For its 50th birthday, El Museo del Barrio threw a party.
At the Museum Mile Festival in June, the museum offered crafts, food, and a salsa band that kept the music going as the sun set over Central Park. The museum's ongoing show, "Culture and the People," was the centerpiece of the celebration, reflecting what curator Susanna Temkin described as the museum's mission of “presenting and preserving” art by Puerto Ricans and Latin Americans in the United States.
“Our art and our artists are equal among any other part of the art world,” Temkin said at a preview of the show.
The exhibition is presented in two parts: The first is a gallery show with selections from the museum’s permanent collection. The second is an expansive timeline tracing the history of El Museo — starting from its beginnings as a radical, non-profit educational center founded by Puerto Rican artists to its current home on 5th Avenue.
“This came out of the Civil Rights Movement, 1969,” Temkin said, “when artists were demanding that Black and Latino voices were being presented in museums.”
The retrospective also raises questions about what comes next, as “Culture and the People” arrives amidst an ongoing debate about the museum's mission and future. El Museo says it aims to represent people of Latin American heritage who live in the United States — the Latinx community. But some of those in the Latinx community say the museum is not living up to that goal.
On the same night as celebration in June, a group of activists held a protest and read from what they're calling the Mirror Manifesto, which outlines the activists’ vision for what they believe El Museo should be. At the event, they chanted and wore shirts that read “El Museo fue del barrio,” which roughly translates to, “The museum was of the neighborhood.” The group says it wants more racial and economic diversity in exhibits, more programming and opportunities for local artists, and a staff led by a Latinx chief curator.
“We understand that the Museo has been here for 50 years, but we are looking for 50 years more that reaffirms and reflects the community,” said Debbie Quiñonez, an artist and educator from East Harlem who signed the manifesto and was part of the demonstration.
This debate taps into a complicated conversation about what the Latinx experience looks like, raising questions over how to accurately represent the community. Much of the discussion stems from the very word “Latinx.” The term is like a giant umbrella, covering people of all generations, races, genders, classes, and national origins. El Museo’s critics say the museum isn't presenting more marginalized identities under that umbrella — such as immigrants and Afro-Latinxs, or poor and queer people — and instead favors wealthier, straighter, and whiter narratives.
The authors of the Mirror Manifesto want El Museo to honor and reflect all Latinx identities while focusing less on Latin American art from abroad. They also want greater investment in local Latinx artists. Gabby Vazquez, a recent graduate from The New School and a supporter of the manifesto, said Latinx culture is unique to the U.S. — which often results in plenty of unique perspectives.
“It's more within the context of that experience of migrating to the states and those kinds of transitions, and what comes out of that, linguistically, socially, emotionally,” Vazquez said.
Djali Brown-Cepeda, the founder of Nueva Yorkinos, a digital archive of local Latinx stories, agrees. She says that’s why she partnered with El Museo for the 50th anniversary. Co-curated with the museum, Brown-Cepeda recreated a vintage household as a photo booth for visitors, complete with votive candles, handmade doilies, and stacks of vinyl records featuring the works of Celia Cruz and Hector Lavoe.
“I want to be here and take up space,” Brown-Cepeda said. “I want to be here and reclaim the space that needs to be reclaimed by the community. And it’s all about inclusivity, intention and remaining true.”
El Museo says it welcomes the feedback and strives to represent the Latinx experience. The museum has already started several new initiatives, including expanding the curatorial team to include a Latinx curator. Temkin added that the museum historically has tried to work with the community, even amid controversy.
“I think that so many of the issues are raised because people care so much about the museum, and for me, that’s what makes El Museo so unique and so important,” she said.
“Culture and the People” is intended to be the start of a living institutional timeline, which will be regularly updated as El Museo develops its identity over the next half century. The exhibit runs through September 29, 2019.