Mariana Sainz Pacheco

Biography

In March 2021, Mariana joined the staff of the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City as Director of Collections. In this role, she leads the team responsible for the registration, conservation, and management of the museum’s collections. Previously, Mariana was the Deputy Director of International Exhibitions at the National Coordination of Visual Arts and National Institute of Fine Art; where she coordinated the visual arts activities for all Mexican embassies and consulates. Mariana left this position in 2018, and briefly joined the team at Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (FONCA), where she managed contemporary artist’s residency programmes. Since 2021, Mariana has been serving as Director of Collections at Franz Mayer Museum.

Founded in 1986, the Franz Mayer Museum houses the collection assembled by Franz Mayer, which primarily includes European, Asian, and American decorative arts; European painting and printmaking; Viceregal American sculpture; photography; and a library containing a remarkable selection of rare books – notably, the most significant collection of Don Quixote de la Mancha editions in the Americas.

The museum’s holdings have been further enriched through major donations, including the folk art collection assembled by Dr. Ruth D. Lechuga and the archive and art collection of the surrealist painter Wolfgang Paalen.

Mariana is working on a Masters and her research interests lie in modern Mexican art. She is currently researching the drawings made by Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, looking at his depiction of ancient cultures, religion and mythology. Mariana is also interested in the role of museums in society, in particular their ethical and social responsibilities.

At the British Museum

During her time on the International Training Programme, Mariana was based in the Department of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, and spent her partner placement at National Museums Northern Ireland.

In 2018 participants were asked to plan and propose a temporary exhibition, drawing on their existing museum experience and the skills learnt during the programme.  Mariana worked with Dilek Karaaziz Sener (Turkey) on her Object in focus project, Ceremonial Journey: How a tradition came from Egypt to Sudan.

Mariana’s place on the International Training Programme was generously supported by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.