The National Museum of Mexican Art announced Monday that founder, President and CEO Carlos Tortolero will retire Dec. 31.
He steps down after more than 40 years of leading the museum that’s located in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and has been recognized nationally and internationally.
In the announcement, Tortolero said the museum was on stable footing, with a board of trustees and long-tenured staff, making this the right time for him to leave. The board has hired a search firm to assist with finding his successor.
“What an amazing journey,” Tortolero said in part in a statement. “It’s been challenging, but it’s been fun. I always held that the museum be located within Pilsen for greater community access and that admission must be free so everyone can enjoy it. From the beginning, there were roadblocks and naysayers. But look at us now!”
Tortolero started the project that became the museum in 1982. At the time employed by Chicago Public Schools, he and fellow educators set out to establish a museum in Chicago filled with Mexican art. The then-Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum opened its doors in 1987 in a building owned by the Chicago Park District. It expanded in 2001 and has put on exhibitions that have toured nationally; six have traveled to Mexico. Its permanent collection includes some 20,000 pieces.
Always with free admission, one of its most popular draws is its annual Día de Muertos exhibit, with this year’s edition open through Nov. 30.
More information at nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org.
dgeorge@chicagotribune.com
