A Message from the Director
Mexic-Arte Museum Begins Its 42nd Year!
On July 18, 1984, Mexic-Arte Museum was incorporated. 2025 will mark the 42nd anniversary of its founding. Mexic-Arte Museum is one of the few institutions in the United States dedicated to preserving and presenting exhibitions and programs focusing on Mexican American and Latinx art and culture.
We are proud of our accomplishments, which include serving thousands of students in the schools; producing major exhibitions that have featured both local and international artists; providing internships and training in the arts administration and museum fields; offering programs such as the Mero Muro and the Changarrito Artists Residency; and creating a permanent collection that includes local and regional artists as well as a special library collection. Austin now has major community events like Viva la Vida festival and parade (the annual Dia de los Muertos celebration), Taste of Mexico, Cinco de Mayo, Catrina Galas and many more.
Mexic-Arte Museum is the pioneer and leader of the 5th Street Mexican American Heritage Corridor. We are working in partnership with the City of Austin, the Downtown Austin Alliance, business stakeholders and legacy families to establish the 5th Street Corridor as a state-designated cultural district to drive tourism and economic development.
We are truly grateful for all the support at the local, national and international levels. Throughout the years, many dedicated individuals have served on the Board of Directors, providing leadership to implement the museum’s mission and vision. Several hundreds of individuals have made up the Mexic-Arte team over the years to produce unique educational programs and exhibitions. Today, we have the best team ever!
In 2001 Mexic-Arte secured a permanent home at 419 Congress in exchange for educational services. Through support of Austin voters and in partnership with the City of Austin, today, we are rebuilding the museum on the same Congress and 5th Street corner. We are so excited to celebrate this new chapter together. There is much more to come!
We invite you to join us as a member and as a supporter to build one of the best institutions in Austin!
We thank everyone of you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you!
Executive Director
Sylvia Orozco
Exhibitions
Discover the Art of Screen Printing Through the Legacy of Chente Rodriguez
Screen printing is a technique where ink is applied to a surface through a mesh screen with a stencil blocking certain areas. The ink is pushed through the open areas of the screen onto the material, creating a design. This process can be repeated with different colors, layer by layer, to produce multi-colored prints.
Learning the process from his friend Alberto “Al” Barrios, who owned a screen printing company in Austin, Chente quickly mastered the technique and built a growing clientele. In 1984, he launched Rodriguez Graphic Design, initially starting the business with his wife, Yolanda Quilantan Rodriguez and later partnering with his close friend, Pete Limón. Together, they have produced thousands of T-shirts over the past 30 years. After years in the business, Rodriguez is preparing to retire from his screen printing career; nonetheless, his designs will continue to leave a lasting impact on Austin’s diverse communities.
In this gallery, you will find some of the screens that Rodriguez and Limón used to screen print many designs for family reunions, like the Torres Family Reunion, churches, like the Macedonia Baptist Church and businesses, like Placita’s Mexican Restaurant and SH Donuts.
Come celebrate Chente’s legacy—see the designs that helped tell Austin’s stories.
July Changarrito, Julio Martinez
Steel, caution tape, cinder blocks
5 x 6 x 8 ft
About the Artist
Julio Martinez is an artist who was born in Hidalgo, Texas, raised in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico and later moved to the Rio Grande Valley.
Martinez has exhibited his work in group exhibitions at the Visual Arts Center, Austin, Texas, including Chatter at the Campo, an exhibition which resulted from his participation in the Learning Tuscany study abroad program in 2023, Where We Meet in the Middle, and Ensemble as part of the Field Works Project. He was also a co-curator and artist in the Somos Recuerdos exhibition with the Center Space Project.
His curatorial involvement has been featured in the Daily Texan and curator talks at the Visual Arts Center. In 2023, he received the Hispanic Scholarship Fund scholar designation.
In 2024, Martinez participated in a Preparator Internship at Mexic-Arte Museum where he continues to work full-time as a Digital Media/Registrar Associate. He also attended a week-long sculpture program at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Michigan and received the 2024 Frick Art Award.
