University Museum of Contemporary Art (MUAC)
UNAM's contemporary art museum on the university campus, behind a long sloping glass wall.
MUAC belongs to the National Autonomous University of Mexico and stands in the Centro Cultural Universitario at the southern edge of the Ciudad Universitaria campus. It opened in November 2008 as the first Mexican museum purpose-built for contemporary art, and is the public face of the university's contemporary collection, which was begun in the 1960s and now numbers several thousand works by Mexican and international artists.
Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon designed the building as a long low mass of hammered concrete, entered across an open esplanade beneath a broad sloping glass screen that shades the foyer. Ten galleries of varying height sit off a central spine, allowing large installations as well as archival displays. The programme combines changing exhibitions drawn from the collection with commissioned projects, a documentation centre, a public events programme and a bookshop known for art and design titles.
Highlights
- Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon's concrete building behind a raking glass screen
- Ten flexible galleries for large-scale installation work
- UNAM's contemporary art collection, assembled since the 1960s
- Late Thursday and Saturday opening until 20:00
