Peter Rodriguez was raised in both Stockton and Jackson, California. It was there that he first became interested in Art. In 1975, he founded the Mexican Museum as an institution designed to collect, preserve, interpret and present the artistic expression of the Mexican people, regardless of their birth-nation. The unique goal was to establish a museum that showed all five components of Pre-Conquest, Colonial, Popular, Mexican and Chicano Contemporary Art.

Rodriguez envisioned a Museum as both a space in which to preserve and present the culture of the Mexican people, and as a vehicle for Mexican people themselves to present their own culture.

During the Museum's first ten years of operation, Rodriguez devoted his full energy to the daily museum operations. The dual role of director and curator left little time for his own painting. As the Museum grew in size and maturity, it began to attract the attention of a broad scope of individuals and the museum began to form a permanent collection. As the collection grew, so did the number and scope of exhibitions presented by the Museum to the public.



**Please note that accents have been eliminated inorder to accomodate and facilitate the use of all types of web browsers.



Researchers who would like to indicate errors of fact or omissions in this finding aid can contact the research center at www.chicano.ucla.edu

Peter Rodriguez was raised in both Stockton and Jackson, California. It was there that he first became interested in Art. In 1975, he founded the Mexican Museum as an institution designed to collect, preserve, interpret and present the artistic expression of the Mexican people, regardless of their birth-nation. The unique goal was to establish a museum that showed all five components of Pre-Conquest, Colonial, Popular, Mexican and Chicano Contemporary Art.Rodriguez envisioned a Museum as both a space in which to preserve and present the culture of the Mexican people, and as a vehicle for mexican people themselves to present their own culture.During the Museum's first ten years of operation, Rodriguez devoted his full energy to the daily museum operations. The dual role of director and curator left little time for his own painting. As the Museum grew in size and maturity, it began to attract the attention of a broad scope of individuals and the museum began to form a permanent collection. As the collection grew, so did the number and scope of exhibitions presented by the Museum to the public.

one linear foot

For students and faculty researchers of UCLA, all others by permission only. Copyright has not been assigned to the Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist and/or the Librarian at the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Access is available by appointment for UCLA student and faculty researchers as well as independent researchers. To view the collection or any part of it, please contact the archivist at archivist@chicano.ucla.edu or the librarian at yretter@chicano.ucla.edu