El Museo del Barrio

1230 Fifth Ave
El Museo del Barrio, like many cultural institutions of its type around the world, was born of the admirable legacy of cultural activism. Thirty years ago, Puerto Rican leaders of East Harlem's El Barrio -- educators, artists, social and political ac... more
El Museo del Barrio, like many cultural institutions of its type around the world, was born of the admirable legacy of cultural activism. Thirty years ago, Puerto Rican leaders of East Harlem's El Barrio -- educators, artists, social and political activists -- founded an institution that would preserve and reflect their cultural heritage. The museum's founding values went beyond the usual aesthetic and educational parameters according to which most cultural institutions are established. They included qualities that implied an involvement with the contemporary world and its problems and the aspiration to transform it into a place of justice and equality. Thirty years later, as New York City's only Latino museum dedicated to Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American art, El Museo retains its strong community roots as a place of cultural pride and self-discovery, yet projects itself nationally through exciting exhibitions and programs. Aside from frequent special exhibitions, the Museum possesses an extremely varied, 8,000-object collection of Caribbean and Latin American art, unique in the Eastern region of the United States. The works range from pre-Columbian vessels to contemporar... more

El Museo del Barrio, like many cultural institutions of its type around the world, was born of the admirable legacy of cultural activism. Thirty years ago, Puerto Rican leaders of East Harlem's El Barrio -- educators, artists, social and political activists -- founded an institution that would preserve and reflect their cultural heritage. The museum's founding values went beyond the usual aesthetic and educational parameters according to which most cultural institutions are established. They included qualities that implied an involvement with the contemporary world and its problems and the aspiration to transform it into a place of justice and equality. Thirty years later, as New York City's only Latino museum dedicated to Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American art, El Museo retains its strong community roots as a place of cultural pride and self-discovery, yet projects itself nationally through exciting exhibitions and programs.

Aside from frequent special exhibitions, the Museum possesses an extremely varied, 8,000-object collection of Caribbean and Latin American art, unique in the Eastern region of the United States. The works range from pre-Columbian vessels to contemporary installations.

El Museo del Barrio is located in the Heckscher Building, 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street


Drag the street view to look around 360°.
Use the arrow buttons to navigate down the street and around the neighborhood!

There are no events taking place on this date.

Info

1230 Fifth Ave
New York, NY 10029
(212) 831-7272
Website

Editorial Rating

Admission And Tickets

Suggested Donation
$9 - Adults
$5 - Students & Seniors
Free for members and children under 12

This Week's Hours

Thu – Sun: 11:00am-5:00pm

El Museo is closed on New Year’s Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Nearby Subway

  • to 103rd St
  • to 110th St/Central Park N -- 0.4

Featured On

Upcoming Events

Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory

The first retrospective exhibition by the pioneering artist, curator, and theorist. Born in 1943 to a Mexican immigrant family, Mesa-Bains has been a leading figure in Chicanx art for nearly half a century.  Her practice explores intersectional feminist themes, environmentally centered spiritua... [ + ]lity, and cultural diversity to counter the racist and gendered erasures of colonial repression. The exhibition features over 40 works including the artist’s large-scale “altar-installations”, as well as prints, artist books, and codices. Anchored by the multi-chapter “Venus Envy” series, Archaeology of Memory is a rare opportunity to view three decades of Mesa-Bains’s genre-defying artworks, many of which are on display together for the first time.

05/02/2024 11:00 AM
Thu, May 02
11:00AM
$
Suggested Donation
$9 - Adults
$5 - Students & Seniors
Free for members and children under 12
Get Tickets

Cuerpo: Carlos Martiel

This groundbreaking survey encapsulates Martiel’s performance-based practice of nearly two decades. Employing his body as a primary medium, Martiel utilizes endurance performances in both public and gallery spaces to delve into the complex legacies of colonialism on race, labor, and migration. The e... [ + ]xhibition features a selection of the artist’s most significant projects to date, bringing together different spaces and temporalities through preparatory drawings, photographs, and videos, as well as the remains of past sculptural performances, in dialog with El Museo’s multidisciplinary project space, Room 110.Carlos Martiel has been a prominent figure in the New York art scene for the past decade. However, his practice transcends strict geographic limits, responding to different political and cultural contexts. His approach pushes the limits of self-expression to explore the impact of systems of oppression on BIPOC and Latinx communities. This survey exhibition marks his return to the institution since his debut in La Trienal, in which Martiel presented the first version of his acclaimed Monuments series. Since then, additional iterations of this ongoing work have been performed in New York, Dakar, and Mexico City, all of which will be included as part of the El Museo del Barrio presentation.This exhibition is accompanied by a new fully illustrated, bilingual (Spanish/English) publication that will serve as the first comprehensive monograph of the artist, highlighting approximately 40 performances from across Martiel’s career. The publication will include an introduction from El Museo’s curators and a specially commissioned essay by guest author and scholar Genevieve Hyacinthe.ABOUT CARLOS MARTIELCarlos Martiel (born 1989, Havana), lives and works in New York. He graduated in 2009 from the National Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro in Havana. Between the years 2008-2010, he studied in the Cátedra Arte de Conducta, directed by the artist Tania Bruguera.

