Student Exhibitions

Three times a year, the Museum's Courtyard Gallery houses student exhibitions of art produced as part of several programs from the Education Department and Yollocalli Arts Reach. For information on current exhibitions, please contact us at 312-433-3941.

In The Classroom

Arte Ambulante

The National Museum of Mexican Art offers a variety of hands-on art activities and lectures for students, teachers, and groups of all ages. These traveling workshops are designed to enhance the art and cultural learning experiences and expose participants to a wide selection of Mexican art making techniques. The fee for each workshop includes all materials for the hands-on art activity and a presentation of historical background on the origin and significance of each activity. Select one of our workshop and lectures, or customize your own with a teaching artist by calling (312) 433-3941 (Please call and ask about our temporary exhibitions and workshops.)

Workshops :

•  Masks

•  Papel Amate painting

•  Calavera puppets

•  Mexican Pottery

•  Mayan and Aztec Codices

•  Huichol Yarn Art

•  Metepec Suns

•  Retablos and Ex-votos

•  Tree of Life

•  Papel Picado

•  Day of the Dead Ofrendas and Altares

•  Mural

Lectures :

•  Day of the Dead

•  African Presence In Mexico

•  Mexican History and Independence: A struggle for democracy

•  Mexican Muralists: Los Tres Grandes

School Partnerships

Day of the Dead School Partnership

Each year, a Chicago Public School is invited to participate in our annual Día de los muertos exhibition. A selected group of students, teachers and parents work collaboratively with Museum staff to create their own ofrenda or installation to be displayed as part of the exhibition. All students are invited to visit the museum, tour the exhibition, and use Museum space to organize a special school-museum event.

Talcott Fine Arts & Museum Academy Partnership

The National Museum of Mexican Art is a proud partner of the only Fine Arts and Museum Academy in the Chicago Public Schools. Museum Educators provide specific Museum Education services and resources to Talcott students and assists teachers in maximizing and enhancing their students' museum learning experience.

School-granted Cultural Partnerships

Our Education Department also works closely with schools that receive grants to participate in artistic and cultural activities. Museum educators and resident artists can work with one or several classrooms or grades over a short or long period of time. Fees vary by group size, session duration, and materials.

AARTEE

The Academics and Art Together for Effective Education (AARTEE) program is an after school collaboration of the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum, the Chicago Public School's Office of Language and Cultural Education and CPS Bilingual Parent Resource Center. The weekly after-school program is implemented in three schools: Lazaro Cárdenas School, Cooper Dual Language Academy and Perez Elementary, all located in the Pilsen/ Little Village neighborhoods. The goal of AARTEE is to enhance art, literacy and cultural education through an interdisciplinary Arts curriculum.

MAPS

The Museums and Public Schools program is a partnership with the Museums in the Park (MIP) and Chicago Public Schools (CPS). MAPS integrates museum resources and inquiry-based instruction with the Illinois State Learning Standards. For participating schools, the program involves attending teacher and principal professional development sessions, incorporating the MAPS curriculum into the general curriculum, taking field trips to partner museums, and participating in other additional support activities.

At the NMMA, the MAPS curriculum is designed for sixth grade and includes exciting and interesting lessons on Corn and the Mexican Culture.

To find out more, please call (773) 553-1930.

At Yollocalli Teen Studio