Archive

The Archive was created out of the conviction that art production since the beginning of the last century and since the 1950s in particular cannot be understood solely through the work of art but rather that documents form part of the language that makes up complex cultural productions such as art. Through its work the Archive also aspires to remedy how little attention document collections have received in our specific context to date. The MACBA Research and Documentation Centre essentially brings together two types of documents; on the one hand, the publications, for the most part serial publications whose authors are visual artists; on the other hand, the special materials that include, for example, historically important documents that have not been generated by artists and “unpublished” materials such as correspondence series, photographic negatives, prints and so on.

On a first level of classification, the materials are grouped according to their source. This means that the document holdings have been generated and organized by a particular person or organization in the course of their work or performance of their duties. Among them are the personal archives of artists and art critics as well as the archives of art galleries and artists’ collectives and the MACBA’s own institutional archive. The remaining documents are structured into document collections based on shared characteristics in terms of their content or typology. These collections gradually grow as more material is incorporated into the Archive.

The Archive welcomes donations of artists’ books and other documents in its domain of specialization as long as they are not duplicated in the collection. If you would like to make a donation or obtain more information, please write to arxiu@macba.cat specifying the purpose of your donation.

The Archive is located in the MACBA Research and Documentation Centre in Plaça dels Àngels, 8, just next to the museum’s main building.

Access to the documents in the Archive is public and free of charge. However, we recommend that you read the guidelines governing access to and use of the spaces in the MACBA Research and Documentation Centre. If you do not have a Research and Documentation Centre card, the first time you visit the Archive you will need to present your ID or passport at the desk on the ground floor of the Research and Documentation Centre, and you will be able to obtain your card in the reading room free of charge. You can also use your Friends of MACBA card to gain access To consult the Archive you must make an appointment by writing to arxiu@macba.cat at least 48 hours in advance.

Educational institutions and professional groups can request a group visit to get acquainted with the archive’s space and services by writing to arxiu@macba.cat. Guided visits to the collection of artists’ books may be requested by writing to educacio@macba.cat. Les visites guiades a la col·lecció de publicacions d’artista de l’Arxiu es poden sol·licitar a educacio@macba.cat.