecture is automatically linked to social, political, and moral issues due to its location in the public realm . T h e architecture of a museum is therefore an integral part of its activism in the community.

The direct relationship between an art museum‘s architectural design and p u b l i c reaction is made e x plicit in Carol Duncan‘s book, Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art

M u s e u m s . D u n c a n argues that the typical art museum‘s architecture makes clear associations with other kinds of architecture related to ritual , such as temples or palaces .14

12 Silvia Tandeciarz, —Citizens of Memory: Refiguring the Past in Postdictatorship Argentina,“ Modern Language Association of America 122 (2007): pp. 151 -2. 13 Susanna Sirefman , — Formed and Forming: Contemporary Museum Architecture ,“ Daedalus 128 (1999): pp. 297 -8. 14 Carol Duncan, Civilizing Rituals: Inside Public Art Museums (London: Routledge, 1995) pp. 475.

This association solicits d i s t i n c t social responses from its visitors .15 D u n c a n t h e n n o t e s how museums have adjusted their ap p e a r a n c e a n d d e s i g n t o c r e a t e the typical reaction they desire. 16 Ultimately, Duncan a s s e r t s , t h e impression that a museum conveys t o i t s p u b l i c will also have an effect on the way th a t t h e public perceives the cultures it represents. She states that to control a museum is to control s a i d perception and define the —standing“ of people within the cultu ral communities in question. What is or is not presented in museums is t h u s linked to the identities of various members of these communities .17

P i e r r e B o ur d i e u , Alan Darbel and Dominique Schnapper i n The Love of Art :

European Art Museums and their Public , argue that d e e m i n g a museum space and the works of art it holds as worthy of being visited translates into the designation of what is in general worthy or unworthy of admiration and reverence. 18 The authors claim that museums have generally been the domain of the —cultivated class ,“ a n d the only way to m a k e museums accessible to everyone is through education .19 B o urdieu and his co - a u t h o r s cite a need for appreciation within the school system and individual family structures in order for this change to o c c u r . Th e y d o n o t , h o w e v e r , anticipate how t h e m u s e u m i t s e l f c a n adapt to address t h i s problem through its own educational initiatives.

In the article, —A rte para deshabituar la memoria, “ F l o r e n c i a B a t t i t i notes that art has had a strong association with the recounting and interpretation of events throughout world history. In a democratic system, artists are free to express their perspective , a n d a r t

15 D u n c a n , Civilizing Rituals, pp . 475 -6. 16 D u n c a n , Civilizing Rituals, pp . 476, 484. 17 D u n c a n , Civilizing Rituals , pp . 474 -5.
Pierre Bourdieu e t a l , The Love of Art : European Art Museums and their Public , trans. Caroline Beattie and Nick Merriman (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990), p. 109. 19 B o u r d i e u , The Love of Art , p. 14.

is often the chosen medium for subverting the dominant n a r r a t i v e . 20 Art museums help this process continue by reserving a space for such art to be exhibited and programs to be run that explore and educate the public about the subjects featured in p a r t i c u l a r w o r k s .

While it is impossible to represent all versions of a remembered past, a museum may o f f e r s e v e r a l alternative perspectives through the individual works chosen for display and the rotation of its exhibits. S o c i o -politically active museums seek to c reate lasting change in their communities by exposing t h e i r a u d i e n c e s to many exhibits, and thus p e r s p e ctives, as well as through long -term educat ional partnerships and programs . Th e a c t i v i s t museum acts as an entity with an opinion, thesis or slant. H o w e v e r , m u s e u m s m a y a l s o prompt critical thought and encourage dissenting opinions in order for the p u b l i c t o engage in community discourse and become more s o c i o -politically conscientious. Through this case study, I will demonstrate that the Museo d e A r t e y

Memoria and El Museo del Barrio a r e d e m o c r a t i c social actors in their respective communities t h a t address specific socio -political problems.

Context: El Museo del Barrio

Despite their official status as American citizens, Puerto Ricans living in N e w

York‘s East Harlem, or El Barri o , have historically suffered significant discrimination.

While Puerto Ricans faced many of the same challenges as other immigrant groups, they were distinct. As Petra Barreras del Rio noted:

[they] were American citizens and enjoyed all the constitutional g u a r a n t e es, in theory. This included the right to vote in spite of their language, Spanish, and their cultural make -up: Caribbean, of mixed a n c e s t r y . 21

20 Florencia Battiti, —Arte para deshabituar la memoria,“ in Memoria en construcción: El debate sobre la ESMA , ed. Marcelo Brodskey (Buenos Aires: La marca editora, 2005), 102 -3. 21 El Museo del Barrio, —Image in the Collective Memory,“ Voces y visiones: H i g h lights from El Museo del Barrio's Permanent Collection: El Museo del Barrio1969 -2003 (New York: 2003), p. 22.

In the early part of the 20 t h c e n t u r y , Puerto Ricans, or Bo r i c u a s , struggled against linguistic, economic, and c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s t h a t continually excluded them from w h a t t h e y s a w a s the collective American identity .22 H o w e v e r , with a mass migration of Puerto

R i c a n s in the 1950s and ”60s, there was a stronger push among the expanded constituency for equal representation in the United States‘ education and political s y s t e m s . 23 E l Museo del Barrio , or the Neighb orhood Museum, was founded o u t o f t h i s community movement to fill a gap in New York‘s Anglo -c e n t r i c educational curriculum ; i . e . , t h e official discourse , w h i c h prior to 1969 was mandated by t h e mayor of the city and the state of New York through the public school system .24 Despite the fact that , b y 1 9 6 7 , the majority of the public school population i n N e w York‘s central and East Harlem w a s of Latino or African American heritage, the p u p i l s in these areas were not given access to materials or knowledge about their own cultures. 25 Community activists composed of parents, educators and artists denounced the lack of teaching resources and educational materials relevant to the Puerto Rican student population in New York‘s schools. 26 T h e existing curricul a overlooked minority groups‘ cultures and p e r s pectives in history.

Activists brought t h i s p a rticular issue to the forefront in New York among broader concerns about cultural acceptance and equality during the t u r b u l e n t Civil Rights

M o v e m e n t in the 1960s.

22 Virginia Sánchez Korrol , Pioneros II Puerto Ricans in New York City 1948 -1998 (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing: 2010). p. 7. 23 Clara E. Rodríguez , —Puerto Ricans: Immigrants and Migrants, A Historical Perspective ,“ Americans All accessed April 4, 2011, http://www.americansall.com/PDFs/02 -a m e r i c a n s -all/9.9.pdf p. 2.   A n e m o n a Hartocollis, —Consensus on City Schools: History; Growing Outrage Leads Back to Centralized Leadership,“ New York Times, June 7, 2002; New York State Education Department, —New York State Education Department“, accessed April 4, 2011, http://www.nysed.gov/ . 25 El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY ,“ accessed April 21, 2010, http://www.elmuseo.org/en/explore -online/timeline/intro . 26 El Museo del Barr i o , — I m a ge in the Collective Memory,“ p. 22.



I n t h e m i d s t of this period of social change in the 1960s , a movement to reform art museums was a l s o taking place. 27 Museums signify whose c u l t u r e i s worth being told and preserved ; th e r e f o r e , major museums‘ exclusion of a r t t h a t d i d not belong to the

—Western tradition“ (i.e. works not stemming from European cultures) implied these cultures‘ inf eriority to the —Western world.“ 28 Ethnic and social minorities were either misrepresented o r c o m p l etely excluded in the A n g l o -c e n t r i c , p a t r i archal world of —high“ a r t . Mu s e u m s w e r e t h u s t a r g e t e d for reform b y t h o s e minority groups , w h o s a w representation in museums as a means toward inclusion i n t h e United States‘ cultural n a r r a t i v e .29

Cultural activists organized protests and picket lines in front of the museum of Modern Art and the Metrop olitan Museum of Art, demanding more presence of femal e, A f r o -American, and Puerto Rican artists in their exhibitions and collections, as well as representation of these groups in the boards of directors a nd professional ranks of the museums‘ employees. They also called for the decentralization of the collections so that the other, more populous four boroughs in New York City would have some access to the artistic treasures hoarded in Manhattan. 30

I n the late sixties, t h e E l B a r r i o c o m m u n i t y called for an educational culture project for their constituency that would serve as a solution f o r some of the inequalities they were experiencing. The Board of Education began accepting proposals t o b e f u n d e d by t h e Community Education Center , a s t a t e -financed program that provided supplementary services to children and adults .31 El Museo del Barrio w a s s u b m i t t e d b y

R a p h a e l Montañez Ortiz , a n avant garde artist and educator in El Barrio, to the District 4

27 The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA El Mus eo del Barrio, accessed April 21, 2010, http://www.moma.org/learn/resources/latino_survey/barrio . 28 Pierre Bourdieu, Alain Darbel, and Dominique Schnapper, The Love of Art : European Art Museums and their Public , trans. Caroline Beattie and Nick Merriman (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1990), 109. 29 El Museo del Barrio, —The Artist and the Communit y,“ Voces y visiones: Highlights from El Museo del Barrio's Permanent Collection: El Museo del Barrio1969 -2003 (New York: 2003), p. 14. 30 El Museo del Barrio, —Image in the Collective Memory,“ pp. 22 -3. 31 El Museo del Barrio, —The Artist and the Community,“ pp. 12 -13.



Superintendent with the intention of e n g a g i n g the community and its cultural needs intelligently. 32 F o r O r t i z , t h e motivation for proposing and executing El Mueso del

B a r r i o w a s quite personal .

The cultural disenfranchisement I experience as a Puerto Rican has prompted me to seek a practical alternative to the orthodox museum, which fails to meet my needs for an authentic ethnic experience. To afford me and others the opportunity to establish liv ing connections with our own culture, I founded El Museo del Barrio. 33

The proposal was accepted and Ortiz was offered the director‘s position . H e immediately sent out letters to Puerto Rican artists in the New York area t o introduce El Museo del

B a r r i o a n d s o l i c i t contributions and support.

El Museo del Barrio‘s e x i s t e n c e w a s a n d i s a source of pride and validation for

Puerto Ricans in the United States, e s p e c i a l l y i n N e w Y o r k C i t y . A s Y a s m ín R a m ír e z states in her exploration of the political meaning behind El Museo‘s mission statements:

Under colonial rule of the United States, Puerto Ricans have few cultural institutions that ”preserve and project‘ their identity as a nation; El Museo del Barrio is therefore a banner of the Diaspora‘s survival and a testament to the struggles waged by Puerto Ricans in the 1960s and 70s for equal rights and self -representation. 34

A political and emotional attachment to the museum within El Ba rrio remains strong .

P o inted interest in the museum i s m a d e evident by community watchdog organizations t h a t formed in recent years t o m o n i t o r El Museo del Barrio and protest changes that it v i e w s a s outside of the neighborhood ‘s best interests . 35

32 El Museo del Barrio, —The Artist and the Community,“ p. 12. 33 Ralph Ortiz quoted in El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY.“ 34 Y a s m ín Ramirez, —Passing on Latinidad: An Analysis of Critical Responses to El Museo del Barrio‘s P a n -Latino Mission Statements,“ accessed April 4, 2010, http://latino.si.edu/researchandmuseums/presentations/ramirez_papers.html . 35 R a m i r e z , —Passing on Latinidad,“ p. 1.



The museum has come to represent a broader range of L a t i n o s a n d i s a l s o a s o u r c e of cultural pride f o r t h e m within the United States . El Museo del Barrio was the first

Latino art museum in the United States , a n d remains one of the few art museums to r e p r e s e n t s o l e l y Latino art in the country. 36 El Museo is considered to have one of the largest and most preeminent collections of research material on Latino artists in the

United States , a s w e l l .37 The museum is espe cially interested in the artistic world of New

Y o r k a n d i n p r o m o t i n g Latin American artists living and working in their community.

On top of its comprehensive collection of Puerto Rican art, o f t h e f e w exclusively L a t i n o art museums , E l M u s e o has a unique collection of Latin American a r t c o n n e c t e d t o N e w

Y o r k C i t y .38 The museum seems to believe strongly in the ability of ”place‘ to shape perspectives , and it has allowed the place history of its neighbors to inform the art that it considers for display .

