Institutions

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia is a Mexican government agency that researches, preserves and shares knowledge about Mexico’s culture and heritage.

Mexico & Aotearoa New Zealand

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Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) is a federal government agency. It was established in 1939 to research, preserve and share knowledge about Mexico’s prehistoric, archaeological, anthropological, historical and paleontological heritage. INAH is responsible for more than 110,000 historical monuments, more than 53,000 archaeological zones and 162 museums. Many of the museums protect artefacts that are included in temporary national and international exhibitions. One of these museums is the Museo Nacional de Antropología which loaned several of the pieces exhibited in Portrait of Mexico, an exhibition of Mexican art that toured New Zealand during 1972 and 1973.

INAH employs more than 800 academics who conduct research into history, social anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, ethnohistory, ethnology, physical anthropology, architecture, heritage conservation and restoration. It trains professionals at several higher education institutions, which include Escuela Nacional de Conservación, Restauración y Museografía (ENCRYM) (the National School of Anthropology and History) in Mexico City. INAH also houses historical and cultural collections at Biblioteca Nacional de Antropología e Historia (the National Library of Anthropology and History), and disseminates information about Mexico’s heritage through periodicals, phonograms, videograms and multimedia communications.

INAH and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa have an exhibition-exchange partnership. In 2012, INAH hosted the New Zealand exhibition E Tū Ake: Māori Standing Strong at Museo Nacional de las Culturas del Mundo. And in 2013, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa hosted one of INAH’s international exhibitions Aztecs: Conquest and glory.

Through an established academic relationship, Dr Lee Davidson (Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington) and Dr Leticia Pérez-Castellanos (formerly ENCRYM) developed a case study of the relationship between INAH and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, which they documented in Cosmopolitan Ambassadors, published in 2019. This study of the benefits of collaborative creative relationships led the Latin America Centre of Asia–Pacific Excellence to launch the Cultural Sector Partnerships programme. This programme provided creative and cultural students and professionals with opportunities to develop the skills to work effectively with their counterparts in Latin America.

Through the Cultural Sector Partnerships programme, in 2020, ENCRYM and Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington supported interns who worked remotely to create the exhibition De la Milpa a la Mesa: A Mexican Food Journey, which toured New Zealand in 2022 and 2023.