President Felipe Calderón assured that during his administration, culture and arts were promoted “tirelessly” and that they were placed at the center of public policies.
During the inauguration of the public art space Siqueiros “La Tallera”, after two years of restoration and an investment of 46 million pesos, the head of state highlighted that “culture is the soul of Mexico”, and, thus, it has been placed at the center of integral development.
During the event that took place in what once was the house and studio of the artist David Alfaro Siqueiros, Calderón summarized what was done in culture in the last years and affirmed that this effort has allowed Mexico’s recognition as a cultural force in the international scenario.
In the year 2010, as part of the Bicentenary celebrations, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (Conaculta), and Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), proposed to recover the visibility and cultural role of this space known as “La Tallera”, donated by David Alfaro Siqueiros to the Mexican State when he died in 1974.
“La Tallera” has an important place in Mexico’s cultural heritage. It is also an important touristic and cultural destiny given that it is the only center specialized in modern and contemporary art in the state of Morelos; it will be a pioneering center that will serve as museum, atelier and center for artistic and curatorial residencies, as well as a meeting point for arts production and criticism.
In the year 2009, INBA began “La Tallera”’s restoration, through a public call for architectural projects. The proposal submitted by Frida Escobedo was chosen because it portrays the public, monumental and political character of Mexican muralism, and proposes an institution where the atelier is the center of artistic production.
Escobedo recovered the pulley system that Siqueiros used, as well as the subterranean cellars, while preserving the industrial character maintained by the muralist. She also employed Morelos’ characteristic materials in their purest form.
The Centro Nacional de Conservación y Registro del Patrimonio Artístico Mueble restored outdoor murals that Siqueiros created in the year 1965: they were cleaned, their stratum was consolidated and their pictorial surface was reintegrated. Protective coatings and films compatible with the materials used by Siqueiros were applied, that apart from aiding to the conservation of the murals, recover their aesthetic value.
On the other hand, according to what the INBA informed, the poliangular room built in 1972 was also restored, and the areas that humidity made unstable were strengthened. When the panels were mounted again, the sections were placed according to the poliangular perspective proposed by the muralist and the original colours were reinstated.
"La Tallera" will reopen with two exhibitions that put into context the muralist’s figure in order to allow for new interpretatins of the life and works of David Alfaro Siqueiros.
The exhibition starts with the the projection Who was Siqueiros (1896-1932)?, ideated by Irene Herner, expert on David Alfaro Siqueiros, who compiled images, texts, audio and photographies in a single document that provides an overview of the artist’s life during this period.
The main exhibition is "La Tallera: Factory in Motion", curated by Monica Montes, Coordinator of Documentary Heritage at Public Art Gallery Siqueiros, and Natalia de la Rosa, researcher at the UNAM. "The Tallera: Factory in motion" is a critical analysis of the production process of the mural "The March of Humanity on Earth and to the Cosmos" developed at "La Tallera" and commissioned by Manuel Suárez and Suárez.
“’La Tallera’ is a space that will place the state of Morelos in the international arts circuit and, apart from connecting it to a wider cultural promotion and investment system, will trigger the exchange of artistic projects and will develop new audiences for the arts in the region”, according to the President.