ABOUT MAPI
Welcome to the Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art Museum
The MAPI -Museo de Arte Precolombino e Indígena- is an organization under the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Montevideo. It was founded in 2004 through an agreement between the then Mayor of Montevideo, Arq. Mariano Arana and the collector Matteo Goretti, who ceded to the departmental government part of his valuable collection, which he owns in Uruguay for a period of 20 years.
MAPI was institutionalized by Decree 31,383 of the Departmental Board of Montevideo, which allocated the headquarters building for its exclusive use and encouraged the creation of a foundation to support the museum. It thus became the first cultural institution of mixed management, an innovative experience that has inspired the creation of other organizations of similar characteristics in Uruguay.
Over the years, MAPI has increased its collection fivefold -it currently holds more than 7,000 cultural objects- through the transfer or donation of other collections from private individuals and public institutions, including the School of Architecture of the University of the Republic, the National Library of Uruguay, the Augusto Torres-Elsa Andrada Collection with ethnographic objects from indigenous groups of North America, and the “Dr. Arturo Lezama” collection, made up of objects and human remains belonging to indigenous groups from the “Bañadero” archaeological site (Salto, Uruguay), which were recovered during the interventions of the Friends of the Archaeological Society of Uruguay. Arturo Lezama” collection made up of objects and human remains belonging to indigenous groups from the “Bañadero” archaeological site (Salto, Uruguay), which were recovered during the interventions of the Society of Friends of Archaeology (SAA) in 1975.
The museum also manages the Claudio Rama Collection of Latin American Masks, with 900 pieces from all over the subcontinent.
In this context, MAPI offers visitors a permanent exhibition of archaeological and ethnographic pieces belonging to different native cultures from all over the Americas and conducts research, temporary exhibitions and publications on different aspects related to its subject matter.
In 2014 an exhibition was presented for the first time abroad, entitled “Uruguay in Guarani, indigenous missionary presence”, based on research led by archaeologist Carmen Curbelo, which was exhibited at the Vatican Museums and the Ethnological Museum of Hamburg, and then toured other cities in Europe and Asia. Its international vocation and cultural cooperation has motivated the presentation abroad of numerous exhibitions and the organization in the MAPI of samples from Mexico, Peru, Chile, China, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Italy, among other countries of the world, trying to provide a global overview of the native populations of the world.
The dissemination of its exhibitions and educational activities is also carried out in the interior of the country, having presented in its two decades of existence dozens of exhibitions and workshops throughout Uruguay.
In turn, MAPI stands out for its Educational Services, whose activities annually receive an average of 25,000 children and high school students and offers didactic materials and pedagogical proposals for teachers and students, formulated by professionals in archeology, art and pedagogy, reflecting the contents of the programs at all levels, approved by the National Administration of Public Education (ANEP).
As a cultural space and in accordance with the functions established by the International Council of Museums, as a space for teaching, collecting, conservation, research, interpretation, exhibition, reflection, exchange and enjoyment, MAPI also offers multiple activities associated with music, performing arts, visual arts, audiovisual, among other disciplines, aimed at fulfilling its mission and disseminating knowledge and promoting respect for diverse cultures.
HERITAGE BUILDING
The Building
The building was built at the end of the 19th century -between 1883 and 1888- by Dr. Emilio Reus, originally conceived to become a hydrothermal-thermal medical establishment.
Without ever being inaugurated as such, years later it housed the Ministry of Public Works and then the Ministry of National Defense until 1985.
It was declared a National Historic Monument in 1986 for its patrimonial and urbanistic value and for being a testimony of the eclectic-historicist architecture -with strong Italian influence- and of the construction technology of its time.
After remaining closed for almost two decades, it began to be restored in the early 2000s with the support of the Canary Islands government, which later withdrew from the project, giving way to the creation of MAPI.
In 2011 the MAPI Restoration School-Workshop was created, which has been in charge of restoring the value of the building, with the participation of beneficiaries of the Uruguay Trabaja Program of the Ministry of Social Development and other social programs promoted by the Municipality of Montevideo and the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training, recovering, to date, more than 2500 square meters.
Awards and recognitions
MAPI team
Director
Mag. Facundo de Almeida
Technical Reserve, Registry and Inventory of Collections
Lic. Mercedes Sosa
Administration and Human Resources
Cra. Laura Bidondo
Events and Public Relations
Lic. Sonia Fontans
Logistics and Infrastructure
Tec. Mauricio Acosta
Coordinator of Educational Services
Lic. Magdalena Muttoni
Coordination assistant
Lic. Constanza Rivero
Workshops 2024
Jonatan Sandoval, Lucia Rodriguez, Rafael Perroux, Giuliana Mardero
Production
Liliana Viana
Attention to the Pubic
Tec. Laia Maseda
Archives, Library and Statistics
Nicolás Crispo
Cleaning
Mariela Monzon, Sasha Gomez
Security
Nelson Trinidad
ADMINISTRATION
Administrative Commission
The MAPI’s Administrative Commission has been delegated powers by the Municipality of Montevideo, with the purpose of managing MAPI’s cultural project and the works related to its headquarters building; supervising the operation of the museum and its management; managing the search for complementary funds through national and international financing, destined to the refurbishment of the headquarters building; and promoting the integration of new collections; articulating with various institutions at the local, regional and international levels, for the fulfillment of its purposes.
Municipality of Montevideo
Mayor of Montevideo
Eng. Mauricio Zunino
Director of the Department of Culture
Prof. María Inés Obaldía
Director of the Division of Arts and Sciences
Antonio Salgueiro
Administrative Commission
Chairman
Mag. Facundo de Almeida
Vowels
Carmen Curbelo, Valentín Enseñat
COORDINATION
MAPI Foundation
The MAPI Foundation is a non-profit organization, established on May 13, 2005, whose purpose is to implement and coordinate actions with the Municipality of Montevideo and support the management of the Museum of Pre-Columbian and Indigenous Art (MAPI) and to carry out activities related to culture and education, to promote the interest and dissemination of art, archeology, anthropology, history, ethnography, museology, tourism, and the preservation and conservation of cultural heritage.
It is registered at the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) – Registry of Legal Entities under number 10201 on folio 219 of book 18, on February 8, 2006.
Chairman
Luis Fernando Iglesias
Secretary
Ana Olivera
Vowels
Bruno Podestá, William Rey, Roberto Villarmarzo
