Exhibit Statement:

The Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) opened in 2007 however, the idea for a center to celebrate Mexican American arts and cultural heritage developed in the turbulent 1970s as Mexican Americans were fighting for civil rights and first-class citizenship throughout the United States. The need for a cultural center rose out of the marginalization and exclusion of Mexican American cultural heritage in mainstream schooling as well as social and institutional racism that denied Mexican Americans access to equal learning facilities as well as arts and performance spaces. Funding for the construction of the first stage of the facility in 1998 and for the construction of Phase 1A which was completed in 2010. In 2011, The MACC was renamed after Emma Serrato Barrientos, a community leader and activist, for all her years of service in establishing the center which is now called the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (ESB-MACC).

Since its opening, the center has worked to fulfill its mission dedicated to “the preservation, creation, presentation, and promotion of the cultural arts of Mexican Americans and Latino cultures” by exhibiting local, national, and international artists and through developing educational programs focused on visual and performing arts. The ESB-MACC continued the work of its founders to increase representation for Mexican American and Latinx artists by establishing the Latino Artist Access Program, and through the support of countless community collaborations. The ESB-MACC faced one of its greatest challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Just weeks after the staff were forced to leave the ESB-MACC suddenly in March 2020, they presented digital programming to continued serving the Austin community through digital, hybrid, and in-person formats. In December 2022 a new stage of the MACC will begin as it closes its physical location at 600 River Street to undergo a renovation and expansion of the facility, creating a new period in this MACCnificent history. 

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