The Educational and Cultural Activities area is an essential tool to help to bring the Museum closer to everyone, as a space that is open to the community.  Malba seeks to acquaint the public with different aspects of art history, promote a dialogue between works and the public and to broaden recognition of our region’s cultural diversity.  Its educational programs present special activities for children, adolescents, adults and seniors, and they are designed according to the issues and themes present in each exhibition.

Children are a priority for the Museum. This is why Malba has had a Programa para niños (Children’s Program) from the start, based on the belief that education and art lead to new forms of thought, freeing imagination and creativity.  There are two programs currently in operation: one aimed at schools, and another directed toward families.  The Visitas participativas para escuelas (Participative School Visits) program is free for public schools and offers a variety of thematic tours through the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions, followed by a studio activity.  There is also a film program available for schools, called Matiné en Malba: cine para chicos (Matinee in Malba: films for children) the purpose of which is to bring this medium’s history closer to the very young.  In parallel, Las familias en Malba (Families in Malba) is a program specifically designed for children and their families so that they can enjoy and learn about Latin American art together.

During school vacation periods, Malba offers the above activities to school cafeteria programs, community support centers, and institutions lacking in resources, providing them with free transportation and a shared box lunch.  To date, we have received visits from children from Pilar, Del Viso, Moreno, Merlo, Luján, José León Suárez, José C. Paz, Don Torcuato, San Miguel, Muñiz, Bella Vista, Hurlingham, Tres de Febrero, Escobar, Beccar, Tigre, San Isidro, Vicente López, San Fernando, Victoria, Olivos, Boulogne, Lugano and numerous neighborhoods within the capital of Buenos Aires. We extend our thanks to the following organizations for their collaboration: Cáritas  (San Isidro, San Miguel, San Martín, Merlo, Moreno), Red Solidaria, Red de Apoyo Escolar (RAE), Save the Children and Fundación Nordelta, among others.

Among Malba’s programs for adults, the Museum offers daily guided tours, to temporary exhibits as well as to the permanent collection, in addition to special tours by private groups, on request.

Other exhibition-related activities for adults include Encuentros cara a cara (Face to Face Encounters) and Encuentros de debate (Encounters for Debate).  The former brings together specialists and the public before works in the exhibitions, for an in-depth analysis of the issues and themes surrounding each show.  Since it began, Malba has held more than seventy-five such encounters, with curators among the participants. In the Encuentros de debate, artists and curators from the contemporary art program meet to talk with the public.

Courses, conferences, round table discussions and special events are also held, completing the panorama of available activities for adults organized around each exhibition. Courses have been run by such prestigious local cultural figures as Andrea Giunta, Graciela Speranza, María José Herrera, María Teresa Constantín, Clara Kriger, Miguel Ángel Muñoz, Hugo Petruschansky, Diana Wechsler, Sergio Pujol, Julio Sánchez, Rodrigo Alonso, Mercedes Casanegra and Laura Batkis, to name a few.

Finally, the Programa para adultos mayores (Program for Older Adults) has just been set up to bring Malba’s installations and the heritage of the Costantini Fundation closer to a sector of society that has limited resources and lacks the opportunity for regular visits to the museum.  Our goal is to share the classic works of Latin American culture with this sector of society, simultaneously enriching our task with their testimony and years of experience.  Invitations to take part in these activities are made through contacts with networks and intermediary institutions working with this population sector: Day Shelters that pertain to the Dirección General de la Tercera Edad department within the Secretaría de Desarrollo Social del Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Retirement Homes that are run by PAMI and parishes linked to Cáritas - San Isidro diocese.