Discovering Mexico City, a haven for art and design | Canada Voices

Talk of trade wars over the last few months has somewhat unpredictably linked Canada closer to Mexico, but showing solidarity is only one reason to travel to its capital right now. The city, with its storied artistic past, has ramped up its reputation as a destination for the best in contemporary art and design thanks to the mounting importance of its art fairs and emphasis on local craft.

“In the last 10 years, there’s been a design renaissance,” says Justino López of the made-in-Mexico homewares company Atlawa, a Nahuatl or Aztec name meaning “master of water.” “I’m very proud to be part of it.”

Atlawa’s eye-catching designs are made from resin that’s laboriously handcrafted. The collection is sold at the brand’s three retail locations including its latest shop in the hotspot neighbourhood, Roma Norte. The area is known for its abundance of commercial art galleries and institutions, and it buzzes during Mexico City Art Week every February. Part of the attraction is the number of art spaces with gorgeous gardens, intimate hideaways where you can perch and reflect on the exhibitions.

The Juárez neighbourhood is another must-visit cache of Mexico City’s vibrant culture, with boutiques and pop-up shops lining the street, Calle Marsella. It should be on your itinerary for your next trip down south along with these destinations for fashion, design and art.

MAIA Contemporary

Representing artists including Argentinian painter Paula Duró, legendary Surrealist Pedro Friedeberg and the Mexican multidisciplinary artist Cisco Jimenez, MAIA Contemporary focuses on bringing together local and international work. One of its recent exhibitions included pieces by Calgary-based Marigold Santos and Vancouver’s Andrea Wan, and what’s on view will usually steer towards the unusual and inventive. For its booth at the 2025 edition of Zona Maco, Mexico City’s largest art fair, MAIA Contemporary presented pieces by New Mexico-based artist Margaret R. Thompson, who uses materials including turmeric and chili in her chimerical works. MAIA Contemporary’s permanent home is found within a sprawling historical building in the Roma neighbourhood called Casa Baslata that also houses restaurants, an elevated streetwear store and a barre studio.

Casa Mimi

Located in Roma Norte in a 1920s building with art studios and a cultural centre that hosts films, talks and art exhibitions, Nicole Pierpont’s by-appointment-only Casa Mimi project places visitors in the middle of a cozy retail venue. Pierpont, whose mother had a folk-art gallery in Central America, says that “Casa Mimi reflects my lifelong passions: an eclectic mix of folk art, paintings, textiles and gifts from across Mexico, particularly focusing on Mexico City artisans and artists. Pieces on offer include antique busts and contemporary textile works. “I carefully curate each piece, drawn to its playful and colourful nature,” Pierpont says. “I am constantly inspired by México mágico.”

Ikal

Found in the tony area of Polanco, the concept store Ikal is a multi-room, multi-brand shop that carries clothing and accessories as well as homewares and fragrance including its own house scents, Clay and Chocolate, Petate and Desert Flowers. The goods at Ikal, which prides itself on championing Latin brands, amplify the signatures of style down south – colour, generous proportions and novel silhouettes. Wood-focused furniture line Taller Batan, leatherwear company Atrio and footwear label Xinbal share space with the avant-garde German label Path, a mix emblematic of Ikal’s selective philosophy: No object is here by chance.

Mooni

Two exhibition spaces showcase Mooni’s array of eclectic visual art including painting, prints and sculpture by artists from Mexico and across South America. Find local treasures including charming monotypes by Soda Escombro, oil works by Jordi Alós and Oscar Bernal, and objects by Algo Studio. London-based sculptor Salomée offers a uniquely local collection of items made with Oaxacan brown clay. Mooni represents the work of over 50 Mexican and international artists at all stages of their careers and also hosts exhibitions throughout the year. One statement-making project it’s been a part of took place during Mexico City Art Week in 2024, when design studio Bolsón reimagined the plastic used in banana cultivation to coat the gallery’s interior.

Vera Colectivo

Nestled along a particularly pretty street in Juárez is the cheerful boutique Vera Colectivo, a tiny, tile-clad shop selling local slow fashion and home goods. Founded by former art director Fernanda Arias García in 2022, the spot is home to a refined yet playful array of wares that make for perfect souvenirs. “I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a deep passion for Mexico’s cultural heritage and traditions,” Arias García says. She crafts one-of-a-kind jewellery in addition to bringing in handmade ceramics, garments and table linens. “We are a single-brand project, where everything falls under the vision of Vera Colectivo,” she says. “We carry clothing, jewellery, accessories and home decor objects, all curated and designed with a focus on artisanal craftsmanship. I personally oversee the store’s curation and creative direction – sometimes by selecting textiles and objects exactly as artisans create them, and other times by intervening with my own colour choices, selecting materials and adding my personal aesthetic.”

Atlawa

A mouth-watering selection of handcrafted resin homewares awaits at Atlawa, the studio founded by designer Justino López in 2003. Initially providing resin decor items for hospitality projects, López expanded Atlawa’s business to include homewares such as dinnerware and vessels. Describing the work in making the tantalizing pieces that come in an array of hues and patterning, López notes that having a team of 50 craftspeople reflects “the value in our pieces.” Atlawa currently offers 12 collections that are available in its retail locations in Juárez and new flagship in Roma Norte; the brand also operates a boutique at the weekly outdoor market, El Bazaar Sábado.

Breuer

Arturo Verástegui founded the design studio Breuer in 1993. Since then, it has become notable for its shapely furniture pieces. This past February at Zona Maco, Breuer presented Huellas (“footprints” in English), a collection composed of the studio’s pieces designed by Verástegui himself that have debuted at the fair over the years including the bulbous Sherman Chair and Allan Stool, which looks like a chic tool kit screw. Other icons of Mexican design to lend their talent to the Breuer portfolio include Raúl de la Cerda, who made an elegant family of benches and tables; and Francisco Torres and Rosa Hanhausen, whose studio collaborated on the natty Penca outdoor collection.

The Olivia Foundation

Behind a striking 1900s exterior is the breathtaking space crafted by Mexican architects Alberto Kalach and Carlos Zedillo to house the Olivia Foundation’s remarkable collection – the private trove of collectors Jana and Guillermo González. “You’re able to experience the work from different points of view, and that’s what makes it special,” says the foundation’s manager, Rocio Lopez. “Abstract art is about layers, and in this space, it’s like you can see layers of art.” Opened in February of 2024, the foundation hosts temporary solo exhibitions – the current one being painter Sabine Moritz’s first in Mexico – as well as curated collection shows that highlight the works of Tracey Emin, Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Semmel, Anna Weyant, Danielle McKinney and other – largely female – luminaries of post-war abstract art. It also launched a commission-based prize this year at the Material Art Fair, for which Canadian painter Elise Lafontaine was shortlisted.