Agustín Pérez Rubio Departs Malba After Transformative Directorship

institutional · 2026-04-23

Agustín Pérez Rubio concludes his tenure as artistic director of the Malba, the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires, after implementing significant institutional reforms. His departure, planned after three to five years, coincides with personal reasons and a sense of completed mission. During his leadership, Pérez Rubio restructured the museum's internal operations, establishing new departments for public programs and education, and formed a curatorial board with figures like Julieta González, Andrea Giunta, and Adriano Pedrosa. He shifted the museum's focus from importing exhibitions to producing its own, with only one of 42 major shows being imported during his four-year period. A key achievement was the 2016 permanent collection reinstallation "Verboamérica," co-curated with Andrea Giunta, which decolonized the museum's narrative. Pérez Rubio plans to return to Spain, work as an independent curator based in Madrid, and travel to Buenos Aires, Chile, Quito, Lima, and Torino.

Key facts

Agustín Pérez Rubio is leaving his position as artistic director of Malba (Museu de arte Latino-americano de Buenos Aires).
His tenure began in 2014 after being selected in 2013.
He restructured the museum, creating new departments for public programs and education.
A curatorial board was formed with Julieta González, Andrea Giunta, Victoria Giraudo, Inés Katzenstein, Adriano Pedrosa, Octavio Zaya, and Pérez Rubio.
Under his direction, Malba produced 41 of 42 major exhibitions internally, reversing a previous model of importing shows.
The landmark project "Verboamérica" (2016) re-presented the permanent collection with a decolonial perspective.
His departure was pre-agreed for a three-to-five year period and is also due to personal reasons, including family in Spain.
He will relocate to Madrid to work as an independent curator and maintain connections with Latin America.

Entities

Artists

Institutions

Malba (Museu de arte Latino-americano de Buenos Aires)
ICI (Internacional Curator Independent)
MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
MAMBA
SESC
Teorética Malba
Galeria Galatea Salvador
Nara Roesler
Museu de Arte do Espírito Santo (MAES)
Movimento Grevista Negro
Sesc Sorocaba
Frestas – Trienal de Artes
Capela João de Camargo
Clube 28 de Setembro
CAIXA Cultural São Paulo
Phi Projetos
Cinnamon
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Belo Horizonte (CCBB BH)
Ateliê Marlene Barros
Ponto de Cultura Coletivo ZBM
Universidade de Aveiro
MASP (Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand)
El Espacio 23
Coleção Jorge M. Pérez
Janaina Torres Galeria
FAMA Museu
IMS (Instituto Moreira Salles)
Biblioteca de Fotografia do IMS
10x10 Photobooks
Getty Research Institute
Museo Reina Sofía
Rijksmuseum
New York Public Library
Livraria da Travessa
Simões de Assis
Galeria Estúdio Reverso
NND|Azeco
NONADA SP
DAN Galeria
Casa de Cultura do Parque
Projeto 280X1020
Instituto de Cultura Contemporânea (ICCo)
Biblioteca Brasiliana Guita e José Mindlin - USP
Instituto Hercule Florence
Documenta Pantanal
BBM-USP
Centro Maria Antônia da USP
Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF)
Galeria Nara Roesler - SP
Roesler Hotel
Fonte
Carmo Johnson Projects
Itaú Cultural
Ilê Asipá
Pina Luz
Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc
Secretaria da Cultura (Secultes)
Fundo de Cultura do Estado do Espirito Santo (Funcultura)
Política Nacional Aldir Blanc (PNAB)
Ministério da Cultura (MINC)
Midiateca Capixaba
Governo do Estado
ArteBrasileiros

Locations

Buenos Aires
Argentina
New York
United States
Toronto
Canada
Spain
Madrid
Chile
Quito
Ecuador
Lima
Peru
Torino
Italy
Istanbul
Turkey
Nicaragua
Salvador
Bahia
Brazil
Recife
Pernambuco
Olinda
São Paulo
Vitória
Espírito Santo
Sorocaba
Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais
La Puntana
Gran Chaco
Paraguay
Campo Grande
Mato Grosso do Sul
Itu
Fortaleza
Ceará
Rio de Janeiro
Nova York
Tóquio
Japan
Mumbai
India
Pequim
China
Jacarta
Indonesia
Miami
Florida
Los Angeles
California
Amsterdã
Netherlands
Paris
France
Lorena
Jardim Paulista
Vila Nova Conceição
Centro
Alto de Pinheiros
Cidade Universitária
Vila Madalena
Boaçava
Bela Vista
Bom Retiro
Porto Feliz
Mato Grosso
Grão-Pará
Amazônia
Pantanal
Algarve
Portugal
Santo Antônio da Patrulha
Rio Grande do Sul
Ipojuca
África

Sources

ARTE!Brasileiros — 2018-06-15