El Museo del Barrio

“I felt very strongly that the piece was really about them [the viewer] — about their perceptions of otherness, of ‘savages’… What we were doing inside the cage wasn’t very interesting; what was interesting was them.” —Coco Fusco One of the earliest works in ‘Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island’ is the iconic “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West” (1992–94) by Fusco and Guillermo Gómez-Peña. In this work, Fusco and Gómez-Peña presented themselves as “undiscovered Amerindians” from the fictionalized island of Guatinaui. The “Guatinauis” traveled to public plazas, art events and natural history museums around the world, generating a wide range of responses. The photographs and video presented highlight the full gamut of these reactions, many of which reveal the persistence colonial attitudes and assumptions about non-Western cultures in addition to racist and sexist biases. - “Sentía con mucha fuerza que la obra trataba realmente sobre ellos [los espectadores], sobre sus percepciones de la otredad, de los ‘salvajes’… Lo que hacíamos dentro de la jaula no era muy interesante; lo interesante eran ellos.” —Coco Fusco Una de las primeras obras de ‘Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island’ es la icónica “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Visit the West” (1992–94) de Fusco y Guillermo Gómez-Peña. En esta obra, Fusco y Gómez-Peña se presentaron como «amerindios no descubiertos» de la isla ficticia de Guatinaui. Los “Guatinauis” viajaron a plazas públicas, eventos artísticos y museos de historia natural de todo el mundo, generando una amplia gama de reacciones. Las fotografías y el video presentados muestran estas reacciones, muchas de las cuales revelan la persistencia de actitudes y prejuicios coloniales sobre las culturas no occidentales, además de sesgos racistas y sexistas. 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. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

Take a closer look at “Everyone Who Lives Here is a New Yorker” (2025) through renowned artist Coco Fusco herself, featured in her first U.S. survey 'Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island.' Created for More Art’s 20th Anniversary, this new photographic series examines contemporary perceptions of migration. Originally a video for LinkNYC screens and translated into a photography series, it confronts political narratives that frame immigration as a crisis, emphasizing instead the vital cultural and economic contributions of immigrants. Catch the exhibition through March 1, 2026. - Descubra más sobre “Everyone Who Lives Here is a New Yorker” (2025) de la mano de la reconocida artista Coco Fusco, en su primera exposición individual en Estados Unidos, titulada ‘Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island’. Creada para el 20.º aniversario de More Art, esta nueva serie fotográfica examina las percepciones contemporáneas sobre la migración. Originalmente un video para las pantallas de LinkNYC y posteriormente adaptada a una serie fotográfica, la obra confronta las narrativas políticas que presentan la inmigración como una crisis, destacando en cambio las vitales contribuciones culturales y económicas de los inmigrantes. La exhibición estará abierta al público hasta el 1 de marzo de 2026. 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. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

“The idea of the transformative power of poetry was striking to me” — Coco Fusco In this glimpse of ‘Coco Fusco: Tomorrow, I Will Become an Island,’ Coco Fusco reflects on the exhibition’s title, drawn from the poetry of Cuban writer Virgilio Piñera. Featuring over three decades of work, the exhibition highlights Fusco’s contributions to contemporary art—from the canonical performance “Two Undiscovered Amerindians Discover the West” to her continued explorations of Cuban history and present-day U.S. politics. Catch the exhibition through March 1, 2026 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. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

Thank you for joining us at El Museo del Barrio for our 48th Annual Three Kings Day Parade—an unforgettable celebration of activism, mutual care, and collective power! 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. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

As an end to our Día de los Muertos Celebation, El Museo enjoyed a captivating performance by Oaxacan singer Nylzher and Mazarte Dance Company blending folkloric music and dance from various regions of Mexico. 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. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.

Created during Día de los Muertos celebrations, altars welcome the souls of departed loved ones. Decorated with marigolds, candles, photos, food, and water, and personal items of beloved relatives, these altars serve as a bridge between the living and the dead, honoring ancestors and celebrating their lives and memories. In 2025, in collaboration with The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center, El Museo debuted their 2025 Día de los Muertos Community Altar, designed by renowned visual artist Nitza Tufiño. Our altar invites the public to honor their own ancestors, and will become a transformative space of remembrance, resilience, and collective healing. 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. For more information, please visit www.elmuseo.org.