H i s torically, the majority of El Barrio‘s low -income population has been denied quality economic and educational opportunities that would allow them upward class m o b i l i t y . 39 While the museum c a n n o t singlehandedly reverse the neighborhood‘s problems, it i n t e n d s t o contribute to the area‘s economic situation by providing f r e e access to cultural resources a nd educational opportunities. El Museo‘s staff also sees the museum as a p o t e n t i a l gateway for visitors to the culturally rich world of El Barrio, who will spend money and improve the neighborhood‘s economy. 40 The museum also invests

36 —MoMA El Museo del Barrio, “ The Museum of Modern Art, accessed April 21, 2010, http://www.moma.org/learn/resources/latino_survey/barrio . 37 —MoMA El Muse o del Barrio,“ The Museum of Modern Art . 38 Delvalle, interview with author; —Collecting Latin American Art,“ Art -Collecting.com, accessed April 14, 2011, h t t p : / / a r t -collecting.com/latin -a m e r i c a n -a r t . h t m . 39 El Museo del Barrio, —The Artist and the Community,“ p. 16. 40 Delvalle, interview with author.

 in local artists by buying pieces for its Permanent Collection or providing t h e m p u b l i c i t y by showcasing their work.

Context: the Museo de Arte y Memoria

T h e M u s e o de Arte y Memoria‘s creation in l a t e 2 0 0 2 was a direct response to the repercussions of a violent period of Ar gentine history that began with the last m i l i t a r y dictatorship in 1976 and lasted u n t i l 1 9 8 4 .41 Between 1930 and 1976 there were nine military cou ps backed by civilians, two presidencies appointed through the army , t w o elections that were obviously rigged , and two terms of — q u a s i -fascist Peronism“ i n

A r g e n t i n a . 42 In the early 70 s, amidst rampant unemployment, guerilla war f a r e b r o k e o u t between the ultra -right and the ultra -l e f t . 43 Random violence between these extreme minorities made everyone vulnerable. This general instability sent shockwaves through

Argentine society . Argentines searching for an end to insecurity l o o k e d t o the military generals who transitioned easily into power in 1 9 7 6 . 44

Cultural repression went hand in hand with m a n y o f A r g e n t i n a ‘ s u l t r a - conservative governments . An t i -socialist sentiment had been building throughout the

1 9 6 0 s a n d w a s supported by m a n y p r e s i d e n t s , notably Juan Carlos O n g a n í a w h o e n d e d

Argentina‘s brief period of democracy in 1966 and authorized m i l i t a r y attacks on leftist w o r k e r s , a c a d e m i c s , and students at Argentine universities .45 O n g a n í a ‘ s government felt t h a t cultural institutions, especially those seen as leftist, w e r e no longer socially

41 Ponisio, —Presentación.“ 42 Marguerite Feitlowitz, —Preface,“ A Lexicon of Terror ( N e w York: Oxford Universi ty Press, 1998) 5. 43 Marguerite Feitlowitz, —Introduction: The Gentleman‘s Coup,“ A Lexicon of Terror (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) 5 -6. 44 Feitlowitz, —Introduction: The Gentleman‘s Coup,“ 6. 45 J. K i n g , — El Di Tella and Argentine Cultural Development in the 1960s , “ Bulletin of Latin A m e r i c a n R e s e a r c h 1.1 (1981): 109 ; Feitlowitz, —Introduction: The Gentleman‘s Coup,“ p. 9.

 acceptable or economically feasible to sustain in a time of economic turmoil .46 T h e provocative Di Tella Institute, which had become increasingly interested in exploring s o c i o -politically conscious artworks, was among the cultural projects that the government s h u t d o w n . 47 T h e I nstitute‘s key exhibition of the work T u c u m á n A r d e ( T u c u m án B u r n s ) in 1968 had exp osed the desperate conditions of the people living in Tucumán,

Argentina, and initiated a new association between the world of art and t h a t o f activism in

A r g e n t i n a . 48 (F i g u r e 7) In part because of Di Tella‘s work, the overall debate as to the p u r p o s e a n d societal function of institutional art became a key artistic focus duri n g t h e sixties and seventies. T h e c ultural repression this movement incited under Onganía initiated a period of official censorship that lasted through the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1984 .

T h e m i l i t a r y — j u n t a “ actively repressed popular expression in a seven -y e a r campaign called —Operation Clarity.“ The state proclaimed anyone fou nd guilty of the exchange of ideas in public space was ideologically suspect.

Enormous numbers of literary, theater, film, and visual artists were also forced to leave the country as well as many publishers, producers, and gallery owners. Over seven ye ars, Operation Clarity… removed 8,000 ”ideologically suspect‘ individuals from jobs in universities, secondary and elementary schools, libraries and cultural institutions. Many of these educators and intellectuals also left or were forced ”underground. ‘ T h e i r jobs were eliminated, taken over by the military, or filled by civilian appointees. 49 (Emphasis added).

W h i l e carefully censored imported culture flourished, the military government e i t h e r banned or took over Argentina‘s own c u l t u r a l enterprises .

46 J. King, —El Di Tella and Argentine Cultural Developme nt in the 1960s,“ p. 111. 47 K i n g , — E l D i Tella and Argentine Cultural Development in the 1960s ,“ p. 105 ; Feitlowitz, —The House of the B l i n d , “ A Lexicon of Terror (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) 152, 159 -60. 48 K i n g , —El Di Tella and Argentine Cultural Development in the 1960s ,“ p. 110 . 49 Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 159.



Y e t t h e authoritarian government‘s suppression of socialist ideology went further than cultural censorship. Ultimately, the period was defined by the military junta‘s terrorist tactics on the Argentine populace , w h i c h resulted in the disappearance of an estimated 30,000 people. 50 These people became known as desaparecidos, o r t h e disappeared ones , s o n a m e d because the ir corpses are still unaccounted for; the state will n o t , or cannot, produce records of their deaths , a n d their families will not declare them dead until t h e s t a t e p r o v i d e s evidence that the military killed them .51 T h e t orture and systematic killing implemented by t h e st a t e between 1976 and 1984 radically impacted the population. W h e n t h e dictatorship ended in 1984, those t r a n s i t i o n i n g to democracy w e r e f a c e d w i t h the difficulty of confronting their r e c e n t p a s t . The weak Argentine state, afraid of another military take -over, chose not to dwell on the past . The laws passed in

1986, Punto F inal (Final Point) and Obediencia Debida (Due Obedience), effectively erased human rights violations during this period from the c o u n t r y ‘ s official history, granting amnesty to participants in state terrorism .52

W h i l e t h e activist organiza tion Madres de la Plaza de Mayo broke the o f f i c i a l s i l e n c e with habitual protests t h a t b e g a n during the dictatorship in 1977, the government denied their claims and labeled them as lunatics .53 O t h e r human rights related organizations, however, began to protest against th e government‘s official omission of state terrorist actions from its history . S t i l l , t h e s e organizations were hard pressed to find public support or participation u n t i l 1 9 9 5 , w h e n t h e m o v e m e n t against silence and

50 Elizabeth Jelin and Susan Kaufman, —Layers of Memory“ The Politics of War Memory and Commemoration , e d. T. G. Ashplant, Graham Dawson, and Michael Roper (London: Routledge , 2000 ), p. 89 . 51 F e i t l o w i t z , —Introduction: The Gentleman‘s Coup,“ p. 13; Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 177. 52 Silvia Tandeciarz, —Citizens of Memory: Refiguring the Past in Postdictatorship Argentina,“ p. 152 . 53 —Quien Somos,“ Madres de P laza de Mayo - Linea Fundadora, accessed April 4, 2011, http://www.madresfundadoras.org.ar/pagina/whoweare/85 ; Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 162.

forgetting reached a turning p o i n t . A dolfo Scilingo‘s public confession published in —El

Vuelo“ (The Flight) , regarding his participation in the so called —death flights“ during the dictatorship , sparked a dialog that eventually pressured the government t o repeal the so - called —laws of forget ting“ in 1998. 54 Yet it was the institutional and economic c o l l a p s e and the official declaration of t h e —laws of forgetting“ as unconstitutional i n 2 0 0 1 t h a t p r o m p t e d the explosion of efforts to r e m e m b e r .55 Almost two decades after the dictatorship‘s end, members of the Argentine public began to o p e n l y s e e k p h y s i c a l f o r m s of remembrance that would acknowledge the silenced past. Me m o r i a l s were used by a politically active portion of the public t o e x p r e s s their desire that the state‘s terroris t a c t s be officially recognized. 56 Other cultural productions, s u c h a s p u b l i c murals, graffiti, monuments, museums, and human rights organizations , like the Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, were created through a c t ive citizens‘ e f f o r t s i n o r d e r t o motivate the c o m m u n i t y t o engage in dialog and push for trials, reparations and official recognition of the state‘s illegal actions .57

The Comisión Provincial por la Memoria in La Plata h a s f o u r organizational branches: a group of militant lawyers, the Comité contra la Tortura (the Committee

Against Torture); the library of files formerly kept by the secret police, the Archivo de la

DIPBA (the DIPBA Archives); the department o f Investigación y E ns e ñ a n z a ( R e s e a r c h and Instruction) that runs educational programs su ch as Jóvenes y Memoria (Young

54 Tandeciarz, —Citizens of Memory,“ p. 152; Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 186; —Informe de HR: Summary and Recommendations,“ Human Rights Watch/Americas, http://www.desaparecidos.org/nuncamas/web/investig/hrw_121201_03.htm .   Tandeciarz, —Citizens of Memory,“ p . 152; International Center for Transitional Justice, ACCOUN TABILITY IN ARGENTINA: 20 Years Later, Transitional Justice Maintains Momentum (N e w York: International Center for Transitional Justice, 2005 ), p. 5. 56 J e l i n , —Layers of Memory,“ p. 96. 57 —La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria,“ La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/ .

People and Memory), t h e P r o g r a m a Educativo en Derechos Humanos para Alumnos

Extranjeros (Human Rights Foreign Exchange Program), and t h e Programa de

V o l u n t a r iado Universitarios (University Volunteer Program) ; and the art museum, the

Museo de Arte y Memoria (the Museum of Art and Memory) .58 Founded as an extension of the Commission in December of 2002, the Museo de Arte y Memoria in the city of La

P l a t a p o s s e s s e s s p e c i f i c objectives concerning human rights awareness and activism.

The Museums‘ M i s s i o n s

El Museo del Barrio‘s Mission Statement has been surrounded by political controversy in its recent history. 59 H o w e v e r , the core of the museum‘s purpose re m a i n s focused on protecting and promoting t h e visual culture that represent s El Barrio‘s heritage. It is important to consider the political battle waged over the Mission

Statement‘s wording in order to better understand how El Museo del Barrio h a s e v o l v e d over time to fit El Barrio‘s needs a n d to more fully a p p r e c i a t e t h e community‘s relationship with the museum .

El Museo began to expand its vision from a circumscribed Puerto Rican focus to include a range of Latin American art around the time of i t s m o v e t o F i f t h A v e n u e i n

1 9 7 7 . As Jack Agüeros, the museum‘s director at the time, explained in a N e w Y o r k

T i m e s i n t e r v i e w :

Our focus is no longer limited to Puerto Ricans. We are too culturally rich to force ourselves into ghettoes of narrow nationalism. El Museo now wants to embody the culture of all of Latin America. New York is the fourth or fifth largest Spanish speaking c ity in the world, with people from every Spanish speaking country, and El Museo must reflect everything that is Latino. 60

58 —La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria,“ La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria. 59 Arlene Dávila, —Latinizing Culture: Art, Museums, and the Politics of U.S. Multicultural Encompassment,“ Anthropology 14 (May, 1999): 180 -202. 60 El Museo del Barrio , — E L M U S EO‘S HISTORY. “



This shift toward Latin American multiculturalism seemed to parallel the museum‘s g r o w i n g legitimacy in the world of high culture .61 The 1990s marked a d i s t i n c t c h a n g e i n

El Museo‘s direction, as the museum looked to further expand its vision. The museum wanted to stay true to its roots, b u t it also needed to stay culturally relevant. On a local l e v e l , El Barrio‘s Hispani c population wa s diversifying , and the museum made the conscious decision to incorporate their various cultural perspectives into its displays .