Martinez graduated with honors from the University of Texas at Austin in Spring 2024 and received a BFA in Studio Art and a BS in Arts and Entertainment Technologies.
Artist Statement
“Using textiles, photography, video, sculpture and printmaking, I create artwork that is often autobiographical and critical of the violence and injustice of immigration and manual labor. Within my work, I create portals inspired by architectural elements that summon the shared experiences of immigrant Latino and Chicano cultures. I record lived domestic spaces to arrange nostalgic digital montages and collages that reinterpret and project my memories of growing up in Mexico. Influenced by rasquache attitudes that have prevailed through my frugal upbringing, I repurpose found materials and tools to create sculptures and installations that materialize the struggles of manual labor and worker exploitation. I appropriate legal documents and national symbols and employ the imagery of borders to criticize Western propaganda, oppression, imperialism, colonization and interventionism. I utilize my multimedia practice as a medium of introspection and understanding of the world around me, so my work ultimately seeks to become a catalyst for self-reflection and community.”
Julio will feature his artwork on the Changarrito cart right outside the Museum’s entrance on the weekends of July 19 & 20 and July 26 & 27 from 12 – 3 pm.
June Changarrito, Magaly Cantú
Collagraph
15″x11″
About the Artist
Magaly Cantú is an interdisciplinary artist based in Fort Worth, Texas. She works between traditional printmaking, drawing and expanded ceramic processes. Through the translation of familial relationships, personal memories, photographs and daydreams, Magaly dissects girlhood experiences as a Latina and the impacts of navigating between tradition and modernization. Magaly has shown work at Arts Fort Worth, Reisig and Taylor Contemporary, the University of West Virginia and the K Space Contemporary. Her work has also been added to multiple collections such as the Marais Press print collection at The Hilliard Art Museum and Incisori Contemporanei, Villa Benzi Zecchini, in Caerano di San Marco, Italy. She is currently an MFA candidate specializing in printmaking at the University of North Texas.
Artist Statement
“Tracing through memories, the traditional growing pains of my girlhood were sprinkled with vague moral lessons in transforming into a ‘careful woman.’ This careful woman is taught to care for those around her restlessly; she cares to be seen as pure, beautiful and for her home. This careful woman only exists within this invented space, forcing her to fragment and dream of other worlds and absurd realities. In this surreal narrative, I often recall my mother’s expressions and colloquialisms prevalent in Norteño culture. These motherly sayings and fragmented memories are translated through iterative printmaking, collage and slip-casting processes. These processes carefully mediate the traumatic experiences they represent and imitate the effects of these traumas. Through symbolism and allegory, each piece quietly confronts the repetitive, deeply rooted and openly hidden values upheld by tradition. Casually, these are passed down and carry along sexist traditions and derogatory language. This set of colloquialisms and illustrative representations of girlhood trauma in my work exemplifies an exchange of values and the divided relationship they create between immigrant mothers and their Americanized children.”
Magaly was at Mexic-Arte Museum featuring her artwork on the Changarrito cart right outside the Museum’s entrance on the weekends of June 14 & 15 and June 21 & 22 from 12 – 3 pm.
Collections
Mexic-Arte Museum is excited to announce one of our recent art donations to the Permanent Collection, a Señor de Naranja Mask generously donated by Ann McEldowney.
Señor de Naranja Mask, n.d.
Tin, ribbon, bell and acrylic on wood, 54″ x 30″
Mexic-Arte Museum Collection
This mask was created by Manuel Valencia and is typically worn during the Danza del Señor de Naranja. The Señor de Naranja (Lord of Naranja) is an historical figure of the state of Zacapu, Michoacán. “Naranja” means orange in Spanish, but the term in this context is actually a corruption of the Purépecha “Naranxan,” the name of a region where the town Naranja de Tapia is now located. The character apparently represents the historical cacique or chief of the region, Ziranzirancámaro, around 1200 CE, and the dance retells the history of the Purépecha settlement of Michoacán. According to the legend, a tribe of Purépecha people called the “Eagles” arrived in the mountains and demanded that the Señor de Naranja bring them incense and wood to burn on the altar of their fire god, Curicaveri. Over the opposition of his people, the Señor sent the offerings, as well as his sister to wed the leader of the Eagles (Ireticatame) and bear him a son, Sicuirancha, who eventually conquered Naranxan and Cumachen. The dance commemorates these events.
