Galería Celda Contemporánea

Celda Contemporánea is an exhibition space within the Claustro de Sor Juana University. It’s within the 17th-century San Jerónimo convent where the famous nun and poet Sor Juana secluded herself. The brooding space is part of every exhibition.

• Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648-1695) was a Hieronymite nun best known today as a New Spanish poet and writer. Her lyric poetry is considered among the finest of late Spanish Baroque. She also wrote some poetry in the Nahuatl language. She strongly criticized the misogyny and hypocrisy of her time. The Bishop of Puebla eventually forced her to sell her library, cease writing, and dedicate herself to the poor. She died within the next year in this very convent.

Since 2012, the Celda Contemporánea exhibition space has invited three artists for each exhibition. They’re permitted to work within the space or to put it to use as they see fit. Resident artists are encouraged to use the space, to learn from it, and reflect on the site’s history, meaning, and place in contemporary culture. The results are seldom less than fully dramatic.

The space is in one corner of the Grand Cloister just off the main courtyard of the University. It’s open to the public,

Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.