Furthermore, El Museo del Barrio d e c i d e d that diversifying its focus would help t o b o l s t e r the museum‘s level of legitimacy on both a national and international level. 62

Thus, the museum o f f i c i a l l y began to see itself as a multicultural mainstream institution. This new vision manifested itself in several tangible changes. El Museo del

B a r r i o came up with its first long -r a n g e s t r ategic plan , and diversified the Board of

Trustees to include non -Latinos as well as Latinos of non -Puerto Rican backgrounds. 63

The nineties also marked the launch of El Museo‘s own website , renovations to the museum‘s galleries, and the introduction of a n e w l o g o to reflect the expanded vision .64

E l M u s e o ‘ s original logo h a d featured a Taíno goddess that strongly linked the museum t o i t s Puerto Rican heritage ( F i g u r e 8). However, in an effort to appeal to a diversifying n a t i o n a l a u d i e n c e and represent a d iversifying Latino population within El Barrio, E l

Museo removed the Taíno goddess from its logo and created a logo unaffiliated with any culture at all ( F i g u r e 9). T h e n e w , c u l t u r a l l y a m b i g u o u s ” 9 0 s logo reflected the museum‘s move away from its s t r i c t l y Puerto Rican identity toward multiculturalism a n d mainstream status .

61 Dávila, —Latinizing Culture,“ pp. 180 -202. 62 Dávila, —Latinizing Culture,“ p. 185. 63 El Museo del Barrio, —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “ 64 El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “



The multicultural approach was reflected in E l M u s e o ‘ s m o d i f i e d m i s s i o n s t a t e m e n t , which in 1994 read , —El Museo del Barrio‘s mission is to establish a forum that will preserve and prote ct the dynamic cultural heritage of Puerto Ricans and all Latin

Americans in the United States.“ 65 This statement included Latin Americans in the museum‘s objectives for the first time, but was highly criticized by Puerto Rican c o m m u n i t y a c t i v i s t s w h o f e l t the museum should remain focused on Puerto Rican c u l t u r e . In 1996 the mission was revised yet again to match El Museo‘s vision as articulated by Agüeros in 1978. 66 This modification eliminated the explicit use of

—Puerto Ricans ,“ stating instead that, —El Museo del Barrio will collect, preserve, exhibit and promote the artistic heritage of Latin Americans, primarily in the United States.“ 67

This mission statement w a s i n t e n d e d to reflect the changing demographics within El

B a r r i o , now more Latino than Puerto Rican. I t w o u l d a l s o o p e n E l M u s e o t o m o r e e x h i b i t o p t i o n s , make it more a p p e a l i n g t o a wider audience, and allow the institution t o d r a w from a larger funding pool. Advocacy groups led campaigns that used the media to draw a t tention to this change. Puerto Ricans for the New Millennium, for example, published letters in E l D i a r i o demanding the museum specify in its official mission s t a t e m e n t t h a t

Puerto Ricans be the core constituency served by El Museo. 68

After much debate a m o n g s t the Puerto Rican community through discussion groups, the board decided to revise the mission statement yet again in 2000. 69 T h e decision to adopt the new statement was meant to appease activist groups by

65 El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “ 66 See quote by Agüeros on page 12 . 67 —Museum Mission Statements, “ Pamela L. Myers, created September 2006, http://www.fundforartsandculture.org/res/other/museumMissionStatements.ppt . 68 R a m i r e z , —Passing on Latinidad ,“ p. 5. 69 R a m i r e z , — Passing on Latinidad ,“ p. 5.

  acknowledging the unique role Puerto Ricans in El Barrio had played in the conception and establishment of El Museo del Barrio, while simultaneously maintaining a broad v i s i o n . The resulting mission statement is very similar to the mission adopted in 1994 t h a t included both Puerto Ricans and Latin A m e r i c a n s . A s it still reads today, t h e m u s e u m aims to, —present and preserve the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin

Americans in the United States.“ 70 Thus, El Museo quickly began to work toward a n encyclopedic a r t collection within Latin Ame rican culture.

The shift in the museum‘s vision elicit e d strong objections from m a n y g r o u p s , such as Puerto Ricans for the New Millennium, We Are Watching You, and Nuestro

Museo Action Committee throughout the 1 9 9 0 s and into the 2000s. 71 Concerned with i t s role in the c ommunity, El Museo met with citizens individually. A s El Museo del

Barrio‘s Director of External Affairs , Susan Delvalle , e x p l a i n e d during an interview conducted in October 2010 ,

…when we broke it down, this was a big group of people tha t w e discovered all had different agendas… if you have a community that is so invested, how do you make that investment constructive versus negative? The great thing is, when we met with individuals and we understood where they were coming from, there were a lot of valid points …T h e m a i n thing that we learned was that we were not communicating properly. 72

Though the mission statement has not changed since 2000, the political uproar over its wording was a learning experience for the museum. Delvalle a l s o mentioned tha t E l M u s e o h a s s i n c e stepped up its efforts to communicate effectively w i t h E l B a r r i o a n d now ensures that there are East Harlem residents on

70 El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY.“ 71 R a m i r e z , —Passing on Latinidad ,“ p. 1. 72 Delvalle, interview with author.

  i t s Bo a r d of Trustees so that the community is informed about and represented in decisions the museu m m a k e s .73

The Museo de Arte y Memoria ‘s mission has not undergone revisions since its opening in 2002. According to the museum‘s website, The Museo de

Arte y Memoria‘s mission states:

The Museum of Art and Memory was founded by the Commission for M e m o r y in the Buenos Aires Province in December of the year 2002 with the objective of becoming a space for reflection about authoritarianism and democracy, driving public policies about memory and promoting human rights. Confident in the transformative power of art and its ability to promote plural ownership of our recent past, in this specific case, the museum generates a space to make sense of, and to transmit collective memory. It is a vital institution that integrates the visual arts in general and p r o m o t e s a strong articulation of the past and present by incorporating spaces for debate, extension and investigation. The Museum of Art and Memory also intends to reunite and conserve the patrimony constituted by artists who have decided to reflect on the last mi litary dictatorship (1976 - 1984) through their works .74

In contrast to El Museo del Barrio‘s Mission Statement, the Museo de Arte y Memoria has a lengthy and descriptive outline of its political intentions. A partial explanation for this difference is the museum‘s role as a b r a n c h of a larger human rights organization , L a

Comisión Provincial por la Memoria. As an integrated part of t h e C o m i s i ó n , the museum h a s t o make explicit how it is expected to contribute to the overarching goals of its mother orga n i z a t i o n . Another explanation for the museum‘s lengthy Mission Statement

73 Delvalle, interview with author. 74 L a C o m i s i ó n Provincial por la Memoria, http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/mam.htm . —El Museo de Arte y Memoria fue fundado por la Comisión por la Memoria de la provincia de Buenos Aires en diciembre del año 2002 con el objetivo de convertirse en un espacio de reflexión sobre el autoritarismo y la democracia, impulsando políticas públicas de memoria y promoviendo los derechos humanos. Confiados en el poder transformador del arte y en su capacidad de promover u na apropiación plural de nuestro pasado reciente, se trató en este caso de generar un espacio de sensibilización y transmisión de la memoria colectiva. Una institución vital que integre las artes visuales en general y que promueva una fuerte articulación d el pasado y presente incorporando espacios de debate, extensión e investigación. El Museo de Arte y Memoria tiene también como objetivo reunir y conservar el patrimonio constituido por la obra de artistas que han tomado como temática de su obra la reflexió n sobre la última dictadura militar (1976 - 1983). “

  i s i t s particular focus . The community that the Museo de Arte y Memoria s e r v e s i s responding to an unprecedented attack on their population and an uneasy transition back to democracy. T h e c o m m u n i t y n e e d s institutions with specific plans for coping with i t s traumatic past. While El Museo del Barrio‘s mission is vaguer than th at of the Museo de

Arte y Memoria, this is also a reflection on the original problem the museum set out to resolve. While the museum was founded to insert their community‘s culture into the

United State‘s history and collective identity, this has meant dif ferent things at different times. A broad mission statement allows the museu m t o a d a p t more easily t o t h e community around it. El Museo also wants to be seen as the equal to mainstream museums in the United States and abroad, so its mission emphasizes it s n a t i o n a l relevance instead o f i t s l o c a l f o c u s .

El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria‘s efforts to achieve t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e o b j e c t i v e s as stated in their mi s s i o n s can be seen through various initiatives .

As the following s e c t i o n s w i l l d e m o n s t r a t e , each of the m u s e u m s s o l i c i t s responses from the public through t h e i r e x h i b i t s , educational initiatives , and even architectural design.

E d u c a t i o n

Education has always been a key component of democracy , which depends on its citizens to participate in government decisions. While cultural education can help develop conscientious citizens by fostering tolerance and acting as a bridge to other kinds of learning, it is often considered the least vital aspect of a basic education and left out of public schools‘ curriculum due to a lack of time and resources .75 T h e a r t m u s e u m however, has increasingly become a tool for activism through which educational initiatives may be developed and disseminated i n spite of a traditional association with

75 Delvalle, interview with author.

  e l i t i s m . As we have seen, El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria were indeed founded with particular s o c i o -p o l i t i c a l g o a l s i n m i n d . The museums‘ e ducational programs are key component s in their work t o w a r d a c h i e v i n g their objectives .

In the case of El Museo del Barrio, Raphael Montañez Ortiz specifically set out to create a museum that would fill a n educational gap in East Harlem .76 According to Ortiz,

The community needed a museum that explored the natural history, anthropology, culture, and art of the Puerto Rican people, and that joined it to the world of Latino/a art, as well as the larger world of artists. 77

El Museo has since grown and , according to the museum‘s Director of External Affairs,

S u s an Delvalle, it now serves more of the community than it ever has before, in great part d u e t o its educational initiatives. In an interview, Delvalle stated:

Over the years we became kind of i t as far as expressing or sharing that kind of cultural educati on in schools. As we continue to grow, we become even more relevant. With cuts, especially more recent ly with cuts to school programs …we‘re often the only arts component in the schools. 78

The museum‘s educational initiatives are developed in accordance with specific goals regarding its programs‘ effects within El Barrio. As El Museo‘s 2009 -2010 member update publication reads, —El Museo del Barrio‘s Education and Public Programs

D e p a r t m e n t believes art is a tool for social change, cultural empowerment and civic engagement.“ 79 The programs the museum uses in local schools are especially e f f e c t i v e at teaching students about Latino art, each student‘s o w n environment , a n d h o w t h e student may in teract within that community . E l M u s e o a l s o h a s s u c c e s s f u l educational p r o g r a m s f o r n o n -student groups . The programs t e n d t o b e unconventional and thus, a p p e a l i n g to curious minds from all walks of life . While the museum still primarily

76 El Museo del Barrio, —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “ 77 E l Museo del Barrio, —The Artist and the Community,“ p. 13. 78 D e l v a l l e , interview with author. 79 El Museo del Barrio, E l Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 46.

  considers itself to be an a r t museum, it also realizes that most of its attendees are non - traditional museum goers who primarily participate in educational initiatives b o t h w i t h i n and outside of the museum. 80

The official silence surrounding the events of the last dictatorship in Argentina was most pervasive during the initial stage of democratic transition in the eighties and n i n e t i e s .81 However, the link between culture and politics a l s o gained new significance during this time a s Argentines recognize d t h e l e v e l o f c u l t u r al destruction t h a t h a d occurred during the dictatorship. 82 Culture became a political tool, and the museum was seen as a potential socio -political actor. After a long decade and a half of ignoring past human rights violations, this poli tical activism came to include the education of generations ignorant to the true nature of Argentine history during the l a s t dictatorship . E l

Museo de Arte y Memoria was founded as a branch of La Comisión Provincial por la

Memoria which, from the beginning , sought to establish a dialogue between civil society a n d t h e state in conjunction with social organizations in the area in order to e d u c a t e n e w generations about the recent past .83

The Museo de Arte y Memoria often works in tandem with the Comisión to r e alize educational programs using visual culture . For instance, the Comisión welcomes high school and university level volunteers who are already engaged in studies that encourage social activism and thought , such as sociology, social work, literacy,

80 Delvalle, interview with author. 81 Daniel Betti quoted in Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 162. 82 Ana Wortman, —El desafío de las políticas culturales en la Argentina,“ in Cultura, política y sociedad. P e r s p e c t i vas latinoamericanas, ed. Daniel Mato (Buenos Aires: CLASCO, 2005), p. 200. 83 Laura Ponisio, —Sobre el Museo de Arte y Memoria de La Plata, Argentina“ (presented at El encuentro de museos de la memoria, Montevideo, Uruguay, April 1 -4, 2008).

  communications, and film to get involved with its work. 84 Some of these students will volunteer or intern in the museum. The Jóvenes y Memoria program also works to develop critical thinking among young Argentine citizens as the country continues to r e f o r m its democracy. Students enrolled in this extracurricular program investigate human rights issues in their local communities‘ pasts and incorporate their research into creative projects. The museum, with its video library, archive o f recorded interviews an d trials, and staff with artistic expertise , are at the students‘ disposal. 85 At the Jóvenes y

Memoria conference where students present their final work, museum s t a f f is also present t o l e a d workshops. These workshops are very casually run and center on giving the students context behind their projects, facilitating open discussion, and guiding artistic creation. Th e A r c h i v o (The Archives) and Comité contra la Tortura (Committee against

T o r t u r e ) a r e also meant to be used as resources for investigative projects that illuminate critical issues, spark activism, and promote critical thinking about society and politics both in the past and the present. The museum often uses these two branches f o r s u p p l e m e ntal resources when developing programs.