Mexic-Arte Museum would like to extend our deepest appreciation and thanks to the generosity of Ann McEldowney for her donation of the Señor de Naranja Mask. We are so excited to have this exquisite new addition to our Permanent Collection.
Mexic-Arte Museum Partnership with The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection
Mexic-Arte Museum is pleased to give an update in our partnership with the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. In the last year, Mexic-Arte has been working on transferring 40 years of archives to the Benson Collection. The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is part of The University of Texas Libraries system and is one of the premier libraries in the world for Latin American culture. Mexic-Arte first began working with the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection in 2008, and we are thrilled to continue this collaboration and preserve decades of history.
Maribel Falcón, US Latinx Studies Librarian, Carla Alvarez, Archivist and Ryan Lynch, Head of Collections, have visited Mexic-Arte to prepare the archive boxes to be the Benson throughout the past year. They made sure the boxes were prepared correctly and bagged each one for conservation purposes before taking the boxes to the Benson storage. This June, the Benson team prepared and picked up 50 more archives, totaling over 200 boxes of archives at The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection!
We would like to extend our gratitude to Maribel Falcón, Carla Alvarez, Ryan Lynch and The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. We are excited to share and further preserve Mexic-Arte Museum’s history with such a prominent archive collection. You can check out The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection to see existing Mexic-Arte archives, as well as other incredible pieces that are part of the collection.
Education
Apply to Be an Intern at the Mexic-Arte Museum this Fall 2025!
Mexic-Arte is pleased to offer internship programs designed to advance individuals’ careers in studying American Latinx life, art, history, and culture. The Museum aims to train the next generation of museum professionals by offering career opportunities that equip individuals with the necessary skills to thrive as members of the arts professional workforce, creating a new generation of Museum leadership in Central Texas and beyond.
Mexic-Arte is hiring interns for the following departments:
- Development
- Special Events
- Graphic Design
- Collections
- Education
- Curatorial
Fall Internships run for ten weeks with a minimum commitment of 10 hours per week during office hours (Monday-Thursday 9 am-6 pm and Friday 9 am-5 pm), at a rate of $20/h. The deadline for applications is August 15th, 2025. We strongly encourage applications from students who identify as members of underrepresented groups in the museum field and the arts.
Nuestro Mundo Summer Camp – August 4 – 8, 2025
When: 10 am – 2 pm daily August 4 – 8
Where: Austin Public Library Southeast Branch
Ages: 6 – 17
FREE TO PARTICIPATE!
In Nuestro Mundo (Our World), youth will focus on building and strengthening our communities through art and education. Led by museum art educators, participants will identify a change they wish to see in the world. Each student will create an infographic poster using silkscreen and linoleum printmaking technology, accessible processes used by artists and activists to quickly reproduce images and information. The purpose of these posters is to communicate to the public the necessity of social change in an area of importance to the participants.
Thank you to Austin Public Health and Austin Public Library for supporting these programs!
Questions about summer programs? Contact Jasmine Chock: Art Education Program Coordinator 512-480-9373
Family Day with Magaly Cantu- Thank you
Photo Credit: Gabi Diaz De Leon
On Sunday, June 22, 2025, artist and Changarrito resident Magaly Cantu led a workshop in conjunction with the exhibit, Beyond the Shape: El Arte de Chente Rodriguez, where participants created their own found-object collegraphs, inspired by the artwork of Vicente, “Chente,” Rodriguez. Participants of all ages had the opportunity to view Rodriguez’s artwork with our Free Admission Sundays, sponsored by HEB and The Downtown Austin Alliance. Under the guidance of Cantú, the participants became inspired by the geometric abstractions and expressions and screen prints in Beyond the Shape and created their own collagraph prints using recycled materials, found objects and printmaking methods Thank you, Magaly, for leading a great family day and encouraging young artists to create!
