The Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (350 Avda. San Juan; +54-11-4361-6919), or MAMBA, set in a renovated redbrick warehouse in San Telmo, was created in 1956 to raise public awareness about experimental works of art. It still stands as one of the most important museums in Buenos Aires, with a permanent collection of over 7,000 works by iconoclastic Argentine and international artists. For an intimate look at the city’s avant-garde spirit, head to the smaller Museo Xul Solar (1212 Laprida; +54-11-4824-3302), which displays expressionist paintings alongside fanciful objects like a piano with three rows of rainbow-hued keys created by Xul Solar, a wildly imaginative Argentine painter, sculptor and writer from the early 20th century. In the last few years, the working-class neighborhood of La Boca began to attract cultural institutions like Fundación Proa (1929 Avda. Don Pedro de Mendoza; +54-11-4104-1001), a handsomely designed contemporary art center with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the area’s industrial waterfront. Proa’s exhibitions are top notch, and have included luminaries such as Kazimir Malevich, an important Russian abstract painter, and Ai Weiwei, the famous Chinese activist and artist. Nearby, a century-old power plant was turned into a multidisciplinary center called Usina del Arte (1 Agustín Caffarena; +54-11-4909-2076) where rock concerts and photography exhibits are part of an outstanding lineup.
Outside PROA, a contemporary art center overlooking La Boca's industrial waterfront. Photo courtesy of the Buenos Aires Tourism Board.