Toronto says ¡Adiós! to “¡Viva México! Clothing & Culture”

TORONTO — Charming more than 130,000 visitors since its May 2015 opening, ¡Viva México! Clothing & Culture came to an espectacular end at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), on Monday, May 23, 2016.

On display in the Museum’s Patricia Harris Gallery of Textiles & Costume, the exhibition was enhanced throughout its presentation by lively demonstrations from talented, Mexico-based artists (whose creations are included in the exhibition), as well as a stunning variety of inspiring programming. As ¡Viva México! came to a close, the ROM said ¡Adiós! to the exhibition in a suitably vibrant fashion.

On Saturday, April 16, an all-day symposium brought together internationally renowned experts to address the rich and varied visual and material culture of Mexico—both past and present.

Speakers included the UK-based guest curator of ¡Viva México!, Chloë Sayer, who discussed the spiritual and ceremonial aspects of textiles, dance-masks, and other popular art forms. She was joined by eminent artist Humberto Spindola; Wellesley College Senior Lecturer/author James Oles; former director of Oaxaca’s Textile Museum Ana Paula Fuentes; anthropologist Marta Turok; and Amherst College’s Rick López; at the ROM’s Signy and Cléophée Eaton Theatre.

The exhibition’s companion book, Mexico: Clothing & Culture by Chloë Sayer, with contributions by exhibition co-curator Dr. Alexandra Palmer, the ROM’s Nora E. Vaughan Fashion Costume Senior Curator, is available online.

¡Viva México! Clothing & Culture featured approximately 150 pieces created in Mexico between the 18th and 21st centuries. It marked the first-ever presentation of the ROM’s wide-ranging collection, which spans 300 years and reflects Mexico’s indigenous and colonial past.

Presented by:

This exhibition was generously supported by:

• Burnham Brett Endowment for Textiles and Costume
  Gwendolyn Pritchard Fraser Fund
  Veronika Gervers Memorial Research Fund
  Kircheis Family Endowment Fund

From the iconic to the innovative, ¡Viva México! exploded with colour, regional diversity, and bold Mexican style!

• Source: https://www.rom.on.ca/
• Photographs: https://www.rom.on.ca/