Patrons Enjoy Media Mixer Screen Printing
Photo Credit: Sylvia Orozco
Photo Credit: Gabi Diaz De Leon
On Thursday, June 26, 2025, artists Fabiana Muñoz and Julio Martínez led a screen printing workshop for the exhibit, Beyond the Shape: El Arte de Chente Rodriguez, where participants created their own designs to screen print onto paper and tote bags, inspired by the graphic designs of Vicente, “Chente,” Rodriguez. Participants had the opportunity to view Rodriguez’s artwork and learned screen printing mechanics and accessible screen design techniques. Thank you, Fabiana and Julio for leading a great media mixer and for encouraging the community to create! Thank you to all who came to create a screen print, great job, artists!
Fabiana and Julio will facilitate more screen printing workshops this summer with In Sight In Mind ATX at Future Front Texas. Julio and Fabiana will also be Mexic-Arte Museum Changarrito Artists this July and September where they will share more of their artwork at Mexic-Arte Museum.
Media Mixers are art making opportunities for adults 21+ to view the exhibit and make art on a Thursday evening at the Museum under the guidance of professional artists. No experience is required, and Mexic-Arte Museum provides all materials. Stay in touch for more Media Mixer opportunities this summer.
Photos from Screenprinting Media Mixer, Photo Credit: Gabi Diaz De Leon
News
42nd Annual Viva la Vida 2025- Sign Up to Participate!
Mexic-Arte Museum’s 42nd Annual Viva La Vida Festival and Parade is Austin’s largest and longest-running Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) event. Co-presented by the City of Austin, this year’s festival will take place on Saturday, October 25, at 4th Street and Congress Avenue. The festivities begin with a Grand Procession at noon. Festival activities run until 6 p.m. Participants can enjoy the Education Pavilion with hands-on art activities, traditional foods, local artists and retail booths, a low-rider exhibition and live performances throughout the day.
Special Section-Flores de la ofrenda
This year’s special section for Viva la Vida Parade will be Flores de la ofrenda (Flowers for the alter) which are important to Día de los Muertos celebrations because they symbolize the beauty, fragility and cyclical nature of life and death. The vibrant Cempasúchil (marigold), with its sun-like petals, guides spirits back to their loved ones, while baby’s breath welcomes the souls of children with its delicate fragrance. The Terciopelo (cockscomb) offers comfort, the Chrysanthemum represents eternity and the enduring Carnation serves as a fragrant path for the departed. These flowers are deeply rooted in Mexican tradition and transform altars and processions into living tributes, honoring the dead with color, scent and reverence. This directly relates to the Mexic-Arte Fall 2025 exhibition, En lo más negro del verano, which centers on a poem by Peruvian poet Blanca Varela. The exhibit will explore death, memory and the cyclical nature of existence through 11 emerging artists whose work ranges from installation, painting, ceramics and mixed media. Varela’s poem resonates deeply with the spirit of Día de los Muertos, as both embrace death not as an end, but as an intimate, ever-present part of life. Flowers on Día de los Muertos remind us that life and death are intertwined—a cycle to be celebrated, not feared.
Development
Mexic-Arte Museum Invites You to Sponsor Viva la Vida!
With all new sponsorship opportunities and benefits! Mexic-Arte Museum’s Viva La Vida Fest is Austin’s largest and longest-running Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival in Texas. It includes a Grand Procession of over 2,000 participants and more than 20,000 spectators with a Festival that brings together artists, families, businesses, locals and visitors from all over to celebrate the holiday.
For more information, please contact Development Coordinator, Mindy Radike at 512-200-7276 or . Thank you for your time and support!
You’re Invited to the Closing Reception of Beyond the Shape: El Arte de Chente Rodriguez
Mexic-Arte Museum invites you to the Closing Reception for the current exhibition, Beyond the Shape: El Arte de Chente Rodriguez, on Friday, August 1, starting at 6:00 pm. Guests are welcome to enjoy refreshments and entertainment, including a live DJ set.
When: Friday, August 1, 2025
Where: 6 – 9 pm
Parking: Please see the museum’s Visit webpage
Admission: Free for museum members. Become a Mexic-Arte Museum Member! $10 for non-members.
