National Museum of Mexican Art

This is a beautiful free museum — it is very clean and quiet, such a relaxing experience with beautiful art to enjoy and a wonderful gift shop.

I love to remenace and visit my Mexican culture. This is the best time to visit the museum around el dia de los muertos. I just love to admire the beautiful artisans and the skulls. It is free no charge to get in. I bring my mom is a thing we do every year.
At this time you can buy your own sugar skull and write the name on it. They have chocolate shaped skulls. Sweet treat to be a part of dia de los muertos. I love the store they have so if you are looking for something from Mexico this is the right place to get it.
I love this Mexican cultural center.

Awesome museum if you would like to view and learn about Mexican art. The location is very clean and well «stocked» with Mexican art and different exhibits throughout .
I believe they have different events and special exhibits if you look at their exhibits. They also have a pretty sweet gift shop where you can purchase books, clothing and different curios.
Overall a great experience while visiting Chicago.

Small little art gallery in a barrio. Take an Über ride there. It is the easiest way. The atmosphere is great and I loved all the artwork. You are allowed to take pics just not with flash. Be sure to stop by the gift shop on the way out. There is definitely some really cool stuff there. Enjoy!

It’s free and something that can easily be seen in an hour!
The art is interesting and I definitely left feeling like I’d learned something about Mexican-​American culture! I’m not one to appreciate art, but I really felt impacted by some of the pieces.
Free parking is easy to find and Pilsen is a great neighborhood to explore while you’re here.

It’s a small little museum, but offers some beautiful and colorful works of art. I enjoyed my afternoon here and best of all, it’s free. I would suggest skipping the gift shop-​the items are ridiculously overpriced; you can find some of them for probably a third the price from somewhere else in the neighborhood.

So much beautiful and colorful art in this museum. I just wish it were bigger! I could’ve spent hours there. Many cute and cultural products in the gift shop. Definitely see if you are in the Pilsen area.

Love all of the colorful artwork of this museum! Don’t miss the Mona Lupe. Lots of school groups touring this museum when we went on the weekend. Also– the museum is entirely free!
Good for all ages.
The gift shop also has some fun books, art work, and souvenirs.

So I wanted to visit a museum that was for free and what a discovery. My girlfriend, who is first generation Mexican American, absolutely loved this place. Please read before u go to this place as I am giving u good tips.
1. Parking. The area across the museum is residential. There is a time that you cannot park your car there. So you will need to park on the museum side.
2. It’s free. Yes… it’s free. All you need to do is sign a guest book.
3. It’s small. When my girlfriend and I went we only went for a few hours and I like to read and see everything there.
4. Great stuff there. Everything from Mexican Americans in Chicago to Tejanos (Mexican Americans from Texas like my GF) to the different cultures in Mexico itself.
5. Gift shop is awesome, but SUPER expensive. My girlfriend herself said she can get similar stuff at street vendors herself for more then HALF OFF! However, I am assuming it’s expensive because remember, the museum is free so the bills need to get paid. There are a few cool street vendors outside that sells authentic Mexican stuff.
6. Finally… just to finish a great cultural trip… go too Nuevo León Restaurant right down the street! Very authentic and cheap and very popular in the neighborhood! NO CREDIT CARDS! Cash only!!!
If you like museums and if you are a history dork and a museum dork like me then this is a must!!!

We highly recommend the Day of the Dead exhibit running to mid-​December.
I am always deeply moved by the Day of the Dead ceremonies and the art here is really just indescribable. They told us they completely change this exhibit every year with completely different art exhibits.
No words really. Allow 40 minutes for the Day of the Dead exhibit.
Admission is free thanks to Target’, and there is a donation bucket. Hit it.
Looked like a lot of neighborhood parking around there.
We walked from Dusek’s on 18^th, about a 20 minute walk, no problem. A couple wonderful smelling Mexican restaurants around 14^th and 15^th.

This museum continues to be my favorite in the city of Chicago. I will state the disclaimer that due to my roots, I am biased toward Mexican art — but it truly is a wonderful little gem in the Pilsen neighborhood.
If you’ve never been, I would highly recommend your first visit to take place during the annual Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos) exhibit. This year’s is in honor of children and is dedicated to the 43 missing education students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico. If possible, go for a tour to have a guide explain the different installations — if not, be sure to read the explanations by each work to understand their meanings. It’s always a moving experience.
Be sure to ask about taking pictures — sometimes there are certain works that cannot have pictures taken; others, pictures are allowed without flash.

It’s FREE! Need I say more? If you enjoy art, VISIT THIS MUSEUM! :-)
The permanent collection is representative of Mexican art and current exhibitions are excellent including the annual Day of the Dead exhibit. The museum store has a plethora of items — much more than I expected.
Enjoy!

This museum is awesome! It’s free so all you have to do to visit is it go and maybe donate what you can to keep them open! My favorite part of this museum was the paleteros outside waiting for the Mexicans to come to them. Smart guys. Great museum I would recommend anyone interested in Mexican art and history to check this place out.

