ARCHIVO(S) V.3 Centro SCOP

In the mid-century modern Mexico, the headquarters of the Ministry of Communications and Public Works (better known as the SCOP Center) was one of the most ambitious and emblematic public architecture projects of the “Mexican Miracle.” This building, covered with 6,000 m2 of stone and mosaic murals and sculptures signed by key artists of the period, including Juan O’Gorman, José Chávez Morado and Rodrigo Arenas Betancourt, crystallized the ambitions and aspirations of its era, under the command of architect Carlos Lazo, director of the SCOP from 1952 until his untimely death in 1955.

Seriously affected by the earthquakes of September 19, 1985 and 2017, today the future of this icon of modernity in Mexico—and its artistic heritage—is uncertain. The third exhibition of the Archivo(s) series will rescue the memory of this project while speculating from the field of contemporary art on the meaning and importance of preserving modern heritage in a context of crisis.