Tickets are available for purchase in person only at the Museum Store desk. No online ticket purchasing.
Thank you Lola Wright Foundation
Thank you to the Lola Wright Foundation for a generous donation, which will fund museum operations through upgraded equipment and technology. Thanks to this grant, artwork accessioning and data processing will be streamlined to increase attention to programming and education. Read more about the Lola Wright Foundation’s mission on their website.
Join us on Sundays!
Tours on Sunday – Free admission!
Thanks to the generous support of H-E-B and the Downtown Austin Alliance, we are thrilled to offer free admission and public tours every Sunday at Mexic-Arte Museum!
These tours provide a unique opportunity to connect with the rich history and vibrant art of the Mexican, Latinx and Chicanx communities.
Join us for guided tours in English at 2 pm and in Spanish at 3 pm, where you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the art on display. This is a great way for visitors of all ages to engage with both traditional and contemporary art forms. Don’t miss the chance to explore Beyond the Shape: El Arte de Chente Rodriguez. This retrospective highlights the life and work of Vicente “Chente” Rodriguez, a pioneering artist whose geometric abstract paintings have shaped Austin’s cultural landscape.
Store
Open Call for Artists & Artisans to partner with The Mexic-Arte Museum Store!
The Mexic-Arte Museum Store is seeking local Latinx or Latinx-inspired items and merchandise to purchase for the Museum Store. Artists must be from Austin and the surrounding area. Our objective is to buy directly from local artists to sell items in the store, generating income as well as providing a downtown outlet for local artists’ goods. Items will be purchased at a wholesale value.
The museum aims to feature one artist per month and organize an in-store meet-and-greet with the artist to expand the reach of their work. Artists’ merchandise, such as art prints, cards, soap, T-shirts, cups, coasters, stickers, clothing, jewelry and many more, will be promoted on social media.
Interested artists, please fill out the application. Deadline for submission July 25, 2025. Selections will be made by August 8, and artists will be notified.
For any questions please email g
Shop the Mexic-Arte Museum Store!
Limited Edition Chente Rodriguez T-shirts available in-store!
Thank You Sponsors
Learn more about Mexic-Arte Museum
3M – Austin, Alliance Française d’Austin, Ampersand Art Supply, Applied Materials, Austin Convention Center, Austin Independent School District Creative Classrooms, Austin Lowriding, Austin Saltillo Sister Cities Association, Bettina & Travis Mathis, Bob & Marisa O’Dell, Brown Distributing Company, Capital Printing, Chase Bank, Charlotte Hage Dalbey, City of Austin Capital Services, City of Austin Community Youth Development Program, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division, City of Austin Economic Development, City of Austin Parks & Recreation, City of Austin Public Health Department, City of Austin Special Events, Consulate General of Mexico in Austin, Downtown Austin Alliance, Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation, Dulce Vida, Ed Jordan, Elizabeth Rogers, Endeavor Real Estate Group, Erwin Cuellar, Fenix Post Tension, Inc., Fonda San Miguel, Ford Foundation, Frost Bank, Gloria Moore, Gloria Reyna, Hendler Flores Law, H-E-B, H-E-B Tournament of Champions, IBC Bank, IBM, Jennifer Hage Bond, JP’s Peace Love & Happiness Foundation, Juan & Martha Cortera, Juan J Gutierrez, La Voz, Libby & Congressman Lloyd Doggett, Lola Wright Foundation, Ann McEldowney, Mark Zuniga, Mellon Foundation, National Endowment for The Arts, Nettie & M.K. Hage Family, Oncor Global, Pastrana & Garcia Injury Law, Patricia Hage Hirsh, Paul Saldaña, Peter M. Baez, Red River Rising, Robin Suzanne Hage, Rocheli Patisserie, Saldaña Public Relations, Serie Print Project, Siete, Silcone Labs, Spurs, Texas Commission of the Arts, The Brown Foundation, Thompson Austin, Tom Gilliland, UFCU, Univision, Jane & Manuel Zuniga