The Instituto Allende announces the opening of a photographic exhibit that documents the early flourishing of art in San Miguel. The black and white photographs of Peter Olwyler document the staff, students, models, and social and cultural experience of the Instituto Allende fine arts school between 1955 and 1968.

Patzcuaro field trip
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Brita Sudholm, weaving instructor
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From Mexico, the Philippines, Europe, the United States of America, Canada, and many other countries, novice and experienced students have come to study art at the Instituto Allende.

Mrs. Englemen and daughters sketching near the San Antonio Church
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Art bazaar
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Peter Olwyler arrived with his family in San Miguel in 1955, on their way back to the United States after a fruitless search in Mexico City for a job as a writer and photojournalist for newspapers or business agencies. Through a set of fortuitous circumstances, Stirling Dickinson, Director of the Instituto Allende and its owners Nell & Enrique Fernandez hired Peter as the Public Relations Manager. Soon he took on duties as the instructor of photography and eventually, for creative writing. For several years in the 1990s, he was the Editor for the Spanish/English language newspaper Atención: San Miguel. He was a valued citizen of the city, who contributed significantly, including through philanthropic activities during his 44 years of life in San Miguel.

These photographs show artists studying and creating art and how they lived within the greater culture of Mexico and San Miguel. The dynamic between the instructors and students, along with the beauty and culture of San Miguel, encouraged a flowering of unique styles of expression in the arts. Many students, as well as the instructors, became renown in Mexico and in their own countries for their talent and the beauty of their art. The owners and staff of the Instituto Allende provided a larger field of art for Mexicans and expatriates students to explore, and instructors to guide them in their creativity. The images in this exhibit will remain with the Instituto Allende Casa Museum for future use and for public viewing and research.

Stanley Lewis, Canadian artist
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S. Ybarra, sculpture instructor
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As well as the Instituto Allende, Peter Olwyler's body of work includes thousands of images of the Mexican culture of the land of the Feathered Serpent, the Bajio of Mexico.

Peter passed away in 1999, and since then his son, Michael, has been archiving and accessioning the 40,000 images of his father's work, and hopes to extend the life of his work so that Mexicans and expatriates can find new understanding of their recent past. Michael tells us, "Jaime Fernandez Harris, son of the owners who hired my father Peter, asked if I would be willing to exhibit Peter's photography." Most of these photographs have never been seen before.

Thanks to the team that put this exhibit together for your pleasure and edification:
Jaime Fernández Harris
Talía Lara
Camila Arana Álvarez
Víctor Vallero
Michael Olwyler

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