Note to Correspondents

‘GREAT MASTERS OF MEXICAN FOLK ART’ EXHIBIT TO OPEN AT UN HEADQUARTERS ON 10 APRIL

Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico Luis Ernesto Derbez will open “Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art” Thursday, 10 April, at 6 p.m. in the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby.

This unique exhibition is from the collection of Fomento Cultural Banamex A.C., recently on display at the Smithsonian National History Museum of the Indian American.  The exhibition highlights the work of artists who have used techniques handed down from one generation to the next and represents the diverse traditions and social environments of Mexico and its indigenous cultures.  The artifacts on display have been produced in a variety of mediums, including clay, plant fibres, stone, leather, shell, wax, feathers and glass.

The master artisans represented in this exciting exhibition were selected to take part in the Programme of Support for Folk Art, which was founded in 1996.  A selection of the pieces will remain at the United Nations to be included in the exhibit during the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, which will take place in May.

Guests are required to enter from First Avenue and 46^th Street.

The exhibit will be on display daily from 10 to 22 April 2003.  Hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  (In view of occasional security restrictions, please call (212) 963-8687 to confirm.)

For further press information, please contact Maria Aguilera, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations, tel: (212) 752-0220, e-mail: maguilera@sre.gob.mx; or Jan Arnesen, United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), at tel: (212) 963-8531 or 963-4442.

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