Photo Courtesy of El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio is pleased to announce the launch of its Spring 2026 season, along with extended museum hours, new performing arts series, and the debut of a bold new visual identity created in collaboration with Pentagram—initiatives that reflect El Museo’s enduring mission to champion Puerto Rican, Latine, and Latin American voices. The Spring 2026 season brings together groundbreaking exhibitions and programs that celebrate the richness and diversity of the Latine diaspora while inviting broader audiences to experience El Museo’s dynamic role in shaping the cultural landscape of the country and beyond.
“El Museo is the product of Puerto Rican and Latine New Yorkers who built it, demanded it, and keep it alive,” said Patrick Charpenel, Executive Director of El Museo del Barrio. “This spring, that commitment continues to take tangible form. From Sophie Rivera’s long-overdue museum survey to Perspectivas—our Thursday evening conversations exploring power, memory, and the politics of looking—we’re deepening our engagement with our communities. We’re also celebrating Nuyorican life with Super Sábado, a vibrant family festival. By expanding our hours, filling our galleries with living histories, and activating our theater with music, dance, and debate, we’re opening El Museo as a shared civic space where artists, neighbors, students, and families can see themselves, exchange ideas, and shape what comes next.”
EXHIBITIONS, TOURS, AND A PERFORMING ARTS SERIES
Opening this Spring
SOPHIE RIVERA: Double Exposures
April 23 – August 2, 2026
Press Preview: 10:00 AM on April 22, 2026. RSVP here.
The first museum survey devoted to groundbreaking photographer Sophie Rivera offers a long-overdue reassessment of her contributions to photography and Nuyorican visual culture. The presentation also honors her deep connection to El Museo del Barrio, where her first solo show was presented in the 1980s and where she later organized exhibitions. Rivera’s work reflects the complexity of her intersectional identity as a feminist Puerto Rican artist in New York during the 1970s–1990s, challenging and expanding traditional narratives of portraiture and representation. The title references both the photographic technique of layering multiple images and Rivera’s exploration of multiplicity and identity.
The show is accompanied by the first comprehensive monograph on the artist, co-published with Aperture, featuring over 125 plates, selections from Rivera’s writings, and newly commissioned scholarship.
Closing Soon!
COCO FUSCO: Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island
Extended through March 1, 2026
Due to overwhelming critical acclaim, Coco Fusco’s first U.S. survey—spanning more than three decades of her career—has been extended through March 1, 2026. Featuring more than twenty works across video, performance, installation, photography, and writing—including a new photographic series debuting at El Museo del Barrio—the exhibition has resonated widely for its urgent examination of politics and power through the groundbreaking work of the Cuban-American interdisciplinary artist and writer.
On View
JANGUEANDO: Recent Acquisitions, 2021–2025
Through July 5, 2026
Featuring nearly 40 newly acquired works by artists whose works engage with themes of kinship, identity, and social connection, the exhibition offers a powerful reflection on collective presence and cultural resilience in the face of adversity. The Spanglish title—meaning “hanging out”—evokes both casual gathering and artistic assembly, highlighting spaces of community, joy, and resistance.
Gallery Conversations
PERSPECTIVAS: Power, Memory, and the Politics of Looking
Thursdays, February 5, 12, 19, 26 | 6:30 – 7:30 PM | FREE | Las Galerías
Registration here for February 5, February 12, February 19, and February 26
Featured guests offer personal perspectives on selected works currently on view at El Museo del Barrio. Participating artists and thinkers include Marco Saavedra, artist and immigrant rights activist; Jackson Polys, multidisciplinary artist and member of the New Red Order collective; and Maria A. Cabrera Arus, sociologist and expert on the politics of fashion and domestic material culture in Cold War–era socialist regimes, among others.
Concert and Dance Series
We are proud to partner with Belongó and Calpulli Mexican Dance Company on a new performing arts series this spring, amplifying local stories and honoring the legacy of Latin artistic contributions to New York City.
Concerts
THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA: Bronx Oral Histories
Friday March 13, and Saturday, March 14, | 7:00 – 8:30 PM | FREE | El Teatro
Featuring BronX BandA, a dynamic improvisational ensemble and project of the Bronx-based Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education, the concert includes original compositions and new arrangements that blend traditional jazz with community sounds and stories, reflecting the rich oral histories of Bronxites.
