MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Roma, Italy

National Museum of the 21st Century Arts MAXXI, Italian: Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, is the first national museum dedicated to contemporary creativity. MAXXI is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in the Flaminio quartiere of Rome, Italy.

MAXXI produces and hosts art, architecture, design and photography shows, as well as fashion, cinema and music projects, theater and dance performances, lectures and meetings with artists, architects. MAXXI is more than just a museum: it is a platform open to all the languages of creativity, a place of encounter, exchange and collaboration, a space open to everyone.

The museum is managed by a foundation created by the Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali, the Italian ministry of cultural heritage. It was designed as a multidisciplinary space by Zaha Hadid and committed to experimentation and innovation in the arts and architecture.

It opened in May 2010 and is run by a Private Foundation instituted by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.

The permanent collections of these two museums grow through direct acquisitions, as well as through commissions, thematic competitions, awards for young artists, donations and permanent loans.

MAXXI architecture is the first national museum of architecture in Italy. His interest is centered on the “author” architecture as well as the so-called “anonymous” architecture. There are two distinct souls in the museum, one that goes to the historicization of 20th-century architecture and the contemporary one that wants to answer the questions of the present, interpreting the expectations of today’s society. Historical museums and contemporary museums, although possessing distinctly distinct features and perspectives, determine a multiple and transversal dimension. MAXXI architecture is set up as an interlocutor of other Italian cultural institutions in the sector (such as the Venice Biennale or the Triennale di Milano), in the field of secondary and university education and the network of centers and archives of architecture. At international level, MAXXI architecture adheres to and shares the goals of ICAM, the International Confederation of Architecture Museums.

The cultural program of MAXXI architecture develops according to the two distinct lines of activity. The first line of reference considers documentation and research to be the starting point for critical reflections on the present and future past of architectural culture, on the Italian landscape, considering the works, characters and stories that have drawn it during the twentieth century . It is headquartered at the Archives of Architectural Center, established within the Museum of Architecture, which operates with a chronological reference archive dating from the twentieth century to today studying and curating architectural collections and their own collection of documents. It is also an experimental laboratory that carries out cultural promotion tasks to foster historical research and systematic research into the rich Italian twentieth-century event by developing strategies, standards and tools for conservation, restoration, and access to documentary sources.

The documentation center MAXXI B.A.S.E. (Library, Archives, Studies, Publishing) was born with the task of monitoring and recording all the activities of the museum, classifying and storing the documents, and then transmitting the contents. In keeping with this framework, the MAXXI documentation center is being built, which for both sectors, art and architecture will operate according to two lines of development: an inside look at the heart of the museum: scientific and management activities And care of collections; A look outside, to the public, with the creation of a consultation service.

The many cultural activities of the museum that are being born will be documented: those exhibitions that, apart from art and architecture, concern photography, design, fashion; And other events, such as meetings, conferences, seminars; Performances, projections, always intimately related to the cultural themes of the museum. Based on collected information and conserved materials and through the choice of suitable tools, the center will carry out cultural promotion activities, both by developing information services, accessible on-line and on-line: print publications, CD-ROMs and DVDs, digital archives , Databases, and more; Or by organizing multimedia events such as projections, video reviews, and so on.

The Documentation Center will be divided into two sections: the art section and the architecture section. In addition to the two museums, MAXXI houses an auditorium, a free library for students and a specialized media library, a bookstore, a cafeteria and a bar / restaurant, galleries for temporary exhibitions, performances and training initiatives. The large square that draws outdoor spaces can host live works and events.