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706 Camino Lejo, new mexico
505-476-1200
This trove of all things handcrafted is entered through a main exhibition hall, presenting some 10,000 objects from more than one hundred countries – the world’s largest collection of international folk art. It’s a wonderful museum to explore with kids, thanks to massive installations that include tiny figurines depicting everyday scenes in villages around the globe, as well as displays of toys, puppets and games. It’s impossible to sum up the variety of pieces on display; suffice it to say that you should plan to spend a few hours exploring (and try to time your visit so you can join one of the daily docent-led tours). If it’s open, don’t miss the basement, called Lloyd’s Treasure Chest, where you can observe cataloguers and preservationists at work behind a large glass window, as well as open drawers full of items (combs, jewelry, straw appliqués, 19th-century tin) that didn’t make it into the upstairs exhibitions. The MoIFA also regularly hosts changing exhibitions.
Written by Simone Girner