Each museum has e m p l o y e d guided tours as an educational component since its founding. In El Museo del Barrio, tours are inquiry -b a s e d , w h e r e i n t h e a r t i s t -e d u c a t o r facilitates discussions that encourage observation and personal interpretation. 86 E l M u s e o de Arte y Memoria functions in a similar fashion, presenting artworks to students and t h e n prompting reflection. S u c h intellectual participation develops critical thinking skil l s and a greater awareness of each museum‘s particular focus. The Museo de Arte y

84 —Investigac ión y Ense ñanza,“ La Comisión por la Memoria, accessed February, 7, 2010, http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/comision.php?a=14 . 85 Ponisio, —Presentación.“ 86 El Museo del Barrio, E l M u s e o del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 47.



Memoria expressly states that the objective of i t s tours is to promote democratic and humanitarian values .87 Docents emphasize the effects of human rights violations on v a r i o u s a n d b r o a d s e c t o r s o f s o c i e t y , as well as on a personal level to which the viewer c a n r e l a t e . El Museo del Barrio, seeing cultural education as a bridge to social change and a feeling of empowerment, also cites civic engagement as an ultimate objective o f their tours . The tours in El Museo‘s galleries reveal the potential political power of artworks and invite the visitor to see issues from d i s t i n c t perspective s.88 Both institutions attempt to create a safe tour environment w i t h i n the gallery space in o rder to permit s t u d e n t s t o reflect, think critically, and express themselves in relation to the artworks. At

El Museo del Barrio, gallery activities are incorporated into the tours that integrate movement, sketching, and writing, while the tours at the Mu seo de Arte y Memoria are preceded by an orientation video. 89 Weather permitting, El Museo del Barrio a l s o o f f e r s tours of East Harlem that highlight cultural attractions in t h e neighborhood , such as the

”Graffiti Wall of Fame,‘ murals, and specific streets. 90 These tours are meant to expose n o n -residents of El Barrio t o East Harlem c u l t u r e and actually bring o u t s i d e r s i n t o t h e community to experience it first -h a n d . While these tours are c l e a r l y a w a y t o a t t r a c t visitors who m a y spend money, the tours also manage to expose attendees to El Barrio culture in a n informed and real way that can debunk stereotypes.

E a c h m u s e um has developed programs to be run in the classroom in both public and private schools. While programming can be short term, both museums look for

87 —Visitas guiadas ,“ L a Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, accessed February 7, 2010, http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/comision.php?a=14 . 88 — M u s e u m Visitor Studies, Evaluation & Audience Research for El Museo School Programs June 2009,“ Randi Korn & Associates, Inc., accessed April 13, http://informalscienc e.org/reports/0000/0219/RKA_2009_ElMuseo_SchoolProg_dist.pdf , p. 5. 89 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 47 ; —Visitas guiadas,“ El Museo del Barrio. 90 —Walking Tour : Around El Barrio,“ El Museo del Barrio, accessed April 14, 2011, http://www.elmuseo.org/en/event/el -b a r r i o -t o d a y -w a l k i n g -tour .

 lasting partnerships with schools that allow them to return and evaluate past programs for improvement . E l M useo del Barrio‘s program , Classroom Connections , features —…in - depth, long -term, multi -session programs for all grade levels designed to link El Museo‘s cultural resources with Social Studies, English, Science and Art.“ 91 An El Museo del

Barrio educator w orking on Classroom Connections coordinates with the school‘s instructor to develop curricula with the objective of developing and implementing a program that uses El Museo del Barrio‘s cultural resources in an enlightening and empowering way in the classr o o m . 92 Museum educators in Classroom Connections work with groups of students through sustained projects that give museum st aff the opportunity to see long -term effects. Classroom Connections include s museum visits, visits from a museum educator in the classroom, art -making activities, and a final presentation put on by the students at the museum. 93 Recent examples of successful Classroom Connections from the 2009 -2010 school year are representative of what the program is intended to attain with its participants. El Museo had particular success implementing this program a t t h e Young Women‘s Leadership School based in East Harlem. Museum educators h a d b e e n w o r k i n g w i t h a particular class of students sinc e their first year of high school , a n d proudly watched them become autonomous and deeply involved in their projects. 94 E l

Museo del Barrio also bec ame involved with CASES/Community Prep High School that works with previously incarcerated youth. Classroom C onnections provide d t h e m w i t h the opportunity to creatively express what it means to change during what can be a period of difficult transition and adjustment. Millennium Art s Academy also partnered with the

91 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 48. 92 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 48. 93 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 48. 94 Delvalle, interview with aut ho r .

 museum to prepare its students for civic engagement by helping them to better understand community, local and federal government. Many Classroom Connections projects focus on empowerment and democratic development in el Barrio‘s youth. 95

An outside evaluator of El Museo del Barrio‘s Classroom Co nnections program ,

Randi Korn & Associates, Inc., observed the programs in action and interviewed participating students in June of 2009 . The report was generally positive. Students stated that they learned that art can be a vehicle for self expression or particular messages rather than something pretty or interesting to look at. 96 Through their own art projects, participants also thought about identity is new ways, including how they relate to their communities. 97 The majority of interviewed students report ed that they enjoyed the program as an alternative and more interactive way to learn. 98 Many described a sense of empowerment in being able to take ownership over their learning. 99 While the program sometimes failed to convey c l e a r l y the connection between the projects and the school‘s curriculum, m a n y students made fairly accurate conjectures. 100 Frequently, when the evaluator asked participants what they had learned, responses included something about themselves or how they c o u l d h e l p t o improve the communit y . 101 It is clear from these interviews that the specific programs in the study prompted students to make new a n d often positive connections . While the evaluation was a limited study on only two

Classroom Connections programs, the results provide insight into the typical effects that the museum‘s educational initiatives may have on students.

95 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 48. 96 —Museum Visitor Studies.“ Randi Korn and Associates, Inc. p. 3. 97 —Museum Visitor Studies.“ Randi Korn and Associates, Inc. p. 4. 98 —Museum Visitor Studies,“ Randi Korn and Associates, Inc. p. 13. 99 —Museum Visitor Studies,“ Randi Korn and Associates, Inc. p. 4. 100 —Museum Visitor Studies,“ Randi Korn and Associates, Inc. p. 5. 101 —Museum Visitor Studies,“ Randi Korn and Associates, Inc. pp. 15, 19.



The Museo de Arte y Memoria‘s program, —El Museo va a la Escuela,“ or, —T h e

M u s e u m Goes to School ,“ sets up partnerships with schools that are too far to visit the m u s eum with ease. The program sends educational materials that include a disc with four Power Point presentations that feature interviews, works of art, and documentary f o o t a g e . 102 According to the museum‘s director, Laura Ponisio, the point of El Museo va a la Escuela is to learn the facts about state terrorism , discuss human rights and then to build respect for the ”other.‘ 103 When the schools are local, the program puts museum e d u c a t o r s into the classroom to conduct workshops that are designed after the shows i n their galleries. 104 The workshops consist of two consecutive sessions: the first session is m e a n t t o initiate discussion about identity, memory and authoritarianism through digital l y r e p r o d u c e d i m a g e s o f the artworks beings shown, while the second consis ts of an artistic w o r k s h o p and eventually a walk -through in the museum‘s galleries .105 While this program only lasts one or two days, the museum o f t e n r e p e a t s variations of the program at the school with different groups depending on exhibits and the unit of s t u d y .

While there is no evaluative study that explores the effects of the Museo de Arte y

Memoria‘s school programs, a conjecture may be made that after participating in the program, students may ask more critical questions about their personal relation ship to the dictatorship. According to Ponisio, the museum is one part of an effective strategy for transmitting the past to future generations. The museum help s t o cr e a t e s o c i a l consciousness , w h i c h i s the first step toward p o l i t i c a l action and societal

102 Laura Ponisio, interview by Maryluz Sarmiento Ordoñez , A l e t h i a , 20 November 2009. http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf . 103 Ponisio, —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf . 104 P o n isio, —Sobre el Museo.“ 105 P o n i s i o , — Sobre el Muse o.“

  transformation. 106 She states that she believes there is a connection between the dissemination of information that the museum makes possible and the amount of students who participate f u r t h e r in human rights studies in school or in the Jóvenes y Memoria p r o g r a m . 107 Once these students begin to actively seek out information and participate in human rights programs , they are better able to i d e n t i f y and denounce injustices in their communities . B y the mere nature of such studies and projects in Argentine society, students are c o n v e r t e d i n t o political activists for human rights. This quality makes them better equipped to maintain Argentina‘s democracy in the future.

While El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria‘s scho ol programs differ, their programs‘ premises are the same. Using the visual resources at their disposal, these educational outreach programs bring socio -political issues to light for a generati o n of developing citizens. The museums make connections betwee n art and society and then ask their students to participate in the dialog creatively. Both museums recognize that partnerships with schools, both public and private, provide the museum the best opportunity to fulfill its educational goals. Establishing t ies with the younger generations also benefit the museums by e x p a n d i n g t h e i r f u t u r e audience and foster i n g c u l t u r a l appreciation in the community.

While school programs focus on the students, each museum also provides teachers with programs and educational materials. Both museums provide educators with easily accessed information that may be complimented by an educational program that

106 P o n i s i o , —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf . 107 P o n i s i o , —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf .

  the museum off e r s . Educator programs are designed to showcase the museum‘s potential as a learning resource. El Museo del Barrio hosts o n e s u c h program entitled —M e e t a n d

G r e e t “ to ensure that teachers know when and how they can use the museum ‘s resources .

Meet and Gr eet consists of a series of educator events that function much like a school tour of the museum. These evenings include tours of the permanent and temporary e x h i b i t s , in conjunction with hands -on activities. Instructors are also given incentives for w o r k i ng with the museum through membership discounts and giveaways. 108 P r o v i d i n g teachers in the community with accessible materials and workshops compatible with their curriculum makes the museum‘s educational mission feasible.

The Museo de Arte y Memoria sees itself as an educational resource for teachers and students alike , as well. In conjunction with t h e Comisión, the Museo de Arte y

Memoria places an extensive video library at the disposal of r e s e a rchers, students and e d u c a t o r s that includes the museum‘s own audiovisual productions. Thus far, the museum has recorded important human rights abuse trials, oral histories, interviews with a r t i s t s , and a miniseries, —Secreto y confidencial“ (Secret and Confidential), that looks at p e o p le‘s reactions to material taken from the DIPBA secret police archives. 109

Furthermore, the museum produces CDs with past shows and contextual information specifically for the classroom. 110 El Museo de Arte y Memoria also produces educational dossiers for teac hers in conjunction with t h e C o m i s i ó n . 111 This dossier series, Revista

108 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 49. 109 Ponisio, —Pre s e n t a c i ó n .“; Ponisio, —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf . 110 Ponisio, —Pre s e n t a c i ón .“ 111 Ponisio, —Pre s e n t a c i ó n .“

 

Puentes, features various related themes and is written by t h e Comisión staff and published by the museum every three months. 112

Students have to be aware of issues before they can become interested, informed and involved. Making educational materials readily available to teachers is one way to help ensure that the issues the museums want to a d d r e s s are explored in the classroom.

B o t h El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria th e r e f o r e p ut significant effort into m a k i n g information accessible t o teachers so that their educational programs for the classroom will be implemented .

