page_title: Salón de la Plástica Mexicana
section_title: Organization and mission
hierarchical_section_title: Salón de la Plástica Mexicana / Organization and mission
caption_attribution_description: English: Cecilia Santacruz in front of Pescaderia by Alfredo Zalco at the closing of the Origen de un Acervo at the Centro de Educación Continua Unidad Allende IPN
context_page_description: Salón de la Plástica Mexicana is an institution dedicated to the promotion of Mexican contemporary art. It was established in 1949 to expand the Mexican art market. Its first location was in historic center of the city but today it mostly operates out of a building in Colonia Roma. The institution is run by a membership of almost four hundred recognized artists and holds multiple exhibitions each year. Although it operates autonomously, it is part of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura.
context_section_description: When it opened in 1949, the main purpose of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana was to promote the work of Mexican artists, creating a larger and more active market for Mexican art with emphasis on contemporary works. The works are often offered at discount prices and include drawings, engravings and watercolors as well as oils. The idea is to promote art to the general public as well as to large collectors. Among its initial objectives was to sell artists’ work without charging a commission. However, today the mission of the institution is to promote the work of its members without being involved in actual sales.
  It is a dependency of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes but operates autonomously. It has control of two locations, its original building in the historic center of Mexico City on Donceles Street and a former mansion in Colonia Roma on Colima Street which it operates out of.
  The Salón has been an important source of works for institutions such as the Museo de Arte Moderno has its own important collection of contemporary art which increases each year. It is affiliated with the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes with the aim of opening a Museo Nacional de Artes Plásticas. The institution receives on average of 400 visitors per day.
  The Salón is run by a membership of almost four hundred, who have been selected based on their outstanding careers. All of the members are well-established artists who are selected based on application which consists of samples of their work and curricula. The general coordinator is Cecilia Santacruz.
  The Salón has maintained a list from its beginning of the best Mexican artists which include Ignacio Aguirre, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Raúl Anguiano, Luis Arenal, Dr. Atl, Abelardo Ávila, Angelina Beloff, Alberto Beltrán, Ángel Bracho, Celia Calderón, Federico Cantú, Fernando Castro Pacheco, José Chávez Morado, Erasto Cortés Juárez, Olga Costa, Dolores Cueto, Germán Cueto, Gonzalo de la Paz Pérez, Francisco Dosamantes, Jesús Escobedo, Arturo García Bustos, Jorge González Camarena, Jesús Guerrero Calvan, Xavier Guerrero, Frida Kahlo, Agustín Lazo, Amador Lugo, Leopoldo Méndez, Carlos Mérida, Gustavo Montoya, Tosia Malamud, Francisco Mora, Nicolás Moreno, Nefero, Luis Nishizawa, Juan O'Gorman, Pablo O'Higgins, Carlos Orozco Romero, Luis Ortiz Monasterio, Feliciano Peña, Fanny Rabel, Everardo Ramírez, Jesús Reyes Ferreira, Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, Diego Rivera, Antonio Ruiz, Juan Soriano, Rufino Tamayo, Cordelia Urueta, Héctor Xavier, Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin and Alfredo Zalce.
  The Salón has multiple exhibitions during the year, often in collaboration with other institutions such as the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana and the Secretaría de Gobernación. It has also sponsored exhibitions outside of its Colonia Roma site such as “Universo Gráfico” at the Universidad Americana de Acapulco. Most exhibitions are dedicated to a particular artist but there are themed exhibits as well. These have included one dedicated to the historic center of Mexico City, the 16th century Tembleque aqueduct or Arcos de Zempoala  in Otumba and a 2009 exhibition dedicated to Mexico’s Day of the Dead .
  It participates in the annual “Corredor Cultural Roma-Condesa” an event to promote the cultural and gastronomic offerings of Colonia Roma and Colonia Condesa area.
caption: Cecilia Santacruz discussing a painting by Alfredo Zalce in background at the Origen de un Acervo event
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D60", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "Ver.1.00", "Image DateTime": "2012:06:26 18:25:50", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "2252", "Image XPComment": "[32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, 32, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Image OffsetSchema": "4168", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "53/10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:06:26 18:25:50", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:06:26 18:25:50", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "24/5", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode, return light detected", "EXIF FocalLength": "44", "EXIF SubSecTime": "10", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "10", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3872", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2592", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[0, 2, 0, 2, 1, 2, 0, 1]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "66", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Portrait", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Soft", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "2022"}