Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative Extends Its Reach to Mexico City and London

The Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative was developed with financial services firm UBS in 2012 to amplify exposure and access to contemporary art from three culturally dynamic regions: South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. MAP exhibitions, customized education programs, artist projects, and online materials help focus attention on vibrant artistic practices in each region and foster lasting relationships among artists, institutions, scholars, and visitors. Extensive on-the-ground research by distinguished curators with expertise in each region underpins an institutional effort to diversify and enrich the Guggenheim's collection of contemporary art from across the globe that is unprecedented in scope, scale, and range. MAP builds upon and reflects the Guggenheim's distinguished history of internationalism and UBS's commitment to direct engagement with contemporary art and education.

The first MAP exhibition, No Country: Contemporary Art for South and Southeast Asia, was presented at the Asia Society Hong Kong Center and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore following its New York debut in 2013. The third phase of the initiative, focusing on the Middle East and North Africa, is in development and an exhibition of newly acquired works from that region is scheduled to open at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York on April 29, 2016.

Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, said, "The MAP initiative celebrates the many ways in which the Guggenheim engages locally and globally with artists and organizations alike, and is rooted in our desire to create a 21st-century museum that reflects the world it inhabits. This is an ambitious initiative, and I commend UBS for their adventurous spirit in collaborating with us on it. The impact of our work together has only just begun, and we welcome the opportunity to build and extend the program with our colleagues at Museo Jumex and South London Gallery."

MAP Highlights
MAP has continually expanded the ways in which artists, curators, and museums interact to build global collections and engage international audiences. Since the project's launch, the Guggenheim has welcomed three resident curators—June Yap (South and Southeast Asia), Pablo León de la Barra (Latin America), and Sara Raza (Middle East and North Africa)—to spearhead an exchange of research and thinking between experts in the regions and Guggenheim curatorial staff. To date, MAP's acquisitions program has brought more than 90 works by 67 artists and collectives into the Guggenheim's permanent collection, under the auspices of the Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund and exhibitions have welcomed more than 500,000 visitors. Through this initiative, the Guggenheim has increased the number of Latin American artists in the collection by 66% and the number of South and Southeast Asian artists by more than 200%. More than 6,000 students, teachers, and families have participated in more than 80 education programs, developed jointly by the Guggenheim and its institutional partners. Programs made specifically for local audiences—interactive workshops for educators, artist-authored teacher guides, and multi-lingual tours for families—have been incorporated into year-round programming at partner venues. In addition, MAP's dynamic website has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors globally and offers a wealth of content, including videos by artists and curators, artist profiles, blog posts by international curators and critics, and interactive learning tools.

About Under the Same Sun at Museo Jumex 
Organized by Pablo León de la Barra, Guggenheim UBS MAP Curator, Latin America, in collaboration with Julieta González, Chief Curator and Interim Director of Museo Jumex, the presentation of Under the Same Sun at Museo Jumex highlights more than 45 recently acquired works by 43 artists representing 13 countries working in media including installation, painting, performance, photography, sculpture, and video. The countries represented are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Artists from Mexico included in the exhibition are: Carlos Amorales, Mariana Castillo Deball, Minerva Cuevas, Mario García Torres, Gabriel Orozco, and Damián Ortega. Mexico City-based architect Frida Escobedo created the exhibition design. In addition to the museum's galleries, artworks will also be installed in the lobby and museum store and on the building's façade.

Website: guggenheim.org/MAP 
Blog: blogs.guggenheim.org/map

Translations of the media release in Portuguese and Spanish are available at guggenheim.org/pressreleases.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/guggenheim-ubs-map-global-art-initiative-extends-its-reach-to-mexico-city-and-london-300148139.html