Centro de la Imagen: 30 years
Learn about the history of this space dedicated to the exhibition, preservation, research, and teaching of photography and imagery.
Image Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Alfonso Navarrete, Raquel Miguel Soto and Alejandro Zepeda
Background
In July 1989, the Mexican Council of Photography lost its headquarters, known as the House of Photography. This created a void for the exhibition, dissemination, and analysis of photography.
In 1990, Víctor Flores Olea proposed that photographer Pedro Meyer lead photography in Mexico. At the time, Meyer was living and working in Los Angeles and was unable to return to the country. Instead, he chose to voluntarily develop a project to create a new space in Mexico dedicated to the dissemination, teaching, research, and exhibition of technical images, which he proposed to call the Center of the Image.
A space for photography
There were plans to repurpose the site located in front of the Plaza de la Ciudadela, which had been occupied by the INBA School of Design and Handicrafts until 1980. The facilities had been abandoned and had even been taken over by people experiencing homeless.
Photo of Patricia Mendoza and Rafael Tovar y de Teresa (1998) by Luis Alberto González CansecoImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
The construction
This idea was considered by Tovar y de Teresa based on proposals presented by Pablo Ortiz Monasterio and Patricia Mendoza. In September 1993, he requested authorization from the National Institute of Anthropology and History to carry out the adaptation work.
Transformation of the space
The project to adapt the building was led by architect Isaac Broid, who chose to base his designs on contemporary architecture that contrasted with the 18th-century architecture of the building.
The Centro de la Imagen opens its doors
With the inauguration of the VI Photography Biennial and under the direction of Patricia Mendoza, a wide range of exhibitions, workshops, educational activities, and publications focused on photography and imagery for diverse audiences began.
Over the course of 30 years, the work of the Center of the Image has expanded to different regions and contributed to the exhibition, preservation, and dissemination of photography and imagery with projects that became foundational: Fotoseptiembre, the Photography Biennial, and the magazine Luna Córnea.
Patio principal del Centro de la ImagenImage Center - Ministry of Culture of Mexico
Learn more about the Centro de la Imagen!
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Alfonso Navarrete, Raquel Miguel Soto and Alejandro Zepeda.
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