This thesis analyzes the production, commercialization, and exhibition of Mexican popular art during the neoliberal transition of the Mexican state. The adoption and outcomes of Mexico's neoliberal economic model that began in the early 1980s can most easily be observed in the country's political and economic landscape. This study of Mexican popular art traces the effects that these socioeconomic changes have on this art practice. Popular art has played a significant role in Mexico's political and cultural history. It was instrumental in creating a national identity during the nationalist period. Once again, as Mexico transitions into a state of affairs characterized by globalization, free trade, and a market ideology, popular art and culture play a significant role in the country's global positioning. Three different but interrelated sites are analyzed in this study of popular art and its relation to this economic and political change. The artist workshop is viewed as a space for entrepreneurial practice, the retail store as an informal educator on non-Western cultural practices, and the exhibition of Mexican popular art as a promoter of a neoliberal ideology. This thesis argues that these sites are interconnected and interdependent and make possible the construction of popular art, authenticity, and indigeneity. This study shows the intimate relationship that the market has not only on the production of popular art, but also on issues of identity and indigeneity.