Concerts
THE AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA: America at 250
Thursday, May 15, 7:00 – 8:30 PM | Friday, May 16, 5:00 – 6:30 PM | FREE | El Teatro
This special engagement features the 18-piece big band in a new setting, accompanied by a string orchestra. The hybrid ensemble presents a diverse program including compositions and adaptations by Arturo O’Farrill, seldom-heard works by Chico O’Farrill (Arturo’s father), and new orchestrations of pieces from the Latin jazz canon. This performance is presented as part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival.
Dance Performance
¡VIVA PUEBLA! Fiesta de Cinco de Mayo
with Calpulli Mexican Dance Company
Thursday, May 7 | 10:00 – 10:50 AM and 11:45 – 12:35 PM | $10.00 per person | El Teatro
Ticket information and request seats here
Through lively movement, music, and radiant costumes, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company brings the enduring traditions of Puebla—past and present—to life for audiences of all ages. The performance celebrates the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, when a small Mexican force triumphed against overwhelming odds, and honors the courage and resilience that helped reshape history in the Americas.
Ideal for educators seeking to enrich their school curriculum, this performance offers students an engaging exploration of topics such as Indigenous traditions, history, social studies, geography, music, dance, and language—fostering cross-cultural appreciation through the arts.
Artists Panel
X AS INTERSECTION: Resonant Strategies
Thursday, March 26, 2026 | 6:30 – 8:00 PM | FREE | Online | El Café
This panel brings artists and audiences into live conversation to explore how tradition, memory, and cultural survivance—the enduring presence of marginalized cultures—shape contemporary artistic practice. Working across sculpture, muralism, storytelling, performance, and minimalism, artists Tony Cruz Pabón, Yelaine Rodriguez, and Nitza Tufiño draw on everyday materials and personal histories. Their work reveals narratives often excluded from dominant cultural frameworks.
Moderated by artist Miguel Luciano (2021 Latinx Artist Fellowship recipient) and Zuna Maza (Assistant Curator at El Museo del Barrio), the program is presented in collaboration with The US Latinx Art Forum. It is part of a five-part public series featuring fellows from the fifth cohort of the Latinx Artist Fellowship, fostering exchange across generations and geographies.
Symposium
REVELATIONS: New Perspectives on Sophie Rivera
Friday, May 1 | 4:00 – 7:00 PM | Free | El Café
Join us for a two-panel symposium that brings together artists, scholars, and historians to examine the life, work, and lasting impact of pioneering photographer Sophie Rivera. Grounded in the exhibition Double Exposures, the program explores Rivera’s contributions to Nuyorican visual culture, feminist photography, and the politics of self-representation in New York from the 1970s through the 1990s. Speakers will be announced in early Spring 2026.
Cultural Celebration
SUPER SÁBADO: Nuyorican Life
Saturday, May 16, 2026, | 12:00 – 4:30 PM | Free
Registration here (Kindly note that concert registration is separate and required)
A free, all-ages afternoon celebrating art, community, and everyday life, this cultural gathering invites families and visitors to engage with the groundbreaking photography of Sophie Rivera through hands-on, participatory experiences. Guided gallery conversations, art-making activities, movement workshops, and storytelling sessions encourage participants to explore Nuyorican visual culture through Rivera’s portraits, documentary images, experimental self-portraits, and photographs of New York City’s subway and graffiti scenes from the late 1970s—activating the museum as a space of shared learning, memory, and joy.
At 5:00 PM, continue the celebration in El Teatro with the AFRO LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA: America at 250.
Group Guided Visits
JANGUEANDO: Recent Acquisitions, 2021-2025 | Now through July
SOPHIE RIVERA: Double Exposures | May through July
Explore our spring/summer exhibitions through engaging, museum educator-led visits designed for schools, colleges, community organizations and adult groups. Guided by our teaching artists, these interactive tours foster dialogue around contemporary art, culture, and identity.
Visitors can reserve their spot by completing a request form:
Thursday, May 28, 2026 | 6:30 PM | Mandarin Oriental New York
The 2026 Gala of El Museo del Barrio will honor Isabel and Agustín Coppel and Estrellita Brodsky for their visionary support of contemporary art and their enduring commitment to advancing Latin American art and culture.