I came to this museum on a travel meet up and was pleasantly surprised! This museum would be easy to pass by without realizing its an actual museum! Although it is pretty small, and you can go around the whole museum in 20 – 40 minutes, it is jam packed with history and beautiful paintings and pieces of artwork and sculptures to learn about! This unexpected little museum is at the top of my favorites now!

We stumbled into this museum on a Friday afternoon with low expectations. We were so impressed by this small, but wonderful museum.
We parked right out front, no meter necessary. In the entrance we were greeted by a young girl who took our names and email addresses. We were pleasantly surprised to not have an entrance fee, but a small donation is recommended.
The collections in the museum were lovely. We spent about an hour and a half admiring the museum (plenty of time here). The descriptions with the art were educational. Not knowing a great deal about Mexican art, we left inspired and wanting more.

It was my second time visiting the National Museum of Mexican Art. During my last visit, I was fortunate to see «the Day of the Dead» exhibition back in November 2013. I saw a much bigger crowd and the museum was full of people at that time.
However, it was much quieter this time. I was asked to sign in with my name, address, and e-​mail at the receptionist’s desk. Then I went through three (3) different gallery rooms. Each of them was fairly small but contained a wealth of information on a brief history of Mexico, the formation of Mesoamerica, the Chicano and Tejano cultures, and the highlights on some of Mexican-​Americans artists and painters.
My favorite piece was done by Mario Castillo, a lecturer at the Columbia College Chicago and a renowned painter. He used the color and spatial techniques to create something «hidden,» which would re-​appear as the viewer positions himself/​herself at a farther distance or at a different angle. I saw the hidden skull «behind» the foreground painting. I thought I was really neat and inspirational.
The second gallery room I went in was the painting collection by Rene H. Arceo. He is an art educator and a printmaker. I used to do lots of painting when I was in high school and wish my school was benefited by a teacher like him. Nevertheless, the art program in my high school was semi-​weak and should have a stronger emphasis so that students who have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a degree, or even a career, in art could have some support and courage to believe in themselves and to show off their talents!
The last gallery was full of the art of «abstraction.» Personally I didn’t think their works were abstract to me since I’m self-​proclaimed «occasional artist» and I could definitely feel their emotions and philosophical complexities. Many of their paintings had something to do with their immigrant lives, self-​defining and categorizing, and mental struggles that many of us will go through at some point in our lives.
Overall, even though this museum isn’t a large one, I enjoyed my time in here. I also like the fact that the admission is free.
I understand all the gift shops inside the museums are generally over-​prices, but their gift shop is worth to stop by. I couldn’t resist myself and bought a Chicago sugar skull t-​shirt. I wanted something Chicago because I’m proud to call this city my home and I’m obsessed to skulls!
The National Museum of Mexican Art is accessible through the CTA Damen-​Cermak pink line. The station is one (1) black south to the museum. However, the alternative route is by the CTA 50 (Damen) bus and get off on the 19^th. St., or by the CTA 18 (16^th./18^th.) bus, get off at 18^th. St., walk one (1) block south, and turn east onto the 19^th. St. The museum is located past the park.

The museum the admission is free day hours
I enjoy before couple times
The exivision of dia De muertos
I’m Mexican and I love it thanks…
I when tonite for a event presentacion of a public figure angelica atondo
A presentacioon of her second book superate mujer“
Everything was good

While visiting Chicago we wanted to soak in a little of the Mexican culture in the city so we decided to stop in at this museum. This amazing cultural center had an incredible Dia de Los Muertos exhibition as well as a unique gift shop. The other great aspect of this museum was that the staff seemed extremely dedicated to the center and were also excited to explain the items on display.

Cool neat museum with random expos. Its in the heart of Pilsen and its free. Have gone there for several expos (Dia de Los Muertos and Mexican Independence anniversary) and the staff are always friendly. They have a small gift shop which sells authentic Mexican items such as lucha libre masks, toys, mugs, and books. In my opinion things seem to be expensive ($ 10 for a pair of cool socks… no thanks) but I guess they have to get money somehow.
The museum also offers different membership options which entitle you to different exclusive perks. Im already planning my next trip to the Mercado Navideño expo!

FREE.
FREE.
FREE.
It a city like Chicago where you can really ring up the charges, it’s nice to know you there are still places you can experience culture without dropping a dime.
I was lucky enough to visit during the Dias de las Muertos exhibit. Amaze-​balls. I LOVE skulls and the Day of the Dead holiday. This is a not miss if you have any interest in Mexican history, and if not it’s just plain fun b/​c the exhibit runs during Halloween.
Where you may break your bank is in the gift shop. They had lots of fun stuff relating to the current exhibit. I had to set a limit on myself or I would have gone hog-​wild in there.
If you are in the Windy City, def make sure you put the National Museum of Mexican Art on your to-​do list! I will be back on my next visit, for sure.