Poster for an exhibition of student art from nine open air schools

Gabriel Fernández Ledesma Mexican
Publisher Talleres Gráficos de la Nación, Mexico, D.F.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 692

Arising from the government policy to teach Indigenous and working-class children and to encourage a unified national culture, open-air art schools were established in villages and towns around Mexico City in the early 1920s. This striking print advertised an exhibition of art from nine such schools, held at the Ministry of Education in Mexico City. Fernández Ledesma was deeply committed to democratizing education for children. He founded a school and worked for the ministry to promote increased opportunities for the underprivileged.



A principios de la década de 1920, en el marco de la política gubernamental de educar a los niños indígenas y de clase obrera y de fomentar una cultura nacional unificada, se establecieron en localidades y pueblos próximos a Ciudad de México escuelas de arte al aire libre. Esta espectacular estampa anunciaba una exposición de arte de nueve de esas escuelas celebrada en la Secretaría de Educación Pública de Ciudad de México. Fernández Ledesma tenía un firme compromiso con la democratización de la educación infantil. Fundó una escuela y trabajó para la Secretaría con el objetivo de ofrecer más oportunidades de formación a los desfavorecidos.

Poster for an exhibition of student art from nine open air schools, Gabriel Fernández Ledesma (Mexican, Aguascalientes 1900–1983 Mexico City), Woodcut, letterpress in red and black, backed with linen

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