About MUY

A cultural space dedicated to contemporary Mayan and Zoque art

Espacio MUY is located in the center of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico, a city with more than a thousand years of culture. Espacio MUY is a cultural center for contemporary art by creators of Mayan and Zoque descent, using all media, from painting and photography to performance and public and relational art in the indigenous communities of Chiapas.

MUY includes exhibition halls, an experimental production workshop, a permanent collection, the MUY historical archives, a program of talks and other events, a residency program, and a physical and online store.

Espacio MUY opened its doors in December 2014 and since then it has organized more than 30 exhibitions of Mayan and Zoque artists, in addition to serving as a link between them and several of the most important museums in the country and abroad, thanks to the sensitivity in the world for the cultures of resistance/resilience of indigenous peoples.

What does MUY mean? MUY in Tsotsil means joy, delight, and also to “rise”.

Letter from the director

Martha Alejandro, director of Espacio MUY

“May Maya and Zoque art always be a means to share our memories and the knowledge of our ancestors, but also a space to reflect on the threats and challenges facing our peoples and communities.”

View the CV for MUY

Our Team

Martha Alejandro

Director

Martha Alejandro, a Zoque woman from Rayón, Chiapas, is the director of Espacio MUY, with general responsibilities for coordination and administration. Martha is an expert on contemporary Zoque art, an art manager, and an artist herself. She is a graduate of the Technological University of La Selva, specializing in tourism. Contact: marthaalejandromuy@gmail.com

John Burstein W.

Director Emeritus

As director emeritus of Espacio MUY and a promoter of local art projects, Burstein co-directs the cultural space and its public relations, and coordinates MUY's curatorial activities. Burstein first arrived in Chiapas in 1973 and has since founded several civil society organizations in Chiapas with an emphasis on development, public policy, and art. Contact: jbmuy@yahoo.com

Emilia Sotelo

Cultural Management

Emilia Sotelo (Chaco, Argentina, 1994) is an anthropologist and research fellow at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology (CIESAS), Southeast branch. Her work focuses on the intersections of art, politics, and interculturality, with an emphasis on contemporary Indigenous art. Throughout her career, she has worked as a cultural manager at the Directorate of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Province of Chaco and at the National University of Córdoba, Argentina. This interdisciplinary perspective has enriched her professional practice beyond research and teaching. She is currently part of Espacio MUY, supporting archiving and curatorial processes. Her approach seeks to foster transdisciplinary and collaborative dialogues that strengthen critical reflection on art, its circulation, and its value.

Francisco Corzo

Maintenance Manager

Francisco Corzo, from San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, is responsible for the maintenance of the MUY space, ensuring its proper functioning and upkeep. His duties include general cleaning, facility maintenance, and gardening. He also assists in the upkeep of La Garita, an additional space within MUY.

Säsäknichim Martínez

Training and artist advisor

Adolfo López Mateos, Huixtán, Chiapas, Mexico. Säsäknichim (Margarita) Martínez Pérez, linguist, translator, and audiovisual artist, practices photography, video, textile intervention, and embroidery, and maintains a significant academic career. Säsäknichim holds a PhD in Anthropological Linguistics and is a professor and researcher in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Sciences and Arts of Chiapas.

Grace Johnson

Advisor and volunteer

Johnson is a textile and fiber artist who has been coming to San Cristóbal de las Casas since childhood. She teaches textile printing and natural dyeing at the Columbus Cultural Center in Ohio.

PH Joel

Artist advisora

Ocosingo, Chiapas, Mexico, 1992. He is a Tseltal visual artist specializing in painting, sculpture, and performance. His work focuses on creating images that evoke the great Classic Maya civilization, its continuation through the blending of tradition and modernism, and resistance against past and present colonialism. Joel explores materials native to the Lacandon Jungle: clays, pigments of mineral and plant origin, wood, bones, stones, and more.

Josué Gómez

Communications Officer

Josué Gómez, a Tsotsil native from Nuevo Zinacantán, Teopisca, Chiapas, works in the communications and design department. He is responsible for updating and managing the social media accounts and website. He also designs catalogs and posters for events, as well as editing images.

Steering Committee:

Martha Alejandro, John Burstein, Dale Hermann y Grace Johnson

Local advisors and volunteers

Säsäknichim (Margarita) Martínez

Gregorio López

David y Nancy Orr

John Govea y Denise Keller

Ann Conway y John Do

Lyn Pentecost

Pablo Farías y Patricia Velasco

Carlota Duarte

Haley McEwan