MALI is Lima’s contemporary Art Museum. The museum is located in the heart of the city and was inaugurated in 1961. The MALI’s permanent collection preserves more than 18,000 pieces –among textiles, ceramics, metal work, photography, drawings and paintings– that witness to more than 3,000 years of art history in Peru.

I have always been a big fan of this museum because of his natural bohemian style and how they tried to integrate the architecture with the pieces in display. However, I think that their website is not ideal. The website itself is not bad, but I don’t think that it conveys that bohemian style that characterizes this institution. This is a very important aspect of MALI since the vast majority of its visitors go there to reflect, sketch, meditate and take advantage of the calmness that the museum brings. Since the website does not do an ideal job in reflecting this, potential new frequent visitors might overlook this museum during the pandemic since they will not be able to experience the real bohemian atmosphere. Nevertheless, I must give credit to them for organizing and promoting alternative activities for the public to continue being in touch with the museum.

As soon as someone goes into the MALI website, they will encounter themselves with a big banner that informs that the museum will be indefinitely closed from the 30th of January. However, when clicking this announcement, the visitor will see that there are many other opportunities available to interact and become part of the museum community. For example, during the month of February they are offering online classes of plastic arts, performing arts, dances, and more. In addition, they have a virtual store, a YouTube channel with mini-documentaries, and even a Spotify playlist.

After visiting so often this museum I feel that the website is misrepresenting the feeling of belonging that MALI strive to convey. Nevertheless, I must acknowledge their ability to cope with a pandemic. They are offering the public a vast list of resources that they can use from home in order to continue feeling part of this friendly and supportive cultural community, which is very impressive considering the short amount of time that they got to organize it.