San Antonio Museum of Art's ‘Microhistories of the Andes’ opens this Sunday

This 19th century piece from Bolivia, Virgin with Christ Child, is among the artifacts on display in the “Microhistories of the Andes” exhibition. Credit: Courtesy Photo / SAMA

Called a must-see exhibition by the New York Times, the San Antonio Museum of Art’s “Microhistories of the Andes” examines artifacts that elucidate the plurality of Andean creation myths, cosmologies, cultural impacts on agricultural practices and objects of devotion.

The show, curated by Kristopher Driggers, SAMA’s curator of Latin American Art, opens this Sunday and runs through May 23 of next year.

The use of materials such as textiles, ceramics, sculptures, paintings and metalwork spans the massive geographic area that was home to Andean civilizations, and the artifacts show the lengthy duration of time such societies endured.

SAMA’s impressive collection contains more than 30,000 works representing 5,000 years of human history. “Microhistories”is more than a primer on successful Pre-Columbian empires. It is a sobering reminder of the inevitable ebb and flow of human societies.

Included with museum admission, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday and Friday through Sunday, May 23, 2027, 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, San Antonio Museum of Art, 200 W. Jones St., (210) 978-8113, samuseum.org.

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