San Cristobal de las Casas is considered the cultural and artistic center of Chiapas. As one of Mexico’s poorest, most indigenous and most revolutionary regions, Chiapas has a long tradition of pushing the boundaries of politics and aesthetics. Here are nine galleries in San Cristobal that should be on your list for the next time you’re in town.
Arteria is dedicated to emerging and established artists that are asking critical questions about not only their work, but the context – cultural, social, political – within which they are creating it. They favor young, Mexican artists but also hold space for international artists of all stripes. Their exhibits are multimedia merging photography, sound, sculpture, painting, video and installation art.
The word muy in the Maya language, tsotsil, is the root of the word pleasure and this gallery’s mission to provide a platform for local artists working in Maya and zoque art forms and languages. This makes their exhibitions and programs very specific to their region of Chiapas and they offer their multimedia exhibits to rural indigenous communities in the form of roving art expositions. They also have an artists’ residency program.
A Work in Progress │© Enzue Durán
Studio Cerrillo opened to the residents of San Cristobal back in 2002, way before there was the amount of galleries that the town now houses. They have hosted artists from around the world in over 75 different shows and are currently working with a concept called “shrink the gallery” in which every subsequent show at the studio reduces its pyshical size by 10cm, making artists’ display of their work in an ever shrinking space even more creative and challenging.
Miguel Hidalgo 4, Zona Centro, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Mexico