A w e l l -rounded education department will attempt to reach all of its potential a u d i e n c e s. Thus, both El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria also sponsor particular educational initiatives that are targeted at groups outside of schools. El

Museo del Barrio sponsors a spoken word series, —Speak Up/Speak Out,“ that is targeted at teens and adults. The program asks Latino poets to perform at their events and then encourages the audience to take a turn at the microphone. This program is offered in combination with the program for teens called —Espacio Free with the Peace Poets“ ( F r e e

Space with the P eace Poets), where participants are guided in writing poetry by the local poetry collective, the Peace Poets, and express themselves through spoken word, Hip

Hop, and other arts. 113 El Museo del Barrio also sponsors two book clubs: —Barrio Book

Club“ and —Li broforum.“ The Barrio Book Club discusses books written in English by

Latino authors w h o m t h e m u s eum brings in for live question -a n d -answer segments at each session. —Libroforum“ is specifically intended for Spanish speak ers in el Barrio w h o a r e looking to discuss literature written in Spanish. Both clubs are meant to spark

112 —Investigación y Enseñanza,“ L a C o m i sión Provincial por la Memoria. 113 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 57.

  dialogue and build community. The museum also hosts academic forums like the recent conference on Afro -Latino identity in 2010, and the National Latino Film & Video

F e s t i v a l , which the museum has hosted on several occasions. 114 These program s, w h i c h incorporate aspects of the l i b e r a l a r t s , a l l o w any interested person to benefit from the museum‘s resources. The programs are safe creative outlets that are guided by professionals in various fields and are often free to the public . Through these programs, t h e museum offers unique w a y s to develop intellectual knowledge and creative skills .

This may be especially appealing to low income members of El Barrio who may not be a b l e t o afford to attend an institution of higher learning. I n f a c t , according to Delvalle, these programs are generally well attended, though the museum‘s cultural public events r e m a i n m o s t p o p u l a r .

One such cultural educational initiative that El Museo del Barri o sponsors is a repeating publ ic program called —Super Sábado,“ (Super Saturday). This program incorporates educational activities but is also a venue for entertainment. Super S á b a d o amasses a following of museum regulars by consistently offering the event every third

Saturday of the month. The event is described by the museum as — an all day cultural celebration for all ages ,“ a n d v a r i o u s l y i n c l u d e s concerts, gallery tours, art -m a k i n g workshops, film screenings, storytelling and Spoken Word performances .115 E l M u s e o ensures that the program is accessible by offering free admission and bilingual resources.

The program‘s unique mix of entertainment, hands -on activities and educational c o m ponents for both young people and adults make it appealing to a diverse audience.

114 El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 57; El Museo del Barrio , —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology,“ p. 57. 115 El Museo del Barrio , El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , p. 55.

 

The program has been very successful at getting visitors through El Museo‘s doors, which ultimately maximizes the results of the museum‘s efforts.

The Museo de Arte y Memoria also hosts lectures and workshops that are targeted at the general public. Courses on art or art technique s taught by museum staff or p r o f e s s o r s , usually from the nearby Universidad de La Plata , a r e periodically o f f e r e d through the museum and generally attract older participants. 116 Occasionally, in honor of a special event or conference, the Comisión will offer several lectures, roundtables, and workshops from which attendees may choose. In these cases, t h e Comisión utilizes the museum space and v a r i o u s resources for events that are open to the public. For instance, in 2009, in honor of t h e Comisión‘s tenth anniversary, the Museo de Arte y Memoria held a lecture on the history of public art. A t t e n d i n g a university is free in Argentina, a n d i t i s socially acceptable to attend at any age for any number of years. Therefore, it would s e e m t h a t the incentive for participating in these programs i s n o t about a missed opportunity to learn on a higher level or merely that programs are offered cheaply or f r e e o f c h a r g e . T h e d r a w lies in the museum‘s expertise on the subjects featured most prominently in the programs a n d i t s inimitable resources , which it makes available to a t t e n d e e s . The circumstances being what they are, these programs s e e m t o appeal the m o s t t o , a n d a r e most heavily attended by, intellectuals already invested in the themes w i t h w h i c h the Museo de Arte y Memoria concerns itself. As such, programs the museum sponsors outside of schools do not generally have much of an effect on the Museo de

Arte y Memoria‘s community at large. In this way El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de

Arte y Memoria differ significantly.

116 —Cursos y Talleres,“ El Museo de Arte y Memoria, accessed December 10, 2010, http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/cursostalleres.html .

 

While public programs that promote cultural appreciation and celebration are instrumental aspects of El Museo del Barrio‘s Educatio n and Public Programs

Department, t he Museo de Arte y Memoria does not host programs that promote culture in this way. Although each museum hosts performing arts events , such as film screenings and theatrical performances, El Museo del Barrio takes it further, including concerts, dance performances, parades and parties that celebrate Hispanic culture. 117 Public events like El Museo del Barrio‘s Museum Mile Festival, the Día de los Muertos Celebration, the Three Kings Day Parade, and t he Coquito Tasting Contest, promote tolerance and empowerment while casually educating participants about Hispanic cultural customs. The nature of these events are distinct from El Museo del Barrio‘s school programs or any of the Museo de Arte y Memoria‘s programs, but are still beneficial for the community because they bring people together to celebrate , and experientially learn about, t h e neighborhood‘s cultural heritage. The Museo de Arte y Memoria is not concerned with promoting culture in this way. W hile it uses cultural productions as a means to foster awareness of, and interest in, hu m a n rights issues , promoting cultural awareness and acceptance is not the museum‘s primary concern .

The movements w i t h w h i c h El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y

Memoria are involved can only grow with informed supporters. Thus, education remains a central concern for each museum. Through educational programs the museums teach in a manner that is usually more interactive than lessons in schools a n d tend to serv e m o r e kinesthetic and visual learners than the typical classroom can . W h i l e supplemental to t h e typically offered academic subjects, these museums‘ educational programs often focus on areas of interest t h a t a r e important but left out of school curricula for various reasons .

117 P o n i s i o , —Presentación . “ ; El Museo del Barrio, El Museo del Barrio 2009/2010 , pp. 46 -56 .



Education is also the key to converting the museum space into a more egalitarian institution, a n d t h u s m a k i n g t h e museums more accessible and relevant to a broader range o f p e o p l e . This is desired by socio -politically active museums because they want to create widespread change. El Museo del Barrio‘s range of programs tend s to reach more people a n d i s therefore more effective in this sense than the Museo de Arte y Memoria.

However, the school programs that both museums offer are effe ctive in their o w n w a y s and aid in each museum‘s overall objectives.

Exhibitions

Despite the educational foundations upon which El Museo del Barrio and El

Museo de Arte y Memoria were built, they remain art museums at their core. Keeping i t s educational and political purposes in mind, however, each museum uses its exhibitions as a way to engage audiences intellectually as well as aesthetically. While both institutions originally had a very specific thematic focus, they each h a v e expanded that f o c u s t o better reflect contemporary social dynamics and issues o v e r the years.

El Museo del Barrio has a uniquely democratic approach to creating art exhibits.

A s a staunch supporter of local artists and a champion of Puerto Rican culture , E l M u s e o has historically created exhibits that benefit and represent the community educationally, economically , and politically . I n f a c t , throughout the first decade of i t s existence, the museum‘s vision was almost exclusively local and rooted in Puerto Rican her i t a g e . I t w a s n o t until 1978 that the museum prominently featured artists that were not of Puerto

Rican descent , in response to the changing dynamics in El Barrio and the need for more widespread relevance .118

118 El Museo del Barrio , —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology ,“ pp. 39 -49.



While the museum continues to draw from its P uerto Rican heritage , d u r i n g i t s early stage of development th e m u s e u m was especially interested in e x p l o r i n g t h e m a n y f a c e t s o f Puerto Rican culture f o r i t s exhibits. T h e s e c o n d s h o w t h a t E l M u s e o s p o n s o r e d , The Art of Needlework ( 1 9 7 0 ) , set a precedent for the museum when its c u r a t o r s c h o s e t o feature works that were not traditionally considered to be ”high art‘ because they felt the p a r t i c u l a r needlework pieces were exceptional examples of Boricua c u l t u r e . Su b s e q u e n t e x h i b i t s t h a t w e r e developed based on this reasoning i n c l u d e d knitted, crocheted, embroidered, painted, and graphic works. 119

El Museo del Barrio‘s first large -scale survey exhibition of Puerto Rica n a r t , — T h e

Art Heritage of Puerto Rico : P r e -Colombian to the Present, “ i n 1 9 7 3 , w a s the result of El

Museo‘s collaboration with a n exhibition team from the Metropolitan Museum of Art , and individuals from the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña , the Museo de Antropología,

Historia y Arte de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, a n d L a Colección del Arzobispo de

Puerto Rico .120 The monumental exhibit was shown at both El Museo del Barrio‘s Third

Avenue location and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. At the time , i t w a s a n unprecedented show i n t h e c u ltural history of New York City , a n d c r e a t ed a prestigious association between El Museo del Barrio and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a major cultural institution . 121 Furthermore, the critical acclaim the show garnered lent legitimacy to the neglected a r e a of Latin American art a n d E l M u s e o d e l B a r r i o as a cultural institution.

119 El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “ 120 El Museo del Barrio, —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “ 121 El Museo del Barrio, —Ima ge in the Collective Memory,“ p. 2 2 ; and El Museo del Barrio, —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology,“ p. 43.



El Museo del B a r r i o ‘ s commitment to direct c o m m u n i t y i n v o l v e m e n t t h r o u g h e x h i b i t s has been exemplified with f u l l exhibitions o f a m a t e u r works created by members of El Barrio . In the seventies, shows such as El Arte de la Aguja ( 1 9 7 3 ) , E l B a r r i o -N e w

Y o r k : Our History 1910 -1 9 6 9 (1976), and Children of El Barrio: Artists of the Future

(1976), headlined works by a v e r a g e E l B a r r i o f e m a l e r e s i d e n t s , amateur photographers, and children who had participated in educat ional workshops, respectively. 122 T h e museum has continued to show work by n o n -professional artists as well as overlooked y e t deserving artists throughout the years .123 El Museo del Barrio often features artists that have been unexposed or marginalized in the high art world. For example, wh i l e t h e museum sponsors many exhibits th a t r e p r e s e n t w o m e n a r t i s t s , it also headlines shows that draw special attention to these artists‘ works . Because women have been habitually left out of art history , a n d a r e often still placed at a disadvantage in the art world , El Museo c h o s e t o specially recognize talented women artists . T h e s h o w s Exhibition of Women

A r t i s t s ( 1 9 7 6 ) , Mujeres 9: A Photographi c Exhibition ( 1 9 7 9 -8 0 ) , Three Women/Three

I s l a n d s (1983), and Growing Beyond: Women Artists from Puerto Rico ( 1 9 8 8 ) o p e n l y e x p r e s s a focus on women in the title.

For a brief period, El Museo del Barrio h a d a n A r t i s t s -i n -Residence Program , w h i c h sponsored artists during their professional development . The program a l l o w e d chosen artists to build up their body of work and show at the museum . While there is no longer enough funding to support the Artists -i n -Residence program, t h e m u s e u m s t i l l s u p p o r ts emerging artists , especially those from the New York area, by s e e k i n g t h e m o u t

122 El Museo del Barrio, —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology,“ pp. 39 -48. 123 El Museo del Barrio , —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology,“ pp. 39 -79.


f o r exhibits and purchasing t h e i r w o r k f o r the museum‘s Pe r m a n e n t Co l l e c t i o n .124 T h e c a r eers of many highly successful contemporary a r t i s t s , including Carmen Herrera, Pedro

Osorio, and Raphael Ferrer , gained recognition through El Museo .125 This is one way that the museum feels like it remains relevant within i t s c o m m u n i t y . Susan Devalle summarized it well when she stated, —…there‘s still a pu rpose to what we do here because ultimately, we are supporting artists and we are serving as a platform to showcase what others are not.“ 126

El Museo del Barrio‘s 7,00 0-p i e c e Permanent Collection is a u s e f u l resource for c u r a t o r s .127 The collection closely a l i g n s with the museum‘s mission and has served as a r e s e r v e f r o m w h i c h curators have pulled works throughout El Museo‘s history. H o w e v e r , exhibits featuring Permanent Collection highlights were particularly evident during periods of financial crisis . T h ese otherwise stressful periods were looked upon as o p p o r t u n i t i e s to utilize El Museo‘s collection to its full extent. For example, in 1986 when the museum was under financial investigation, over half of El Museo‘s exhibits were constructed out of works p ulled from the Permanent Collection. 128 W h i l e t h ese lapses in outside temporary exhibits could have been s e e n a s d e t r i m e n t al to the museum‘s reputation, they instead allowed El Museo‘s staff to explore innovative academic avenues with the works they already had. The use of Permanent Collection pieces also r e i n f o r c e d

E l M u s e o ‘ s commitment to Puerto Rican and local New York artists w h o s e w o r k s m a k e up a large portion of the collection.

124 D e l v a l l e , in t e r v i e w with author . 125 Delvalle, i n t e r v i e w with author . 126 D e l v a l l e , in t e r v i e w with author . 127 Delvalle, i n t e r v i e w with author . 128 El Museo del Barrio, —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeli ne and Exhibition Chronology,“ p. 59.