05/02/2024 11:00 AM
Thu, May 02
11:00AM
$
Suggested Donation
$9 - Adults
$5 - Students & Seniors
Free for members and children under 12
Get Tickets

Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory

The first retrospective exhibition by the pioneering artist, curator, and theorist. Born in 1943 to a Mexican immigrant family, Mesa-Bains has been a leading figure in Chicanx art for nearly half a century.  Her practice explores intersectional feminist themes, environmentally centered spiritua... [ + ]lity, and cultural diversity to counter the racist and gendered erasures of colonial repression. The exhibition features over 40 works including the artist’s large-scale “altar-installations”, as well as prints, artist books, and codices. Anchored by the multi-chapter “Venus Envy” series, Archaeology of Memory is a rare opportunity to view three decades of Mesa-Bains’s genre-defying artworks, many of which are on display together for the first time.

05/03/2024 11:00 AM
Fri, May 03
11:00AM
$
Suggested Donation
$9 - Adults
$5 - Students & Seniors
Free for members and children under 12
Get Tickets

Cuerpo: Carlos Martiel

This groundbreaking survey encapsulates Martiel’s performance-based practice of nearly two decades. Employing his body as a primary medium, Martiel utilizes endurance performances in both public and gallery spaces to delve into the complex legacies of colonialism on race, labor, and migration. The e... [ + ]xhibition features a selection of the artist’s most significant projects to date, bringing together different spaces and temporalities through preparatory drawings, photographs, and videos, as well as the remains of past sculptural performances, in dialog with El Museo’s multidisciplinary project space, Room 110.Carlos Martiel has been a prominent figure in the New York art scene for the past decade. However, his practice transcends strict geographic limits, responding to different political and cultural contexts. His approach pushes the limits of self-expression to explore the impact of systems of oppression on BIPOC and Latinx communities. This survey exhibition marks his return to the institution since his debut in La Trienal, in which Martiel presented the first version of his acclaimed Monuments series. Since then, additional iterations of this ongoing work have been performed in New York, Dakar, and Mexico City, all of which will be included as part of the El Museo del Barrio presentation.This exhibition is accompanied by a new fully illustrated, bilingual (Spanish/English) publication that will serve as the first comprehensive monograph of the artist, highlighting approximately 40 performances from across Martiel’s career. The publication will include an introduction from El Museo’s curators and a specially commissioned essay by guest author and scholar Genevieve Hyacinthe.ABOUT CARLOS MARTIELCarlos Martiel (born 1989, Havana), lives and works in New York. He graduated in 2009 from the National Academy of Fine Arts San Alejandro in Havana. Between the years 2008-2010, he studied in the Cátedra Arte de Conducta, directed by the artist Tania Bruguera.

05/03/2024 11:00 AM
Fri, May 03
11:00AM
$
Suggested Donation
$9 - Adults
$5 - Students & Seniors
Free for members and children under 12
Get Tickets

Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory

The first retrospective exhibition by the pioneering artist, curator, and theorist. Born in 1943 to a Mexican immigrant family, Mesa-Bains has been a leading figure in Chicanx art for nearly half a century.  Her practice explores intersectional feminist themes, environmentally centered spiritua... [ + ]lity, and cultural diversity to counter the racist and gendered erasures of colonial repression. The exhibition features over 40 works including the artist’s large-scale “altar-installations”, as well as prints, artist books, and codices. Anchored by the multi-chapter “Venus Envy” series, Archaeology of Memory is a rare opportunity to view three decades of Mesa-Bains’s genre-defying artworks, many of which are on display together for the first time.

05/04/2024 11:00 AM
Sat, May 04
11:00AM
$
Suggested Donation
$9 - Adults
$5 - Students & Seniors
Free for members and children under 12
Get Tickets
View All Upcoming Events

Other Museums Attractions

Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum

The Intrepid—docked at Manhattan’s recently rebuilt Pier 86—is a military ship t... view

Bowne House

The Bowne House was built in 1661 by John Bowne and is an NYC landmark. Exhibits... view

Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is the second largest art museum in New York City and one of... view

John J. Harvey Fireboat

Built in 1931, MV John J. Harvey, at 130 ft and 268 net tons, is among the most ... view

 

Coney Island Museum

A small but fascinating museum of Coney Island memorabilia. Currently on display... view

P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center

For over twenty years P.S.1 has been a defining force in New York's cultural lif... view

American Academy of Arts and Letters

The American Academy of Arts and Letters is an honor society of 250 architects, ... view

9/11 Memorial & Museum

On September 11, 2011, the long-awaited memorial to the 2,982 victims of the 9/1... view