Gail Borden Public Library’s new Olmec Origins exhibit, featuring 33 Olmec sculptures, makes its Kane County debut Nov. 13 at the main library in downtown Elgin.
The large, ornately decorated heads come to the library courtesy of the Mexican Cultural Center of DuPage after spending the summer at various locations in Naperville, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, West Chicago and four DuPage County forest preserves.
Fernando Ramirez, president and cofounder of the center, said the 5-foot fiberglass pieces are inspired by 17 giant stone heads, standing 10 to 15 feet tall, crafted by the Olmec people between 1400 BCE and 400 BCE and found across Mexico. The Olmecs are considered to be the first Mesoamerican civilization and laid the foundation for Mexican cultures that followed, he said.
The 33 heads on display at the library were made in Mexico and decorated by 15 Mexican artists, 16 Mexican-American artists and two Canadian-American artists. Ramirez said the center would like to see the sculptures displayed at museums or other educational institutions in the United States, Canada and Mexico, all of which will be hosting FIFA World Cup soccer matches in 2026.
“Some of the artists live in the host cities and they are helping work on this,” he said. “We thought this would be a great way to remind people watching the matches that the Olmec people invented what might be the earliest game played with a ball.”
As for what inspired the making and displaying of the heads, Ramirez said it came from Zoom calls he had during the COVID-19 pandemic with his mentor, Carlos Tortolero, founder and president emeritus of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.
During those conversations, Ramirez noticed that Tortolero had Olmec head figurines on his desk and learned that Olmec culture was Totorlero’s passion.
“It’s the mother culture,” Tortolero said.
Tortolero noted that the Olmecs knew how to make rubber and used it to produce a variety of things, including balls. That’s but one example of what cultures from what is now Mexico have contributed to the world, he said.
“It’s important to teach as much as possible about these and other civilizations beyond just European ones,” Tortolero said. “We’re not trying to rewrite history. We’re trying to teach history correctly for the first time.”
The significance of the heads to the Olmecs remains a mystery, Ramirez and Tortolero said. There are theories that they represent rulers, significant people or gods, they said.
Both men will be special guests at the library’s kickoff event for Olmec Origins at 3:30 p.m. Nov. 13. The gathering will include activities for children, music, dancing and giveaways.
Jeanie Ziegler, the library’s director of volunteer services, said the public also can arrange for free group tours of the Olmec exhibit. Available in English and Spanish, tours will last 45 minutes to an hour.
“They will highlight about 10 of the pieces, with a focus on the artist and country represented, as well as the background of the Olmec culture,” Ziegler said.
During the exhibit’s run, there also will be scavenger hunts focusing on finding Olmecs throughout the library.
Other related events include:
- Kids Explore: What a BIG Head You Have will be a presentation for children in grades K through 5 about the Olmec heads. Participants will design their own two-dimensional head. Sessions will be from 2 to 3 p.m. and from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Sally Lee Room.
- A Tribute to Mexican Heritage: Artist Talk with Olmec Head Artist Liz Gonzalez. A Kansas City-based artist, Gonzalez will talk about the head she designed for the exhibition from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14.
The Olmec Origins exhibit is the second collaboration between the library and the Mexican Cultural Center. In 2023, almost 150,000 people visited the Alebrijes, Creatures of a Dream World exhibit, library officials said.
“The Gail Borden is a wonderful library, and we’re happy to partner with them again. Not too many places could display all the heads. They’re big things,” Ramirez said.
The Gail Borden main library is located at 270 N. Grove Ave. To book a tour of the Olmec Origins exhibit, email Jeanie Ziegler at jziegler@gailborden.info. To register for related events and more information, go to www.gailborden.info/olmec.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