 

The museum also use s its ability to purchase pieces for its Permanent Collection to support local and underrepresented artists. This is evident in i t s o f f i c i a l strategic plan f o r e x p anding the Permanent Collection . The plan states that the museum will d e v e l o p concentrated holdings in areas of Latin American art that are overlooked by other mainstream Latin American art museu ms through research, networking, presenting exhibits, publishing, and programming that will allow the museum to get close to

— s t a k e holders“ in specific areas. 129 T h is collection expansion strategy was complimented b y E l M u s e o ‘ s l a t e s t r e n o v a t i o n , w h i c h included the construction of a P e r m a n e n t

Collection gallery t h a t e n s u r e s rotating works from the Permanent Collection w i l l a l w a y s b e d i s p l a y e d .130 Thus, the museum ‘s heritage, which is evident in the art that belongs in the museum‘s Permanent Collection, will always be represented.

Aside from featuring works rendered in traditionally neglected mediums i n t h e high art world ( e . g . needlework) , and pieces created by underrepresented artists, the museum also uses its exhibits to reinterpret historical period s o r i s s u e s from perspectives that have been marginalized by the dominant narrative. This intention was particularly evident in t he 1974 show Aspectos de la esclavitud en Puerto Rico (Aspects of Slavery in

Puerto Rico). Aspectos de la esclavitud en Puerto Rico was considered by many to be a groundbreaking documentation of slavery a n d A f r o -Puerto Rican heritage. It also sparked debate and controversy. Th e issue of slavery as part of Puerto Ricans‘ heritage had been traditionally ignored . H o w e v e r t h rough this show, the museum was able to , —r e d e f i n e paradigms that explain the effects of colonialism on the process of cultural reproduction,

129 El Museo del Barrio, —Permanent Collection,“ accessed April 4, 2011, http://www.elmuseo.org/en/content/explore -online/permanent -collection/overview . 130 Delvalle, i n t e r v i e w with author .

  historical interpretation, and national identity .“131 T h e s h o w ‘ s historical a d j u s t m e n t g a v e a more accurate and complete picture of many peoples‘ own heritage , and therefore t h e i r identities.

Like El Museo del Barrio, e xhibitions at t he Museo de Arte y Memoria a r e a l s o meant to spark discussion . The Museo de Arte y Memoria v i e w s i t s exhibits as a means t o v o i c e e x c l u d e d , previously silenced narratives in Argentina . More broadly, the museum uses its exhibits to familiarize the public with various aspects of human rights violations, including social, political, economic, familial, and environmental impacts. 132

T h e m u s e u m ‘s foundation and its lineup of shows for the f irst few years of i t s operation were responses t o p o s t -dictatorship preoccupations that had been officially ignored with the laws of impunity .133 Such shows included —Conjuros contra el O l v i d o , “ or —Spells against Frogetting,“ (2002), —”Treinta Mil‘ y ”S e c u e l a ,‘“ or —”Thirty Thousand‘ and ”Sequel,‘ “ (2003), —Buena Memoria ,“ o r —Good Memory,“ (2003), —Muestra

C o l e c t i v a ,“ or —Collective Show,“ (2003), —Manos Anónimos ,“ or —Anonymous Hands,“

( 2 0 0 3 ) , a n d —Arqueología de una Ausencia ,“ or —Arqueology of Absen c e , “ ( 2 0 0 4 ) . Th e m u s e u m e x c lusively exhibited works concerned with such topics up until the retrospective show, —Arte Social Argentino“ in 2005 that included works created as far b a c k a s 1 9 2 0 and unrelated to the most recent dictatorship .134 While the museum continued to focus on the politics surrounding human rights issues, the shows that

131 El Museo del Barrio, —A Collective Vision,“ pp. 19 -20. 132 P o n i s i o , —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf . 133 International Center for Transitional Justice, ACCOUN TABILITY IN ARGENTINA: 20 Years L a t e r , Transitional Justice Maintains Momentum (New York: International Center for Transitional Justice: 2005 ), pp. 3, 8. 134 L a Com isión Provincial por la Memoria, —Mu estras Itinerantes,“ http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/muestras -itinerantes.html .

  followed —Arte Social Argentino“ were thematically varied and included p i e c e s t h a t interpreted subjects aside from the most recent dictatorship. Sh o w s s u c h a s — C u a t r o

Miradas, Cuatro Fotógrafos“ (Four V i s i o n s , Four Photographers) in 2006 , w h i c h c e n t e r e d on contemporary human rights violations within the country‘s prison system, —Heridas y

P r i s i ó n Vantaa“ (Wounds and Vantaa Pris on) in 2007, which reflected up on the lives of former prisoners transitioning back into life on the outside, as well as the exhibit, —Los perros que ladran“ (The Do g s t h a t Ba r k ) i n 2 0 0 8 , which looks at modern -d a y u r b a n v i o l e n c e , r e f l e c t e d t h e m u s e u m ‘ s b r o a d e n i n g perspective .135 T h i s d i v e r sification even included shows that explored the question of human rights outside of the country , s u c h a s the exhibit —Memoria y olvido de la guerra civil de España“ (2007).

However, the most recent dictatorship has been a reoc curring theme since the m u s e um‘s first exhibits . While Argentina‘s state terrorism took place two decades before the Museo de Arte y Memoria was founded, the repercussions from this period of violence were, and still are, strongly felt by Argentina‘s citizens. Addressing and a c c u r a t e ly representing this period therefore remains a relevant job for the m u s e u m . T h e artist and art museum‘s respective roles include determining w h a t e v e n t s should be retold and remembered. I n contemporary Argentina th i s m e a n s highlighting aspects of the past that have been neglected. Exhibits like —Conjuros contra el olvido“ (Spells Against

Forgetting) e x p o s e d c u l p a b le persons and parties , including the s t a t e , a n d i n s e r t e d previously unknown or unpublicized facts, testimonies , and evidence into the dominant n a r r a t i v e through artistic representations .136 As Florencia Battiti notes in her review o f

135 L a C o misión Provincial por la Memoria —Muestras Itinerantes .“ 136 La Comisión por la M e m o r i a , —Memoria de exhibiciones realizadas en el museo , “ a ccessed April 4, 2011 , http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/historial_muestras_por_a%C3%B1o . h t m l .

 

—Conjuros contra el olvido,“ the first exhibit that the Museo de Arte y Memoria mounted, the show was an appropriate response to the p e r i o d .

We live in an era in which discourses abound about the need to remember the horrors of t h e past in order to avoid their repetition. However, this dispute over what to remember, what to forget and, above all, how to give meaning to memories, always obeys a selection which involves taking an ethical and political position. It is in this sense that the specific work s o f artists that revisit the past open a space for interpretations that function together in a plot against forgetting. 137

While reflecti ons on the last dictatorship are still relevant in m o d e r n d a y

Argentina, the museum e x p a n d e d i t s f o c u s t o t h e universal theme of human right s i n order to be m o r e p e r t i n e n t o v e r t i m e . In recent years, the museum has demonstrated i t s commitment to a variety of issues related to human rights . The shows offer a range of m e d i u m s : photography, painting, even declassified documents from t h e f o r m e r headquarters o f the secret police t h a t were active throughout the twe ntieth century in

A r g e n t i n a .138 These works are presented as reflections and messages construed by the a r t i s t . Y e t the museum helps to ensure that , through tours and display, the a u d i e n c e i s m a d e t o think, question, and connect with what i t s e e s. For the Comisión por la

M e m o r i a , this type of a n a l y s i s is a key aspect of i t s w o r k .

The Museo de Arte y Memoria is actively engaged in politics and uses its exhibits to support and promote its point of view. For instance, t he exhibit, —Imágenes Robadas,

Imágenes Recuperadas “ (Stolen Images, Recuperated Images), produced by the museum in collaboration with Helen Zout and mounted early on in the museum‘s existence in

137 Florencia Battiti, —Conjuros contra el olvido,“ Página 12, January 28, 2003. —Vivimos una época en la que abundan los discursos sobre la necesidad no olvidar los horrores del pasado así evitar que se repitan. Sin embargo, la disputa sobre qué reco rdar, qué olvidar y, sobre todo, qué sentido otorgarle a los recuerdos, obedece siempre a una selección que implica una toma de posición ética y política. Es en este sentido que el trabajo especifico de los artistas que revisitan el pasado abre un espacio de interpretaciones que actúa como una conjura contra el olvido.“ 138 L a Comisión Provincial por la Memoria. http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/archivo/ .

 

2004, utilize d p h o t o g r a p h s taken by spying secret policemen who never intended to e x h i b i t t h e m .139 Not only was this exhibit challenging our perception of what may be considered art, it was also a political statement. The show provided visual evidence o f t h e secret police‘s underground and illicit system by supplying documents that displayed a strong connection bet ween the stalking of police suspects and disappearances. I n a similar manner, the museum‘s first exhibit —Conjuros contra el olvido“ e x h i b i t e d documents taken from the DIPBA archive where t h e s e c r e t po l i c e f i l e d p h o t o s t h a t

—f o c u s [ e d ] on the faces, bodies, movements, belongings, locations, and lives of thousands of men and w omen throughout half a century. “140 T h e Museo de Arte y Memoria p r e s e n t e d t h e p h o t o s in ways that their original purpose was inverted , focusing instead on t h e humanity of the subjects and the contexts in which th e photos were taken. 141 T h r o u g h these visual mementos, the Disappeared rec l a i m their identities. Distinct from how t h e y were originally interpreted, the museum‘s website claims that the s e i m a g e s ,

P r e s e r v ed feelings that legitimize vulnerable memories. Because in the end, these photographic documents are also a registry of dreams, defeats and the struggles of various generations .142

T h e s h o w was said to have incited —active participation from the spectator “ from whom it sought political support. 143 By giving the public access to t hese photos , the exhibit c r e a t e d a way for the na tion to identify actors in i t s past and for individuals to piece

139 CTA Provincia d e Buenos Aires , accessed December 14, 2010 , http://www.buenosaires.cta.org.ar/article1576.html . 140 L a Com isión Provincial por la Memoria, —Muestras Itinerantes,“ accessed December 10, 2010, http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/muestras -itinerantes.html . —el foco en los rostros, los cuerpos, los andares, las pertenencias, los lugar es, las vidas de miles de hombres y mujeres durante más de medio siglo .“ 141 CTA Provincia de Buenos Aires ; —Muestras Itinerantes,“ La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria. 142 L a Comisión Provincial por la Memoria . —Sentidos guardados que permiten legitimar m e m o r i a s vulnerables. Porque en fin, estos documentos fotográficos son también el registro de los sueños, las derrotas y las luchas de varias generaciones. “ 143 Battiti, —Conjuros, p. 1. —…participación activa por parte del espectador.“

  together their own histories. Battiti asserts in her review of —Con juros contra el olvido,“ t h a t the photos operate d —as a sounding board…inviting the spectator to make conjectures “ and come to terms with the past. 144

These shows, while d i v e rg e n t from typical art exhibits, were w a r r a n t e d r e s p o n s e s to the contemporary political environment. Up until 2005, a lack of criminal trials continued to allow the perpetrators from the period of state terrorism to live unpunished among the Argentine population .145 I t w a s n o t u n t i l June of that y e a r t h a t the Argentine

Supreme Court declared the laws of impunity that had already been repealed in 1998 under Presiden t M e n e m a s unconstitutional .146 The trials had n o t y e t b e g u n w h e n t h e museum reacted to these events with an exhibit t h a t put pressure on the situ a t i o n .

