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MUSEO de ARTE LATIONAMERICANO de BUENOS AIRES (MALBA)

MISSION

The mission at Malba – Fundación Costantini / Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires- is to collect, conserve, study and disseminate Latin American art, dating from the early 20th Century to the present day.

THE PERMANENT COLLECTION

The Costantini Fundation has since 1990 been open to visits by local and international specialists and scholars, and to loaning works for exhibitions of Latin American art held in various countries of the Americas and Europe. In 1996 the collection in its entirety was publicly presented for the first time, at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, an exhibition later held at the Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales in Montevideo. Between 1998 and 1999, a substantial selection of the collection’s most relevant works was exhibited at the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo, at the Museu de Arte Moderna de Rio de Janeiro and at the “La Caixa” Foundation in Madrid.

Between 1997 and 2000, the Foundation presented four consecutive editions of the Premio Costantini award at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, a competition that helped support Argentinean artistic creation, and enhanced the collection with pieces by some of the latest generations of artists, by means of its acquisition first prize.

In late 1998 the opportunity arose to purchase a tract of land strategically located in the city’s urban and cultural circuit, for the construction of a museum.

An international open call was then organized by the International Union of Architects, within the framework of the Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de Buenos Aires. Four hundred and fifty proposals from 45 different countries were presented. Selecting the winner was up to an international jury of architects, and first prize was awarded to three young Argentinean architects: Gastón Atelman, Martín Fourcade and Alfredo Tapia.

Constructing the new building, setting up the institution itself, enlarging the collection, putting the museum on the map of world culture, but above all supporting the public stature of its objectives and mission, made up the challenges that eventually transformed a private passion into a project of enormous public significance. [The permanent collection]

Malba is a vibrant and participative cultural arena for a wide variety of temporary exhibitions (occasionally as joint undertakings with other museums, international collections or similar foundations world-wide) and exhibitions of contemporary Argentinean and Latin American art. Malba also boasts an important film program and an archive that grows by the month, through the purchase and recovery of historically essential films. Furthermore, Malba arranges diverse literary activities, such as encounters with writers, courses, seminars, literary talks and book presentations, among others.

The educational and cultural activities area includes children’s programs, guided tours and assorted activities organized in partnership with civic organizations, aiming to offer every sector of the community the chance to become familiar with, enjoy, and study some of the most important artists and artistic movements of the past century.

Excerpt from malba.org