Hosted by El Museo del Barrio’s Board of Trustees and Gala Co-Chairs Victoria Espinosa, Karla Harwich, Karla Martínez de Salas, and María Eugenia Maury, the Creative Black-Tie event will take place on Thursday, May 28, 2026, at 6:30 PM at the Mandarin Oriental New York. Proceeds from the evening will support El Museo del Barrio’s exhibitions, education programs, and Permanent Collection, advancing the institution’s mission and long-term impact.
NEW VISUAL IDENTITY
El Museo del Barrio proudly launches a new visual identity that underscores its commitment to elevate Puerto Rican, Latine, and Latin American voices. This next chapter builds on the Museum’s 56-year legacy of cultural leadership, affirming its role as a vital platform for artists, communities, and histories that continue to shape the nation’s cultural fabric. This rebrand stands as a declaration of presence—celebrating the creativity and resilience of Puerto Rican, Latine, and Latin American communities.
Developed in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed design firm Pentagram, the new identity—created by Partner Andrea Trabucco-Campos and his team—introduces a custom typeface, visual system, and redesigned website that reflect El Museo’s evolution as a vibrant, community-centered institution committed to equity and cultural transformation.
“The new identity reflects who we are today—bold, contemporary, and unapologetically rooted in our community’s cultural legacy,” said Pamela Hower, Director of Marketing and Communications of El Museo del Barrio. “Pentagram built a visual system that is expansive and expressive. It honors where we come from, meets the urgency of the moment, and sets the tone for the future we’re shaping together.”
A Unicase Typeface
At the heart of the rebrand is Amigues del Barrio, a custom unicase typeface that deliberately rejects the hierarchy between uppercase and lowercase letters. Both a formal and conceptual statement, the font dissolves colonial structures embedded in language and design. Its letter forms draw from diverse geometric rhythms—embracing multiplicity, eccentricity, and play.
As Trabucco-Campos explains, “The unique role of our custom typeface is to be an invitation that carries a strong point of view: ‘Amigues del Barrio’ is able to modulate from informal to formal, from playful to straightforward, always with a unique Latine spirit.”
The new identity is built around three foundational elements:
Unicase custom typography that reflects El Museo’s tradition of challenging institutional norms and amplifying marginalized narratives.
A vibrant color palette which heroes a Sand color that evokes the timeless materials of making, amplified by a diverse and eclectic color palette that playfully connects with the wide array of audiences El Museo engages.
A digital-first, bilingual framework that adapts fluidly across platforms—from exhibition graphics and signage to merchandise and social media.
Every design choice reflects El Museo’s mission—disrupting systems of exclusion while creating space for new voices and forms of belonging. The identity is both maximal and minimal, unapologetic in its expression. The result is an identity that moves fluidly between dualities: artist and activist, high culture and everyday life, legacy and emergence.
A Platform for Connection
Launching alongside the rebrand is El Museo’s new website, offering an intuitive, multilingual, and mobile-optimized experience. The site deepens access to the Museum’s exhibitions, public programs, and Permanent Collection, while expanding storytelling for local and international audiences. This redesign affirms El Museo del Barrio’s enduring mission to serve as a cultural bridge—connecting generations, communities, and creative voices through art, history, and education.
SPONSORS:
Sophie Rivera: Double Exposures
We extend special recognition to the Henry Luce Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Ford Foundation for their generous support and for making this retrospective exhibition possible. We thank the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and other public agencies for their steadfast commitment to our museum. We are also deeply grateful to Aperture for their partnership on this project.
Jangueando: Recent Acquisitions, 2021–2025 is supported by the Ford Foundation. Additional Permanent Collection funding is provided by The Mellon Foundation.
Tomorrow, I will Become an Island is supported by the Ford Foundation and The Jacques & Natasha Gelman Foundation and is organized by El Museo del Barrio in collaboration with MACBA Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona.
El Museo’s public programs are made possible by the generous support of New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Council, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer.
ABOUT EL MUSEO DEL BARRIO El Museo del Barrio is the nation’s leading Latinx and Latin American cultural institution. The Museum welcomes visitors of all backgrounds to discover the artistic landscape of these communities through its extensive Permanent Collection, varied exhibitions and publications, bilingual public programs, educational activities, festivals, and special events. The Museum is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue at 104th Street in New York City. The Museum is open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 11:00am – 5:00pm. Pay what you wish. To connect with El Museo via social media, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.
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