Ancient MesoAmerica News Updates 2009, No. 1: Mexican Archaeological Treasures on Display All Around The World in 2009-2011

In the period 2009-2011 there are several major exhibits planned that will showcase Mexican cultural patrimony, at venues in Paris to Tokyo. While for most exhibits the locations are known, I have not yet been able to find all relevant dates or exact locations.

A first exhibit is entitled Arte y esplendor de Teotihuacan, primera ciudad del México antiguo. It will be shown at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, France (as "Teotihuacan, Cité des dieux aztèques", September 2009 - January 2010; brochure); in the Museum Rietberg in Zurich (in 2010), Switserland; and at the Martin-Gropius-Bau, in Berlin, Germany (presumably also in 2010).

The second exhibit is entitled Moctezuma: el hombre, el mito y el imperio. It will be shown at The British Museum in London, England (from 24th October 2009 until 24th January 2010) and probaly simply entitled Moctezuma.

The third exhibit is entitled Olmecs and it will feature the major iconic archaeological Olmec objects from Parque Museo La Venta, in Tabasco, and the Museo de Antropología de Jalapa, Veracruz. A recent act of vandalism at the Parque Museo La Venta has damaged over 25 individual objects and its hoped that full restoration is possible. The exhibit is planned for 2010-2011 and it will be shown first at museums in Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) and San Francisco (de Young Museum) before the exhibit moves to several locations in Japan.

A fourth exhibit is entitled Culto funerario, espejo de la vida en el Occidente de México and will be shown from the 10th of March until the 26th of July 2009 at the Cankarjev Dom Congress and Cultural Centre in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as part of the "Mexico in Ljubljana Festival" celebrations. It is the first major presentation of Mexican archaeological objects since 1998 and it focuses on the funerary cult and shaft tombs of western Mexico (some information derived from this INAH press release).