The Tlatelolco University Cultural Center (CCUT) is pleased to invite you to the opening of the exhibition “Memories of the Present: Sixty Years of the Urban Modernity Project in Tlatelolco, 1964-2024” on Thursday, November 21 at 7:00 PM.
This exhibition, featuring contemporary works, photographs, documents, and archives from CCUT collections and various institutions such as the ICA Foundation and the General Directorate of Diplomatic Historical Archives (SRE), focuses on the construction period of the Urban Complex Presidente Adolfo López Mateos in Nonoalco Tlatelolco. This landmark, inaugurated in 1964, was designed by architect Mario Pani, a key figure in modern Mexican architecture.
Memories of the Present reflects on the 1950s and 1960s, a period known as "The Mexican Miracle," marked by industrialization and economic stability amidst rapid demographic growth, social movements, and student protests during the Cold War.
Through the materials presented, visitors can reflect on the ambitions of this modernization model, which introduced new housing and urban design concepts in what was then Mexico City's Federal District. These developments brought profound changes to daily life and social organization.
Key highlights of the exhibition include:
- The inauguration of the Tlatelolco multifamily housing complex in 1964 and the opening of the Foreign Affairs Tower, designed by architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez in 1966. The tower, now home to the CCUT, hosted the signing of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, known as the Treaty of Tlatelolco, in 1967.
- The relationship between architecture and industrial design, exemplified by the collaboration between Mario Pani and Cuban designer Clara Porset, who created specialized furniture for multifamily housing units.
- The hosting of the First International Women’s Conference during the Generation Equality Forum: Mexico and the World, held at the Foreign Affairs Tower in Tlatelolco in June 1975.
- The visible evolution of the Tlatelolco area, encompassing its pre-Hispanic past, colonial history, and transformation into a symbol of modern architecture, as well as the impact of the 1985 earthquake.
- Works by contemporary artists such as Edgar Orlaineta, Tania Candiani, and Pedro Reyes, who reframe the ideal of modernity in the second half of the 20th century from historical and critical perspectives.
Memories of the Present is made possible through the collaboration of institutions and collections, including the ICA Foundation, the General Directorate of Diplomatic Historical Archives (SRE), the Siqueiros Public Art Hall, the Tamayo Museum, the UNAM Faculty of Architecture, the Clara Porset Dumas Archive at the Center for Industrial Design Research of UNAM’s Faculty of Architecture, the Mario Pani Photographic Archive, the Political Cartoon Fund, the Molina Collection at CCUT-UNAM, and the University Fund for the Art of Indigenous Peoples (FUAPO) at CCUT-UNAM.
November 21, 2024
