The Museum of Modern Art Expansion

As most Medellín residents know, the Modern Art Museum in Ciudad del Río has gone through a multi-million dollar expansion for more than a year.

They finally finished a couple of months ago and I recently had the chance to visit.

Guess what?

It’s just as awesome as we thought it would be.

A Peruvian Design

The renovation began as a contest for architecture firms: the best design would win and go on to become the new face of the MAMM (Modern Art Museum of Medellín).

This winner was a firm from Peru called 51-1. Based on their idea, the Colombian firm Ctrl+g developed the construction plan.

New additions to the larger and much-improved museum include:

• Additional exhibit exhibition
• Movie and music theater that seats 250 people
• Spaces for education and cultural programs
• Multiple-use rooms
• Ganso & Castor Cafe
• Bookstore
• Store for handcrafted products
• An open archive
• A new parking lot (adding much-needed spots to the neighborhood)

Support for the Museum: Amigos del MAMM

As you can probably imagine, an expansion this large costs serious money.

24 billion pesos to be exact ($7.6 million by today’s exchange rate).

Half of that money was provided by the government, and the other half was private money. Supporters are called “Amigos del MAMM” and get special benefits.

Support starts at 80,000 pesos ($25) and tops off at 3 million pesos ($955) for which you get varied benefits like free entry to the museum for a year and a number of signed works by artists, among other benefits listed here.

The Layout

As of the re-opening, we now have a practical layout.

First Floor

While before we had the entrance to the museum facing west toward Avenida Las Vegas, it now faces east toward the park in Ciudad del Río, on a new plaza which they named “Plaza de los Colores.”

On this plaza, we have the new café-restaurant Ganso y Castor, with another location on Vía Provenza and soon opening in Manila as well.

By this café, we have bathrooms, the shop for handcrafted products, the ticket office, coat check service and exhibit rooms A, B and C, where temporary exhibits will be held.

On the North End of the building, we have the bookstore, Creole-style Bonuar restaurant, the entrance to the parking garage and the Museum gift shop.

Second, Third, and Fourth Floors

The second floor holds the museum offices and the third holds Labs 1, 2 and 3 and the movie and music theater where they also host conferences.

In the labs, we see exhibits like “La Ciudad y Los Niños” where children’s art from workshops taking place in several areas around the city is shown.

The fourth floor holds the exhibits in rooms D, E, and F.

Right now, these rooms are filled with Débora Arango‘s work as well as a compilation other artists’ prints and works.

To the side, a sitting area designed in spirals.

Fifth Floor: The Green Areas

The rooftop terrace is, according to the design by 51-1, will be a large garden.

It already holds a variety of plants, but the plan is for it to be a large oasis of green, bringing together modern buildings, a high-rise landscape, and nature.

What You Need to Know

Entry is still 8,000 pesos ($2.55) for adults, 5,000 pesos ($1.60) for students, kids younger than 12, and adults older than 60.

The last Friday of every month between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. is free entry for everyone. People living in strata 1, 2 and 3 enter free by at any time if they show a public utility bill.

See the full museum event calendar to find out what’s happening.

This renovation is stunning, and I’d like to extend an invitation to all our readers to visit, watch a movie, check out the plaza, take a photo with the great view from the terraces.

The brand new, expanded MAMM is here for all of us. Let’s visit it!

Like the story? Take a second to support Medellin Living on Patreon!