Marta Turok

Marta Turok (full name Marta Turok Wallace; born 1952) is a Mexican applied anthropologist focusing on socio-economic development, and one of the foremost schools on Mexican folk art. Through research, government work, education and advocacy, she has worked to raise the prestige of Mexican handcrafts and folk art and to help artisans improve their economic status. Her work has been recognized with awards from various governmental and non-governmental agencies.

Life and education Turok was born to American parents, with both growing up in the Boston area. After World War II, they decided to move to Mexico City, with her older brother, Kipi, where they started a postcard business. Marta was born in 1952, with another brother, Antonio, coming after. Here they were raised, and Marta grew up bicultural and bilingual, attending the English-language American School in Mexico City. She has worked with the National Indigenous Institute, and the Fondo Nacional para el Fomento de las Artesanías (FONART), where as subdirector of social programs, created the policy guideline to distinguish handcrafts with artistic and cultural value.

In the late 1980s, Turok decided to transition from government work to that in the non-profit sector. She founded the Asociacíon Mexicana de Arte y Cultura Popular (AMACUP) or Mexican Association of Popular Art and Culture in 1989, which focuses on developing contemporary products using traditional techniques. In 2016, Turok and Margarita de Orellana became the co-executors of the collection of more than 20,000 artifacts, books and personal items donated by Ruth D. Lechuga to the Franz Mayer Museum.

Turok's work has earned her various recognitions including the National Contest Award of First Place in Marketable Products, a First Place Mexico City Export Prize for Crafts Export Enterprises and honorary mention with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia Prize, the Miguel Covarrubias Prize, the Música por la Tierra Prize, AMACUP Marketable Crafts Award, UNESCO De Facto Award for Innovation in Crafts for Mexico and Latin America and the Van Deren Coke Award of the Los Amigos del Arte Popular.

Publications Turok has published numerous articles, especially for the publication Artes de México such as an essay on Metepec for Ceramic Trees of Life. Book publications include: Como Acercarse a la Artesanía El caracol púrpura: una tradición milenaria en Oaxaca Fiestas Mexicanas Cerámica de Mata Ortiz El Ropero de Frida El Sarape de Saltillo Museo del Sarape y Traje Mexicano de Saltillo, Coahuila (museum guide)