The most impressive of these collections is probably at the Museo de Arte de Lima (MALI), including some 10,000 pieces of pre-Inca, Inca, colonial and contemporary art that spans 3,000 years of Peruvian culture.

Located in the magnificent Palacio de la Exposición, which was built in 1870 in historic downtown Lima, the MALI receives some 70,000 visitors a year. Another 35,000 people attend the museum’s various courses and workshops. But the members of the Patronato de las Artes, a combination public-private group that founded the museum in 1954 and has run it since then, are convinced that there should be many more. With this goal in mind, and to make the MALI into one of the greatest museums in South America, the Patronato launched an ambitious renovation and expansion plan in 2003.

La sala de platería ha sido una de las salas remodeladas como parte del Proyecto Nuevo Mali.

Key to the Proyecto Nuevo MALI (“New MALI Project”) is the comprehensive renovation of 4,500 square meters of exhibition galleries on the second floor of the building. Thanks to support from various institutions and families, the silverwork, photography and costumbrismo (“local customs”) galleries have already been refurbished. However, with local contributions totaling just $600,000 of the comprehensive renovation’s 2.5-million-dollar price tag, museum officials were skeptical about being able to finish the permanent galleries.

A contribution from the IDB. Prospects improved in September 2007, when IDB president Luis Alberto Moreno visited the MALI and announced that the Bank would help finance the final stage of the renovation through the Inter-American Foundation for Cultural Development (ICDF).

Created in 2005 as an IDB initiative, the ICDF is a not-for-profit organization that seeks contributions from a variety of donors in order to support cultural-development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The foundation has committed itself to channeling US1.9 million in donations to the MALI renovation project, which will cost a total of US2.15 million.

“When we were analyzing the kind of project we wanted to participate in, [the MALI] turned out to be a perfect fit with what the Foundation wanted to do,” Moreno explained when he announced the plan. “This is the time to look at the essence of who we are and of what makes us different as countries. Culture is what differentiates all of us, but it is also what brings us together. That is why we want to be a part of this.”

MALI director and recognized historian of Peruvian art Natalia Majluf said the renovation will enable the museum to double the number of visitors within two years. The museum will be a fundamental tool for teaching the history and art of Peru to a potential public of half a million people. “The MALI is in the process of strengthening what it has done during recent years, and it has a good professional team and financial support—especially the Inter-American Foundation for Culture and Development—to make this happen,” she said.

A catalytic investment. IDB representative in Peru Ana María Rodríguez Ortiz said she hopes the MALI will achieve its new objectives of becoming a broader attraction, as well as a tool for promoting education, domestic and foreign tourism, economic development and increased knowledge of Peru’s rich history.

Officials also hope that the museum renovation will help revitalize Lima’s historic downtown area. The Palacio de la Exposición was traditionally the gateway to this section of the city, which is one of the largest historic downtowns in Latin America. It has been declared “Patrimonio Monumental de la Nación” (“National Historic Monument”) by the country’s National Institute of Culture.

The MALI is located in a large park next to the Plaza Grau, along with the Palacio de Justicia, the Centro Cívico and the Parque de la Reserva. Lima’s new urban public transportation plan will increase movement through the area in which the museum is located. The transportation plan will also make it easier for the public to reach the museum as will the Lima subway system’s new, modern central station, to be the hub of the city’s public transportation system.

Background. In 1955, the Patronato de las Artes, with the support of the government and private enterprise, established the museum’s permanent collection by acquiring the most complete collection of works by Peruvian painter [Carlos] Baca Flor and repatriating them from Paris. Since that time, numerous donations have made the MALI into the country’s top art museum and a rich collection of artistic creativity in Peru.

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