Free activities this weekend to celebrate Malba's birthday

The Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires ( Malba ) celebrates its 24th anniversary with a special program spanning three days this weekend. The anniversary offers the public an opportunity to visit Malba, explore its permanent collection and current exhibitions , and experience a program of free activities exploring art, film, music, literature, and contemporary thought.

The program kicks off on Saturday at Malba Puertos in Escobar, where the museum is also celebrating its first anniversary. It's also the opening of Florencia Böhtlingk's first institutional exhibition: "I Swear All This Happened in One Day." Works 2010–2024 , curated by Alejandra Aguado.

In Buenos Aires, Sunday will be the most festive day , with free admission to the exhibits starting at 2 p.m., collective creation stations, and an open-air musical closing. And on Monday, the agenda will culminate with a keynote lecture by renowned Brazilian historian Lilia Moritz Schwarcz entitled "Anthropophagy and Race: Rereadings of Abaporu," about the emblematic work of Tarsila do Amaral, which can be visited at the museum. All activities for this anniversary are supported by Sotheby's.

On Saturday, from 12 to 5 p.m., Malba Puertos will open its doors with a special program to celebrate its first anniversary. At 5 p.m., the exhibition "I Swear All This Happened in One Day" by Florencia Böhtlingk will open. This series of paintings recreates scenes from everyday life and the natural landscape through the artist's sensitive lens. The exhibition will occupy the Lake Rooms and allow visitors to explore an intimate pictorial universe, marked by direct observation and the ability to transform the everyday into visual narrative.

At midnight on Saturday, the Malba Auditorium will screen Fritz Lang's iconic film Metropolis (1927). This masterpiece of German Expressionist cinema will be presented in a restored version with live musical accompaniment, an immersive experience that connects the cinematic heritage of the 20th century with the vitality of the contemporary scene. Seeing Metropolis on the big screen, with live music, revives the original power of a film that marked the history of cinema and anticipated modern dystopias.

On Sunday, between 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM, Malba will deploy educational stations specially designed for all ages on the esplanade, in the lobby, and in the library. Proposals such as Collectible Stamps, Time in the Hands, Brief Situations, and Paper Fantasies will invite visitors to experiment with collage techniques, instant photography, doll play, and graphic compositions. Each station interacts with works from the Costantini Collection and current exhibitions, encouraging active public participation and a playful connection with art.

Also on Sunday, from 2 to 5 PM, the Poetics Editorial Station will be set up, a space for the creation of fanzines and collective graphic works. Using materials from Latin American poetry, narrative fragments, stamps, and colored paper, visitors will be able to create their own handmade publications. This proposal recovers the Greek meaning of poiesis—to create, to produce—and makes the public the protagonist of an experimental writing and editing experience that seeks to expand the readings and intersections between artists and viewers.

On Sunday at 6 p.m., the Malba esplanade will become the stage for a new edition of the "Music in the Open Air" series, organized by Malba Joven. DJs Gonzalo Solimano and Guido Sartoris , icons of the regional indie and electronic music scene, will host a free, open-air closing musical performance. Since 2018, this series has brought new generations of artists to the museum, and this time it offers a vibrant celebration that combines community, celebration, and urban culture.

On Monday at 6 p.m., the anniversary will have a significant academic conclusion with the lecture "Anthropophagy and Race: Rereadings of Abaporu ," by Brazilian historian and anthropologist Lilia Moritz Schwarcz . At the Malba Auditorium, Schwarcz will analyze Tarsila do Amaral's famous painting, created in 1928, and its role as a symbol of Brazilian modernism, linked to Oswald de Andrade's "Anthropophagous Manifesto" and Mário de Andrade's book "Macunaíma." The specialist will propose a reading that highlights the racialized corporality in the work and its power as an icon of cultural identity.

The conference will feature an introduction by Anna Di Stasi, Senior Vice President and Head of Latin American Art at Sotheby's, who will address the international recognition and appreciation of Brazilian modernism in the art market.