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MALBA

arts Maturity 7-9 Next article →

MALBA is a special art museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is located on Figueroa Alcorta Avenue in the Palermo area. People call it MALBA for short. The museum's main job is to collect and protect Latin American art. It looks at art from the early 1900s until today. This helps people learn about many different artists and cultures.

MALBA also has a cultural center. This center shows films and art exhibitions. It is a place where people can enjoy many activities. More than one million people visit the museum every year. Over 1,400 active patrons help keep the museum running.

Building the museum was a very big task. First, an open contest was held to design it. People from 45 different countries sent in ideas. An international jury looked at 450 proposals. Three young Argentinian architects won the first prize. Their names are Gaston Atelman, Martin Fourcade, and Alfredo Tapia. Then, a firm called AFT Architects built the project. Eduardo Costantini began the construction in 1998.

An Argentine businessman named Eduardo Costantini created the museum. He started it with his own collection of art. The museum officially opened on September 21, 2001. It is run by a non-profit group called Fundación MALBA-Costantini. The museum has had several leaders over the years. Agustín Arteaga led from 2000 to 2002. Later, Gabriela Rangel led from 2019 to 2021. Now, Rodrigo Moura is the leader.

There are many famous artworks inside the museum. You can see a painting by Frida Kahlo from 1942. It is called "Autorretrato con chango y loro." In 1995, it cost $3.2 million. You can also see "Abaporu" by Tarsila do Amaral. This painting was bought in 1995 for almost $1.5 million. There is a sculpture by Leonora Carrington called "La Grande Dame." It is a cat woman from 1951. This sculpture cost $11.3 million in 2024.

MALBA is growing very fast right now. In December 2025, it got a huge new collection. This is called the Daros Latinamerica Collection. It came from a place in Zurich. The collection has 1,233 works by 117 different artists. This adds many new pieces from after 1950. The museum plans to make its building even bigger. This will help hold all the new art. There is even a new space called MALBA-PUERTOS in Escobar.

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