Through this show, the museum appealed to the public to revisit the past for the sake of the present. The exhibit attracted the public‘s attention and furthered popular support to push for the trials. Through the use of s o c i o -p o l i t i c a l l y conscientious s h o w s , t h e M u s e o de Arte y Memoria had converted itself into

A powerful weapon of subversi on that deconstructs the officia l discourse in the newspapers and magazines in order to generate another discourse… that insists on exposing that which s o c i e t y still prefers to hide. 147

B o t h El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria sponsor exhibits outside of their primary buildings . Each museum curate s shows that later t r a v e l to various l o c a t i o n s . The Museo de Arte y Memoria has worked with La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria to put on shows in the Comisión‘s headquarters , while El Museo del Barrio

144 Battiti, —Conjuros ,“ p. 1 . —como una caja de resonancia… invitando al espectador a hilvanar conjeturas.“ 145 Battiti, —Conjuros, “ p. 1. 146 "Argentina‘s Truth Commission." TRIAL: Argentina . TRIAL, 12 Oct. 2010. h t t p : / / w w w . t r i a l - ch.org/index.php?id=945&L=5 . 147 Battiti, —Conjuros ,“ p. 1. —Una poderosa herramienta de subversión que deconstruye el discurso ”oficial de diarios y revistas para crear otro discurso…se obstina en desenmascarar aquello que la sociedad todavía prefiere ocultar.“

 has historically curated or collaborated on shows in various New York venues other than i t s o w n . 148 Furthermore, El Museo del Ba rrio has sponsored a n o u t d o o r s c u l p t u r e e x h i b i t that spread across Central Park and into i t s o w n c o u r t y a r d e n t i t l e d —Art Across the Park “ a n d , in conjunction with another event, The Site/Studio/Street Festival, has o f f e r e d o f f - site projects that highlight cultural creativity in El Barrio through a map of murals, artists‘ studios , and cultural centers .149 Traveling shows make up the Museo de Arte y

M e m o r i a ‘ s Permanent Collection, which it loans out by complete exhibit, in order to reach a wider audience. 150 The museum therefore attempts to find artists that are willing to donate works of high quality to its shows a n d Permanent Collection. 151 Works in the

P e r m a n e nt Collection are loaned out to various organizations, some local and others more distant, that are in accordance with the museum‘s mission.

Using art exhibitions , the basis for the institution‘s existence, El Museo del Barrio is able to contribute to s o c i o -p o l i t i c a l causes. This is not unlike the Museo de Arte y

M e m o r i a , which relies h e a v i l y on its exhibitions to support and promote issues that i t s mission deems important and relevant. Often local in scope, exhibits sponsored by these institutions also support artists in their communities. El Museo del Barrio concerns itself with providing financial support for the local economy through direct purchases from

New York artists, or by att racting visitors to the neighborhood with interesting shows a n d encouraging further exploration of the area . The Museo de Arte y Memoria supports a broader locale, sponsoring artists who are activists in the human rights community,

148 El Museo del B a r r i o , —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology ,“ pp . 39 -79. 149 El Museo del Barrio , —El Museo del Barrio 1969 -2004 Institutional Timeline and Exhibition Chronology ,“ pp. 53, 73. 150 La Comisión por la Memoria, — Muestras Itinerantes .“ 151 P o n i s i o , —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf .

 especially in Argentina. P a t r o n a g e on the part of each museum e m p o w e r s t h e artists in their communities, which in turn, encourages arts appreciation and free speech. E l

Museo del Barrio prioritizes education through its exhibits and Permanent Collection a s a means to improve so cial and economic inequality. I t is also concerned with the politics of memory and identity as they affect the marginalization of the Latino population . T h e m u s e u m therefore it uses exhibits to legitimize Latin American culture and heritage. T h e

M u s e o d e Arte y Memoria places its priority on exhibits as a means to create political a w a r e n e s s a b o u t social inequalit ies and Human Rights violations . Both museums see their exhibitions as aesthetic resource s for constituents to learn from and reflect upon.

While each museum has slightly differing objectives, El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Mem oria both use their art and e x h i b i t i o n s in order to further their socio - p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t i v e s .

Physical location, design, aesthetic

A building‘s physical l ocation, design and aesthetic hold significant symbolic meanings. According to Silvia Tandeciarz in Citizens of Memory: Refiguring the Past in

Postdictatorship Argentina :

a city‘s architecture is really a mechanism of storing concepts, values, norms, inst ructions, and memories and simultaneously a cognitive mechanism that orients us and takes us by the hand automatically , w i t h o u t making us conscious of that stored programming… 152

A s s o c i o -political institutions, El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria u s e t h e i r physical presence strategically to further their independent missions. T h e placement and design of El Museo del Barrio was chosen in order to gain cultural and political legitimacy. The Museo de Arte y Memoria‘s choice o f l o c a tion and construction

152 Tandeciarz, —Citizens o f M e m o r y ,“ p. 166.

 serves as a physical reminder of the past while associating the museum with other important contemporary f i n e art institutions .

El Museo del Barrio considers its location in New York City to be a k e y contributing factor to i t s i d e n t i t y . El Museo del Barrio emphasizes its New York c o n n e c t i o n b e c a u s e i t believes that it is this association that s e t s i t a p a r t from other Latin

American art institutions :

What makes us unique is that we‘re in New York. New York was a driving force for so many different disciplines, but beyond that styles, genres of art; the interaction between Latino artists here in the city, but also the interaction between them and non -Latino artists. We feel that that should remain the focus of our collection: th at it‘s New York based. 153

Y e t h o u s i n g El Museo del Barrio in New York , where it would be appreciated in El

B a r r i o , as well as in the rest of the city, proved to be a challenge in its early years . T h e e a r l y buildings that served as impermanent homes for El Museo were ch o s e n f o r t h e i r practicality and did not yet reflect the museum‘s ideal self image. O r i g in a l l y , E l M u s e o ‘ s offices were l o c a t e d in an old classroom in PS 125. As the result of a citywide reorganization of scho ol districts , t h e m u s e u m m o v e d t o P S 2 0 6 , where it had already been presenting shows . T hi s location also proved to be impermanent, and El Museo del

Barrio subsequently worked out of —a series of storefro nts and brownstones “ f o r m a n y y e a r s . 154 S u c h humble beginnings put the museum on a very relatable level for community outreach. However, in relation to the whole of New York City, the museum‘s placement within El Barrio continued to marginalize the museum and the c u l t u r e it represented. Seemingly i naccessible in buildings that were not really its own within El Barrio, the museum‘s subsequent move to F i f t h Avenue struck a compromise

153 Delvalle, i n t e r v i e w with author . 154 El Museo del Barrio , —EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY. “


between El Barrio and the rest of New York. Although still far uptown, the current location of El Museo del Barrio on — Museum Mile“ v i s i b l y and conceptually a l i g n s t h e m u s e u m with other major institutions , t h e r e b y implying that it is just as culturally important. The more visible location also helps publicize the museum a n d d r a w m o r e visitors to the institution. However, it has been, and continues to be, a challenge for the museum to change the perception of where the museum is in order for i t s p o t e n t i a l audience to consider i t accessible. 155

The appearance s o f t h e museum‘s original buildings w e r e nothing extraordin a r y and certainly did not attest to the significance or preciousness of what was inside. In comparison with other cultural institutions in the city housed in grand buildings, El

Museo‘s site did no t demand very much respect from the general populace. Even w i t h t h e move to the p r o m i n e n t Heckscher Building on F i f t h Avenue, the museum building still d i d n o t completely provoke t h e type of reaction that El Museo del Barrio‘s staff and community desired. 156 As Susan Delvalle explained in our interview, El Museo d e l

Barrio wanted i t s home base to exude the l egitimacy and importance that it a n d i t s c r i t i c s f e l t that the museum‘s exhibitions signified :

…we were doing rave and great projects and people were giving us rave reviews, but you were literally walking with that New York Times review and walking into the building going, ”Is this it? Can‘t be it. This can‘t be it.‘ And now that‘s been changed. Now when you walk in you say, ”This is it!‘ It‘s much more reflective of the quality work that we do. 157

T h e m o s t r e c e nt renovation on the Heckscher building‘ s façade between 2008 and

2 0 0 9 highlights El Museo‘s desire to be welcoming . According to El Museo‘s director at t h e t i m e of the museum‘s renovation, Julián Zugazagoitia , the glass façade was meant to

155 Delvalle, interview with author . 156 D e l v a l l e , interview with author. 157 D e l v a l l e , interview with author .

 

—… allow for more engagement with the community, of course, but also with people who are not Latinos (Figure 10). “158 C l e a r l y , El Museo del Barrio took its audience into consideration throughout the renovation process and especially when considering its new i n t e r i o r . Due to the n o n -traditional museum visitors who make up a good portion of the museum‘s regular audience, El Museo c h o s e to sacrifice some of its gallery space for the sake of public programming. T h e newly renovated museum has only two small galleries : one for its perm anent collection a n d the other for temporary exhibits. Furthermore, t h e m u s e u m ‘ s art galleries are located on the viewer‘s periphery and are not immediately noticeable upon entering the museum post -renovation. The galleries s i t c l e a r l y , b o l d l y a n d b r i g h t ly lit, yet ironically pushed aside to the far left part of the space (Figure 12) .

Th e T i e n d a , the museum‘s gift shop, a n d C a f é are located in an equivalent space on the opposite end. Th e s p a c e t h a t i s immediately presented in front of a new arrival , h o w e v e r , i s a l a r g e , open area designated for public events t h a t leads into the auditorium . T h u s t h e allocation of space and the interior‘s design both indicate t h a t public programming is El

Museo‘s priority over its exhibitions .159 T h e d e c i s i o n to structure the museum in this w a y was based on evidence showing that popular public programming initially attracts visitors into the museum for events where the visitors o f t e n then end up touring the galleries as well. 160

It is clear that the museum is responding to what is popular within the community a n d adjusting accordingly. However, E l M u s e o r e m a i n s first and foremost an art m u s e u m . Public programming motivate s all kinds of people to visit El Museo, even those

158 María Vega, —The walls will come down at El Museo del Barrio,“ New York Daily News , May 27, 2008., accessed April 5, 2011, http://www.nydailynews.com/latino/2008/05/28/2008 -05 - 28_the_wall s_will_come_down_at_el_museo_del -2.html . 159 Delvalle, interview with author. 160 D e l v a l l e , interview with author.

  who may not feel like they belong in an art museum. Yet, once there, a surprising number o f visitors will a l s o walk through the galleries . This signifies that El Museo h a s a comfortable atmosphere . While outreach and free entry are major factors in sustaining a base audience, comfort is a ke y aspect of converting non -traditional museum goers into regular attendees . N o n -traditional museum visitors need to feel as if they belong, or can belong, in the gallery. El Museo del Barrio constructed itself to facilitate the sense of community it wish es to foster outside of its walls . Contrary to the elitism associated with traditional art museums, El Museo del Barrio stresses that th e space is meant for everyone. While s mall galleries may seem to deemphasize the importance of exhibits to

El Mueso, th ey serve a purpose in providing visitors with a sense of security a n d c o n f i d e n c e . V iewers are not overwhelmed by the amount of space to conquer , a n d t h i s a l l o w s v i s i t o r s t o feel more comfortable taking their time reflecting on, and learning from, the pieces on display. This is a strategy that the Museo de Arte y Memoria also employs, perhaps even more consciously.

T h e M u s eo de Arte y Memoria t o o k o v e r the former h o u s e o f the Comisión‘s director at the time, Estela Carlotto, in the middle of the city of La Plata ( F i g u r e 1 1 ).161

T h e m u s e u m m a i n t a i n s the atmosphere o f a family home because of the building‘s i n t e r i o r l a y o u t ( F i g u r e s 1 3 a n d 1 4).162 A d o m e s t i c space establishes a compact, intimate and secure place to reflect. The familial feeling is something the museum sought in design even more tha n El Museo del Barrio , due to the sensitive subject matter that is central to the museum‘s mission. In fact, in i t s exhibition program for Artistas Plásticas

161 Ponisio, —Entrevista a Laura Ponisio,“ http://www.aletheia.fahce.unlp.edu.ar/numeros/numero1/pdfs/Sarmiento%20Ordnez - Aletheia%20vol%201.%20N1.pdf . 162 L a C o m i s i ó n P rovincial por la Memoria, —Informe de gestión 2002,“ accessed April 5, 2011, http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/comision.php?a=20 .

