A few steps from Main temple there is an architectural relic that currently houses the Ex Teresa Museum. However, this enclosure was a convent and a monastery in the 17th century. Know your story.
The building that is considered one of the oldest in the Mexico City, has a baroque style façade; while inside it protects the neoclassical style.
History of the Ex Teresa Museum
The construction of this enclosure dates from the year 1616, when it was erected to house the convent of Saint Theresa the Ancientas well as to Saint Joseph Monastery of the order of Discalced Carmelites.
Christopher de Medina Vargas He was the architect who was in charge of building this architectural piece in the center of CDMX. Although the site was dedicated to Santa Teresa by mid-1684, religious functions were already taking place inside.
One of the most emblematic moments of this place occurred in 1667. During that year, Juana Ines de Asbajebetter known as Sor Juana Ines De La CruzHe entered the convent.
Although her time there would be brief, since the Mexican poet left the place after the three of them joined. The cause of her decision was the severity of the rule and the rigor of the order of the Discalced Carmelites.
Later he entered the order of the Jerónimas, which was more flexible, in the convent of Santa Paulawhere he finally professed on February 24, 1669.
In the convent, where she lived the rest of her life, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz worked as an accountant and archivist but, more than anything, he devoted himself to study and writing.
After this event, religious life within the convent dedicated to Santa Teresa continued without major changes.
First modifications and abandonment
The first modifications to the building would arrive in the 17th and 19th centuries. At this time some were added Solomonic columnsas well as the dome by Lorenzo de Hidalga.
However, religious life within the convent was affected by the arrival of the Reform Laws between 1855 and 1863. These laws allowed the separation of Church and State, the end of communal land ownership, as well as the jurisdiction ecclesiastical.
This situation led to the secularization of the nuns who resided within the convent in 1863. Subsequently, the property was used for different purposes: military barracks, normal school, printing press for the Official Gazette of the Federation and the Archive of the Ministry of Finance.
Then came the Cristero War, from 1926 to 1929. During this period the building suffered abandonment and lost a large part of its territory.
Ex Teresa Contemporary Art Museum
In the year of 1993 this building began a new stage, now as a cultural center that was called: Ex Teresa Contemporary Art Museum. He is now under the guardianship of National Institute of Fine Arts.
The Ex Teresa Museum is a space in which the contemporary artistic scene, both national and international, finds a temple. In it you can find artistic exhibitions of sound, audiovisual and scenic experimentation, performance, action art, video art and site-specific installation.
The objective of this museum is to encourage and promote contemporary and multidisciplinary artistic practices through exhibition, dissemination, research and documentation.
It is important to point out that the Ex Teresa Current Art and its Documentation Center They are pioneers, both nationally and in Latin America, in the dissemination and memory of non-object art, and art based on time.
Do not miss the opportunity to visit any of the exhibitions that this venue prepares for the public. In addition, you will be able to appreciate its architectural and historical beauty.
Remember that the place is located at Licenciado Primo Verdad 8, Centro, Cuauhtémoc, CP 06060, CDMX. The opening hours for the general public are from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Free entrance.