The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires, generally known as MALBA, is one of the city’s leading cultural institutions. Located on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta in the city quarter Palermo of Buenos Aires, it is a private, non-profit museum devoted to collecting, preserving, researching and presenting Latin American art from the early twentieth century to the present. Its modern building, with pale stone, glass and angular forms, is almost as distinctive as the collection inside.
MALBA was founded by the Argentine businessman and collector Eduardo F. Costantini and opened in September 2001. It began with roughly 220 works donated from his private collection, at a difficult moment in Argentina’s economic history, but quickly developed into an important international centre for Latin American art. Over the years, the museum expanded through acquisitions, donations, research and temporary exhibitions; in 2025, the acquisition of the Daros Latinamerica Collection greatly strengthened its holdings of post-war and contemporary art.
Today, visitors can see celebrated works by artists including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Tarsila do Amaral, Antonio Berni, Joaquín Torres García, Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta and Leonora Carrington. Particularly notable works include Tarsila do Amaral’s Abaporú, Frida Kahlo’s Self-Portrait with Monkey and Parrot and Diego and I, Diego Rivera’s Dance in Tehuantepec, and Antonio Berni’s Manifestation. The collection spans painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, collage, video, installations and objects, offering a broad view of the region’s modern and contemporary artistic movements.
MALBA is more than a conventional art museum: it also runs temporary exhibitions, film screenings, literary events, educational programmes and guided visits. Its current programme includes the permanent MALBA-Costantini Collection, the exhibition Belkis Ayón: Myth and Disobedience, and Viva Frida, alongside cinema and literary events.
Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA)
Buenos Aires
Argentina
https://malba.org.ar
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