Medellin’s Expanded Museum of Modern Art Debuts
The “Museo de Arte Moderno de Medellin” (MAMM) on September 2 officially inaugurated its new space – covering nearly 10,000 square meters over five floors (double the prior space) — and featuring new exhibits, a new theater, terraces and commercial spaces.
While MAMM traces its roots back to 1978, where it started in the traditional Barrio Robledo, by 2009 it relocated to the hideous, abandoned Talleres Robledo foundry-factory.
In contrast to the Talleres Robledo facility, the new MAMM has architectural features worthy of a true modern-art museum, with 2,500 art works in its growing collection.
The newly expanded facility will feature works by well-known Colombian avant-garde artists including Débora Arango and many others.
The US$7.7 million expansion project got half its funding from the City of Medellin; the other 50% came from foundations and private donors including Fundaciones Sofía Pérez de Soto, Fraternidad Medellín, Bancolombia, Sura, Conconcreto, Argos and the Ministry of Culture.
The new MAMM becomes another jewel in the crown for a reborn Medellin, following earlier renovations and expansions including the Parque Explora and its magnificent aquarium, the renovated Jardin Botanico (Botanical Garden), the Museo de Antioquia and Plaza Botero, and the high-technology “Ruta N” center, as noted in an editorial by local newspaper, El Colombiano.
On a related front, a separate story in El Tiempo (Bogota) took note of the growing arts and theatre scene in Medellin, including several new projects and renovations on the Calle Córdoba (Carrera 42), where the Bellas Artes, Pequeño Teatro and the Elemental theater facilities are located.
Meanwhile, by October, the long-running Teatro Popular de Medellin (TPM) also will debut its new space, the article noted.
Yet another new space now under construction is for Teatro Matacandelas, which had occupied a run-down building in central Medellin for decades. Matacandelas expects to debut its new space by late November, the report noted.