 

S o l i d a r i o s , produced in September of 2009, the first page‘s text begins with a bold title that reads, —Bienvenidos a ca s a “ which translate s t o —Welcome to o u r h o u s e “ o r

—Welcome home.“ 163

W h i l e in many ways the museum‘s gallery space is quite comfortable , in keeping with the museum‘s original purpose, its architecture simultaneously carries unsettling reminders of Argentina‘s last military dictatorship . The fact that the museum is located i n a n a v e r a g e family home m a y r e m i n d v i s i t o r s t h a t t h e m a j o r i t y o f v i o l e n c e during the military dictatorship took place in d o m e s t i c s e t t i n g s . 164 —Subversives“ were violently kidnapped from their homes at all hours of the day and night. 165 Furthermore, m a n y detention camps where torture and mass murder took pl ace were located in confiscated, converted homes ( F i g u r e s 1 5 a n d 1 6).166 The military saw the ir victims‘ p r o p e r t y , including houses, as war booty to be taken for personal or governmental use. Sometimes the military woul d boldly usurp the homes of desaparecido s, without even feigning legality, though on occasion a desaparecido w o u l d b e forced to sign over ownership to t h e i r h o m e .167 Ma n y d e s p e r a t e families sold their homes to pay government officials or p r i v a t e investigators to find their loved ones. 168 Houses are also r e m i n d e r s o f t h e dictatorship‘s —Grand Argentine Family “ m e t a p h o r . This metaphor was utilized in the military government‘s rhetoric t o c l a i m that the —Father -S t a t e “ h a d inalienable rights over the physical and moral fate of its citizens. The government equated t h e s t a t e w i t h a

Christian nuclear family w i t h rebellious children who represented a potential threat to the

163 Museo de Arte y Memoria, —Artistas Plásticas Solidari os,“ (La Plata, Museo de Arte y Memoria: 2009), 1. 164 Marguerite Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 156. 165 Marguerite Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 164. 166 Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ pp. 166 -7, 175 -7. 167 Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ pp. 168 -9. 168 Feitlowitz, —The House of the Blind,“ p. 164.

  n a t i o n -f a m i l y . T h e s t a t e implored Argentine parents t o watch their children, running campaigns that stated, —Do you know where your child is now?“ 169 While such c o n n e c t i o n s may elude a younger generation, the older audience that lived during the period in question would draw s u c h c o m p a r i s o n s spontaneously .

Visually subtle, the exterior of the m u s e u m has only a small sign by the door announcing its presence ( F i g u r e 1 1 ). The building camouflages itself into the urban l a n d s c a p e a n d o n e d o e s not realize the museum‘s presence until u p o n i t s front entrance.

T h i s strategy, while a bit counterintuitive for an institution that wants to attract the public, reminds the spectator of the museum‘s strongest political focus (the most recent military dictatorship) by working aesthetically like m a n y former concentration camps . T h e s e concentration camps blended into their surroundings unnoticed ( F i g u r e 1 7 ).170 Ad d i n g t o t h i s effect is the museum‘s location , w h i c h i s removed from busy streets and plazas.

Y e t t he museum‘s position across from the Tea tro Argentino de La Plata, the city‘s performance theater, i ndicates a strong connection with the arts as it aligns w i t h another important community arts center. Therefore, although seemingly placed on the periphery, the symbolism of the museum‘s location near a valued and prestigious artistic center signifies the museum‘s w o r t h within the community.

It is important t o keep in mind, however, that a museum relates to its space differently than other types of cultural architecture . As Laura Ponisio stated in her lecture a b out the Museo de Arte y Memoria:

…the museum is constantly redefining itself. A defining characteris t i c i s the physical space it occupies: one cannot treat it as in other cases as a memorial site. This is a house in the central zone of the city, with

169 Naila Kabeer, e t a l , —Introduction: Reversing the Gaze,“ in Global Perspectives of Gender Equality: Reversing the Gaze , ed. Naila Kabee r, Edda Magnus and Agneta Stark ( O x f o r d : Rout l e d g e , 2007) , p. 9. 170 Feitlowitz, — T h e House of the B lind,“ p. 165.

 

determined conditions that make it suitable for what we utilize it for…Here what is valuable is not the l ocation itself, but rather what we now do here. What we do, in principle, is generate space for certain artists and certain works that we believe fulfill the objectives of the Commission for Memory and the museum. 171

Each museum‘s p l a c e m e n t and architectural elements , while seemingly arbitrary, c o n v e y specific and deliberate m e s s a g e s r e l a t e d t o the museum‘s various objectives . T h e placement of a building indicates the relationship t h a t t h e organization occupying it has w i t h i t s c o m m u n i t y , a s well as its status compared to other significant landmarks in the a r e a . For El Museo del Barrio, the museum‘s location has been the target of a particularly politically charged debate within the El Barrio community and the museum i t s e l f a s i t s t r u g g l e s to continue to represent El Barrio while also establishing itself as a m o r e widely appealing and prestigious institution . El Museo‘s appearance has also changed over time to convey a sentiment of inclusivity and also mainstream legitimacy.

T h e M u s e o de Arte y Memoria‘s placement and aesthetic is symbolically significant i n that it maintains c ertain characteristics that remind the viewer of ex detention centers. Its l o c a t i o n was less of a deliberate choice than El Museo del Barrio‘s, but the Museo de

Arte y Memoria is still a y o u n g institution. Unlike El Museo del Barrio, it has not had the benefit of as much time to accumulate funds in order to renovate the building or u p r o o t t h e m u s e u m to a new location. However , t h e Museo de Arte y Memoria d i d c h o ose to retain many aspects of the original family home, which consciously aligned the space with other important themes that it means to highlight for visitor s. The size and

171 Ponisio, —Sobre el Museo.“ —…el museo es algo que se está resinificando continuamente. Pero también por una característica definitoria del espacio físico que ocupa: no se trata, como en otros casos, de un sitio memorial. Esta es una casa en la zona céntrica de la ciudad, con determinadas condiciones que la hacen apta para la final a la cual la utilizamos, pero podría tratarse de otra. Aquí lo que vale no es el lugar en sí, con las memoria s directamente asociadas a él, sino lo que hacemos en el lugar. Y lo que hacemos, en principio, es generar espacios para determinados artistas y determinadas obras, que creemos trascendente mostrar en función de los objetivos de la Comisión y el Museo.“

  s t r u c t u r e both of the museums‘ galleries creates the atmosphere and ultimately th e k i n d of experience that the visitor will ha v e . While the museum is constantly redefining its relationship to the space it occupies , its physical presence always contributes something to the public‘s perception of the museum based on the notion that architectural choices communicate meaning.

Conclusions

It is true that , upon first glance, El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y

Memoria are completely different in m o s t respects. Neither i s s i m i l a r i n aesthetic, l o c a t i o n , n u m b e r o f y e a r s i n o p e r a t i o n , o r thematic focus . However, upon further investigation, it has become clear that these two museums are very much alike in t h e i r methods for combating s o c i o -p o l i t i c a l i n j u s t i c e s . This study has made evident the various ways in which art museums may also be activists in their communities. Contrary t o t h e elitist stigma that art museums carry, these two museums work to remain useful i n their surrounding communities on educational, p olitical, cultural and economic l e v e l s .

This study specifically looks at art museums, but it would be interesting to see if other kinds of museums operate similarly within their communities. I f s o , f u r t h e r c o m p a r i s o n s may illuminate which kind of museum is most often involved with and in i t s c o m m u n i t y , a n d w i t h what degree of success . It would also be beneficial t o h a v e comprehensive evaluations of each museum‘s programs. While it is clear that El Museo del Barrio and the Museo de Arte y Memoria each implement various strategies to a c h i e v e t h e i r s o c i o -political goals, it would be interesting to more thoroughly investigate the programs‘ effects on community members and society. Though informed guesses may be made, at the moment, no such comprehensive studies exist.



There are many ways in which a museum can be an activist , and this study only addresses a few . Popular forms of activism, such as attempts to ”revive‘ areas by employing the so -called ”Guggenheim effect,‘ which establishes cultural institutions in an otherwise downtrodden neighborhood in order to attract investors and visitors , have been attempted with many fine arts museums . This form of economic activism is o f t e n e m p l o y e d a n d many times, its construction is where the museum‘s outreach ends. In r e cent years, fine art museums‘ depart ments for education have come to be more valued and utilized . This would seem to indicate activism on an educational level , yet the quality of programming and outreach to potential participants must also be intensive i n o r d e r t o f u n c t i o n successfully . As always, art museums are focused on exhibits that contribute to the academic field, and can sometimes be beneficial for the community. H o w e v e r , m a n y fine arts museum s fluctuate between activist art and art for art‘s sake in their galleries.

L a s t l y , t he architecture and placement of cultural institutions nearly always represents what the museum aspires to e v o k e in the mind of the average viewer . A museum‘s structure also s e t s u p the visitor‘s experience. H o w e v e r , El Museo del Barrio and the

M u s e o d e A rte y Memoria differ from some art museums in that they use their phy si c a l s t r u c t u res not only to influence the aesthetic experience of the visitor , but also to create a n i m p a c t o n a sociopolitical l e v e l . I n f a c t , museums concerned with specific sociopolitical problems combat their chosen issue on multiple fronts, using not only structural design and aesthetic, but also exhibits and programming that is educational .

T h u s , w h i l e m a n y institutions participate in some form of activism, the intentional and central concentration on addressing specific socio -p o l i t i c a l i s s u e s makes El Museo del Barrio and El Museo de Arte y Memoria e x e m p l a r y activist art museums. Wh i l e i t i s

 highly likely that many museums are involved in a t l e a s t one of these basic activist areas , we must consider the v a r y i n g d e g r e e of involvement and the activist initiatives ‘ relationship s to the museum‘s primary goals . Due to the sheer number of other museums that would have to be investigated i n o r d e r t o c o n f i r m o r deny the existence of a significant t r e n d o f a c t i v i s t art museums, my study only suppose s that the two museums represented here are not alone in their endeavors .

The museum‘s role in its community has never been more dynamic and significant than it is in the present. There is a lot of potential in culture to create socio - political change , a n d i t will be interesting to see if the activist art museum model will p e r s i s t o r e v e n appear more frequently in the future.



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Ima g e s

F i g u r e 1 El Museo del Barrio VivirLatino, —Archive for May 22, 2008,“ http://vivirlatino.com/2008/05/22 .

F i g u r e 2 Location of El Museo del Barrio on Museum Mile and the edge of East Harlem (A M a r k e r ) Courtesy of Google maps.

 

F i g u r e 3 Location of the Museo de Arte y Memoria (9 between 51 and 53). Courtesy of Google maps.

F i g u r e 4 The Museo de Arte y Memoria La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, —El Museo. Galería de fotos,“ http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/el -m u s e o -galeria.html .

 

F i g u r e 5 Parque por la memoria P h o t o b y a u t o r

F i g u r e 6 Excavation site at Club Atlético Silvia Tandeciarz. —Citizens of Memory: Refiguring the past in Postdictatorship Argentina.“ Modern Language Association of America 122 (2007): 160.



F i g u r e 7 The Tucumán Arde show CGT (Confederación General de Trabajo), —Tucumán Arde Argentina, 1969 ,“ http://www.concentric.net/~lndb/padin/lcpgal3a.htm .

F i g u r e 8 El Museo del Barrio‘s original logo El Museo del Barrio, EL MUSEO‘S HISTORY , http://www.elmuseo.org/en/explore - online/timeline/1970s .



Fi g u r e 9 El Museo del Barrio‘s current logo Harlem World: The Guide for Living and Experiencing Harlem, http://harlemworldblog.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/ny -h i s t o r i c a l -s o c i e t y -a n d -e l -m u s e o - d e l -b a r r i o -j o i n -f o r c e s / .

F i g u r e 1 0 El Museo del Barrio entrance and courtyard renovation plan White Wall Contemporary Art and Lifestyle Magazine, —El Museo del Barrio http://www.whitewallmag.com/2009/06/30/el -m u s e o -d e l -b a r r i o / .



F i g u r e 1 1 Façade of Museo de Arte y Memoria La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, —El Museo. Galería de fotos,“ http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/el -m u s e o -galeria.html .

F i g u r e 1 2 El Museo del Barrio lobby facing th e entrance (galleries located on the far right i n t h e i m a g e ) Arts Build NY, —Images for El Museo del Barrio,“ http://architecture.nyc - arts.org/projects/slides?project_id=31&si=3&architect=Gruzen+Samton&page=1 .



F i g u r e 1 3 Upper level i nterior of the Museo de Arte y Memoria La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, —El Museo. Galería de fotos,“ http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria / e l -m u s e o -galeria.html .

F i g u r e 14 Ground level interior of the Museo de Arte y Memoria La Comisión Provincial por la Memoria, —El Museo. Galería de fotos,“ http://www.comisionporlamemoria.org/museodearteymemoria/el -m u s e o -galeria.html .

 

F i g u r e 1 5 Ruins of a house converted into a detention center during the dictatorship in the Buenos Aires Province of Argentina Photo courtesy of Sarah Peyton.

F i g u r e 1 6 Ruins of a house converted into a detention center during the dictatorship in Tandil, A r g e n t i n a Photo courtesy of Sarah Peyton

 

F i g u r e 1 7 Image from the film, Garage Olimpo portraying a detention center based on real e x a m p l e s Amy Kaminsky, —Cinema of Witness,“ http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc48.2006/GarageOlimpo/Olimpo2.html .