Dancing with Life: Mexican Masks Opens at the Museum of Art

Join us for a new exhibition at the Museum of Art, Dancing with Life: Mexican Masks, that explores the rich festival culture of Michoacán, Mexico through historic and contemporary masks from the collection of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture. The exhibition opens on Friday, July 17, with a reception on from 5-7 p.m. Friday, August 7. The exhibition runs through October 17, 2026.

Across Mexico, mask making is a vibrant and playful art form with community roots in the celebration of religious holidays. Worn by dancers in performances known as danzas, masks depict devils and holy men, celebrities from media and politics, and—in a satirical vein—other known individuals who personify sinners and false idols. Dancing with Life invites audiences to explore this festival culture through 50 historic and contemporary masks and five complete sets of stunning danza regalia.

From elaborately painted, fearsome diablos to the gentle faces of kindly elders, the masks in Dancing with Life celebrate the artistry and creativity of the mask makers and their communities. Through humor and subversion, mask makers have always responded to the social and political circumstances of everyday life. Rather than seeing festival culture and masks as a dying art in the face of encroaching modernity, Dancing with Life shows that changing forms and materials have always been part of the danzas.

The exhibition was curated by Dr. Pavel Shlossberg. As a young scholar, Dr. Shlossberg had the privilege to live with and learn from mask artists in Tócuaro, Michoacán, Mexico, and his continuing collaboration with artists in Michoacán has shaped his work critiquing academic and museum approaches to framing and representing Mexican Indigenous masking practices. He currently serves as associate dean in the School of Leadership Studies at Gonzaga University.

Dancing with Life: Mexican Masks originated at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, Washington before embarking on its national tour. It is organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC, in collaboration with Dr. Pavel Shlossberg and the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, Spokane, Washington.

The Museum of Art is located at 491 N. Main St. and is open 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday. There is no admission fee. The museum is accessible from Roadrunner Transit Route 1 Stop 1. For additional information, visit the website at https://www.LasCruces.gov/Museums or call (575) 541-2137/TTY 711.