Located at the western end, the fourth section of Chapultepec Forest is shaped like an eye. In August the new National Cinematheque will be inaugurated there. There will be an open-air theater with a Korean-made screen with the best technology and extraordinary vividness, color and clarity, even in broad daylight. In addition, there will be eight projection rooms with capacity for 2,160 spectators in total.
During a tour of the area, the federal Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto, explained to The Conference that the site was part of the military industry, where there was a gunpowder factory in the 19th century and now the space will be used for art and teaching.
A beautiful cross, built by the site’s workers, stands out over the elongated hallway that is the backbone of the building with walls covered in wood. Crossing the heights you enter the rooms lined up on the sides. In the lower part you can see open spaces. The smell of firewood disperses throughout the still life divided into two floors, while work is being done at a forced pace to complete one of the most promising spaces.
Like Los Pinos, this is one of the most symbolic transformations of the forest
Frausto commented. The area where tanks were armored and vehicles were armed was taken over to be the headquarters of the Chapultepec National Cinematheque. In addition to the rooms, there will be terraces, a restaurant, a cafeteria, a candy store, a bookstore, a video library and parking. In addition, one of the accesses will be connected to a Cablebús station.
The fourth section is made up of 100 hectares that were recovered thanks to the collaboration of the National Defense: It is a project that we draw up together. Although the Secretariats of Works and the Environment of Mexico City also intervened.
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That area had a real estate destiny and was being targeted to turn it into a new Santa Fe. It was not like that; Instead, centers will be opened to train new generations in artistic disciplines, the official reiterates.
Two large arched ceilings will welcome the new headquarters for teaching film techniques and crafts. The school will offer one-year modular studies to become a sound engineer, screenwriter and other trades. The Arsenal educational institution will be dedicated to conservation and fine arts.
With these two schools, enrollment will be expanded; For example, in the Cinematographic Training Center, if 500 apply for admission, only 16 enter. Here we will have 350. In El Arsenal, linked to La Esmeralda and other art schools, we are going to have another 300 places.
When supervising the progress of the works and asking about the author of the craftsmanship of the cross in honor of the day of construction, Frausto is happy to see the new seats still to be unpacked and about to be placed in the last room. At the first door, upon entering, the lights turn off and it is possible to learn about the audio work of well-calibrated equipment, the operation of the screen projection and the isolation of outside sound.
In this nascent fourth section, an imposing new architectural project also emerges: the National Art Warehouse, where the collection of the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal) will be transported and protected in 5.2 hectares.
Museums are always overstretched in their ability to preserve and conserve the art in their collections.
. He says that the idea was born in the warehouse of the Tamayo Museum, where from their own experience they know that it is difficult to promote the growth of the collection due to the little space available for storage.
In the old cartridge factory, the industrial warehouses and rooms have their own brain to provide specific conservation conditions, such as lighting, humidity and temperature, according to the needs of the format to be protected, whether paintings, works on paper, wood or sculptures. The rooms have an ignition system inside and out to prevent the spread of fire.
The facilities of the National Center for Conservation and Registration of Movable Artistic Heritage (Cencropam), currently located in the Historic Center, will thus increase their storage and conservation capacity. It is planned to move around 65 thousand works, as well as the restoration workshops. Likewise, it will receive visitors to learn about the work of the restorers in an on-site museum and a gallery, and space can also be rented for private collections from other institutions.
This helps us generate interest in artistic and restoration studies, vocations that do not necessarily have that approach to art. Imagine having this entire population and young people who can access this artistic wealth.
concluded the official.