Contemporary art is a living reflection of our times and of today's issues; it multiplies representations and questions about personal identity and the relationship of individuals with the world around them. In order to disseminate and support the development of art, greater participation on the part of society is needed, together with the active involvement of institutions. The Patronato de Arte Contemporáneo, A.C. (PAC) is a non-profit organization, the only one of its kind in Mexico, dedicated to this task: promoting contemporary art by assembling a dynamic group of individuals who share this passion.

PAC was founded in June, 2000, in order to bridge the gap between the public and contemporary art by sponsoring projects undertaken by museums, galleries, curators, publishers, critics, promoters, and researchers in this field, thus contributing to its development. PAC focuses the voluntary efforts of an independent group of professionals from the cultural world in its Board of Directors, which consists of 22 members. The annual contributions of individual and corporate patrons permit the development of work programs that grant privilege to projects of recognized quality co-sponsored with other institutions.

Supported Projects Up to Date:

Theoretical Projects:

- SITAC: PAC organizes annually, together with the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, the International Symposium on Contemporary Art Theory (SITAC). This international forum assembles some of the most outstanding specialists in the field to exchange practical experiences, as well as to reflect upon, inform and debate some of the strategies employed by cultural institutions to legitimize contemporary art, as well as to discuss the most unique alternatives in different countries. This event is open to the general public, and together with other events, is part of the program offering support to educational and outreach projects, which are among PAC's priorities.
- First Symposium on Contemporary Art: The Insidious Taste for What is Global. Art for a Post-Mexico Century, organized by Carlos Arias and Cuauhtémoc Medina in the Universidad de las Américas, held in Puebla in November 2000, as well as its second issue in November 2002.

Editorial Projects:

A high priority for PAC is the task of channeling part of its resources to co-editions of books, reports of meetings, catalogues, and journals, due to the scarcity of specialized publications on current artistic creation and theoretical discourse underlying it.

- Issues number 17, 20 and 21 of the journal Curare, dedicated to the theoretic discussion of Mexican contemporary art.
- Memoirs of the eighteen round tables Espacios y Sucesos, held in the Ex Teresa Arte Actual from 1998 to 2000.
- Catalogue for the exhibition AmŽrica Foto Latina, originally conceived by Carlos Ashida for the Museo de las Artes de Guadalajara, Jalisco, December, 2000.
- Indepent magazine RiM, binational and bilingual, focused in the communication between artists from Mexico City and Los Angeles.
- A special issue of the magazine Felix, titled "Risk/Riesgo" dedicated to multimedia art from Mexico and the United States.

Exhibition Projects:

PAC offers support to select projects for contemporary art exhibitions in public or private institutions in the country.

- Sabrosa, a collective exhibition curated by Robert Littman, for the Jardín Borda in Cuernavaca, Morelos, in 2000.
- Boutique, exhibition on creation and fashion curated by Ana Elena Mallet in the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in 2000; publication of the catalogue accompanying the exhibition.
- Patronage of the 2002 exhibition program of the independent art space La Panadería , directed by Yoshua Okón, in Mexico City.
- Support to the exhibition program of the independent art project La Torre de Los Vientos, directed by Pedro Reyes. Individual artists are invited to conceive site specific projects in this 70's sculpture from Gonzalo Fonseca.
- Support to the 2002-2003 exhibition program of independent arts space OPA (Art Projects' Office), devoted to contemporary art production, documentation and widespreading in Guadalajara, Jalisco.

International Projects:

One of PAC's objectives is to offer assistance to Mexican artists in consolidating awareness of their work abroad; PAC also participates in and involves its sponsors in international projects such as fairs and biennials.

Children's Education Projects:

PAC has a special concern in cooperating to create interest among younger audiences for contemporary art. One of its tasks is to sponsor projects designed to teach children greater sensitivity to the visual proposals of their times.

- Educational program Aprendiendo a través del arte, which is implemented in public elementary schools in Mexico City, for the school period 2001-2002.

The programs sponsored by PAC and the projects in which it has been involved have produced indisputable results, thereby reaffirming the significance of its presence in the contemporary art scene in Mexico.

contact:

josé vasconcelos 218 piso 6
col. condesa
mexico city 06140
mexico

t: (52 55) 55 53 14 04
f: (52 55) 52 86 70 19
info@pac.org.mx

to join of pac:

Annual Individual Contribution (as of): $ 1,000.00 Dollars
Annual Corporate Contribution (as of): $10,000.00 Dollars

Your contribution to PAC is tax deductible in Mexico.