La Cartonería Mexicana / The Mexican Art of Paper and Paste

La Cartonería Mexicana / The Mexican Art of Paper and Paste


January 29, 2023 - November 3, 2024

Mexican cartonería uses simple materials of paste, cardboard, and paper to create a diverse array of subjects such as piñatas, dolls, Day of the Dead skeletons, and fantastical animals called alebrijes.  The first exhibition to focus exclusively on a Mexican folk art tradition in many years, La Cartonería Mexicana will display more than 100  historic sculptures from the Museum of International Folk Art’s Permanent Collection.  Many of the sculptures were collected by Alexander Girard and have never been displayed.   

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Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan

Yōkai: Ghosts & Demons of Japan


December 8, 2019 - September 4, 2023

Vivid in Japanese art and imagination are creatures that are at once ghastly and comical. Yōkai is a catchall word that generally refers to demons, ghosts, shapeshifters, and “strange” and supernatural beings. Yōkai  are prevalent in Japanese popular and expressive culture; you find them in manga (comics), anime (animation), and character-based games such as Pokémon (“pocket monster”).

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Multiple Visions: A Common Bond

Multiple Visions: A Common Bond

Permanent Exhibit
On long-term display

Multiple Visions: A Common Bond has been the destination for well over a million first-time and repeat visitors to the Museum of International Folk Art. First, second, third, or countless times around, we find our gaze drawn by different objects, different scenes. With more than 10,000 objects to see, this exhibition continues to enchant museum visitors, staff and patrons. Explore highlights from the GIRARD WING.

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Lloyd’s Treasure Chest: Folk Art in Focus

Lloyd’s Treasure Chest: Folk Art in Focus


On long-term display

Lloyds’s Treasure Chest: Folk Art in Focus is a participatory gallery that encourages the exploration of folk art and contemplation of what is meant by “folk art.” Temporary, thematic displays are drawn from, and highlight the museum’s permanent collection of folk art, which is the museum’s “treasure.”

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