Chinati Foundation - Marfa, TX - a contemporary museum founded by Donald Judd

Donald Judd founded the Chinati Foundation (La Fundacion Chinati) which is a museum for contemporary art found in Marfa, Texas. The goal of the museum is to present large scale permanent exhibits to the public while permanently preserving the work of a select number of artists. The original concept of the museum has since expanded and turned into something much more amazing to fulfill his vision.

The foundation is on three hundred and forty acres where the Fort D.A. Russell once stood in Marfa, Texas in addition to the abandoned military building there are also other buildings in the center of the town. There are over ten buildings that make up the museum and even though the founder died in 1994 the foundation still makes an attempt to keep the art displays permanent.

In 1971 Donald Judd made his first visit to Marfa, Texas then moved there in 1977 from New York. During 1979 the construction of the museum began with the Dia Art Foundation out of New York assisting. In 1986 the Chinati Foundation was opened to the public as a publicly funded, non-profit organization. The original concept of the museum was to display the work of Dan Flavin, John Chamberlain and Donald Judd.

The collection expanded to included Roni Horn, Carl Andre, Richard Long, Coosje van Bruggen, John Wesley and others over the years as the idea for the Chinati foundation was expanded. The grounds of the museum have separate buildings for the work of each artist. The goal the Judd held for the Chinati Foundation was to bring nature, architecture and art together as a whole.

Cultural universities and institutions and the local community were linked with the educational and art programs sponsored by the Chinati Foundation. The Artists in Residence Program at Chinati Foundation gives artists from all over the world an opportunity to exhibit and develop their art. Students have the opportunity for a first hand museum experience with the Internship Program at Chinati. During the summer local students can attend art classes at the museum.

Since 1995 there has been an annual newsletter published in both Spanish and English by the Chinati foundation. Guided tours are the only time the foundation is open to view the art. Wednesday through Sunday there are tours available to the public. Tours are divided into two parts with a break taken for lunch because of the amount of time it takes to complete the tours. Tours start at ten in the morning with a lunch break at noon. Tours then resume at two in the afternoon for completion.

The Chinati foundation is approximately three hours from both the Midland/Odessa and El Paso airports. With the large scale exhibits and proximity to the area attractions in Marfa, Texas the Chinati Foundation is somewhere you should definitely add to the list of stops along the way if you're ever in the area. With all that the Chinati Foundation does for the community it is well worth visiting and taking a closer look into the programs that are offered.