Buenos Aires’ Hippest Hostel: Art Factory

Art Factory hostel is a cool option for a stay in Buenos Aires, not just for the graffiti throughout each location, but the relaxed, friendly vibe.

Since opening their original location in Palermo a decade ago, Art Factory has debuted three new locations, making this hostel more popular than Buenos Aires’ longtime favorite for single travelers, Milhouse Hostel.

Each Art Factory location is housed in classic, restored building. Inside the style is comfortable and colorful with murals along the hallways and in each room. Aside from the usual amenities such as towels, sheets, and wifi, Art Factory features a bilingual staff, free coffee and tea all day, a breakfast that includes eggs and fruit, a library, ping pong tables (at the Palermo location), and free activities such as Spanish conversation classes.

Which Art Factory Hostel Location is Better?

The original Palermo location is spacious and perfectly located to enjoy the many restaurants and clubs nestled around the hostel.

The more minimalist Act Factory Soho, in a large black corner building, is just five minutes from the Plaza Italia transit hub, making it a good location to get around the city. Light sleepers should note this is the noisiest location, but the private rooms are very nice.

The San Telmo Art Factory is for free spirits who want to stay in the south of the city and enjoy their large roof-deck close to downtown attractions such as the Plaza de Mayo, the San Telmo Fair and the walkable and modern Puerto Madero neighborhood.

Beer lovers will definitely want to stay at the newest location, the Art Factory Beer Garden, which claims to be the first hostel in Buenos Aires with its own (quite lovely) beer garden, twenty types of beer on tap and a live DJ spinning music.

Art Factory Hotel Original
Costa Rica 4353
Palermo

Art Factory Soho
Charcas 4500
Palermo Soho

Art Factory Beer Garden
Paraguay 4539
Plaza Italia, Palermo

Art Factory San Telmo
Piedras 545
San Telmo

Take a Virtual Stroll through MALBA

The Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA) is one of the premier museums in Argentina and all of Latin America. Here you can see a mashup of mostly 20th century European-influenced Latin American art including cubist, surrealist, abstract and kinetic artworks.

Take a video tour of the Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires (MALBA) with your’s truly and MALBA’s Florencia González.

La Noche de Los Museos: A City-Wide Art Walk

La Noche de Los Museos is a yearly Buenos Aires cultural extravaganza where it seems virtually every door in the city is swung open, inviting visitors to wander through to take in some art and culture.

Every year, tens of thousands take to the streets to visit museums, galleries and even government and private historic buildings to see exhibitions, live music, theater, spoken word and dance performances throughout the city.

What to See on Buenos Aires Museum Night

While some plan their evening in advance, carefully selecting which events and museums they will visit, it is also enjoyable to have a whimsical night following the crowds to see what one finds.

Buenos Aires La Boca waterfront during La Noche de Los Museos — The La Boca waterfront during La Noche de Los Museos

A good starting point for those downtown is the stunning Casa de Cultura at Avenida de Mayo near Peru Street.

From there one can walk to the to the City Legislature, the Cabildo and the World Tango Museum, and the crazy-looking Bank of London/Banco Hipotecario building by Clorinda Testa at Reconquista 101. The Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes is also worth checking out early in the evening. All those centrally-located buildings and more have special events on Museum Night.

Down by the water in La Boca, visitors can visit Fundación Proa, see an exhibition put on by the city’s Fine Art Museum on El Caminito, visit the El Rincón de Lucia Tenement Museum and enjoy live entertainment on the waterfront and at the Teatro de La Ribera, among other offerings.

In Recoleta, the Centro Cultural Recoleta will be ground zero, with various events and exhibitions. Nearby, doors will be open at the Palais de Glace, the Architecture Museum and the University of Buenos Aires Law Department Archive.

When Museum Night began in 1995, the neighborhood of Puerto Madero was barely on the map. Today the neighborhood offers enough art and culture that one could spend the whole evening there. One gallery that starving artists won’t want to miss is the Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat. The entrance fee to view the private collection is normally one of the most expensive in the city.

From there, museum goers can walk over to the old Munich Brewery, now the Humor Museum, or the Frigate President Sarmiento Museum and the Corbeta Uruguay Museum.

Free La Noche de los Museos Bus Pass

For those who want to get around to various sites across the city, the major bus lines will allow museum goers to ride free as long as you have a copy of the La Noche de Los Museos bus pass. Even better, you can make it a two-wheeled adventure, using the free bikes available through the free ‘Eco-bike’ program.

While some of the city’s largest and most popular museums such as MALBA, El Museo de Bella Artes and the Natural Science Museum participate, they typically attract big crowds and might be better left until after midnight or another day.

With over 240 museums and cultural spaces participating in every neighborhood of the city, it’s impossible to see it all. To search for specific events or to do a search by neighborhood, see the guide linked below.

The evening begins at 8 p.m. and ends at a rather tame 3 a.m. for nocturnal Buenos Aires.

La Noche de los Museos 2019

La Noche de Los Museos Guide
November 2
Time 8:00 p.m. — 3:00 a.m.
-Across Buenos Aires
-Free

ArteBA: Buenos Aires’ Annual Contemporary Art Fair

ArteBa is one of Latin America’s largest contemporary art fairs. Taking place over the course of three days, the annual Buenos Aires’ event attracts over 120,000 art junkies from across the planet and provides visitors the chance to hobnob with the Argentine elite, artists and celebrities.

Sponsored by The ArteBA Foundation and brought together with the help of a multitude of corporate sponsors, the Buenos Aires Culture Department, and with 84 participating galleries, ArteBA provides visibility for established local artists and a platform for emerging artist to get their work noticed on the international level.

The fair, now in its 28th year, also aids in the acquisition of new works for some of Argentina’s top museums including MALBA.

The art fair takes place at the Palermo exhibition center, La Rural.

⇒ To discover even more art in Buenos Aires, don’t miss the Private Art and Museums Tour

Activities and Acquisitions at ArteBA

The editorial area, organized by the Proa Foundation and Espigas, will offer a variety of talks related to the art world including a well-hyped performance art by Colombian artist, María José Arjona.

Argentina’s First Lady, Juliana Awada already visited the fair. The MALBA museum already purchased an $18,000 sculpture entitled Headstand by Diego Biancha, and a series of four photographs by George Friedman.

An artwork by Pablo Zel as seen at ArteBA 2012 — A piece by Pablo Zel in ArteBA 2012

Highlights for visitors include the ‘Barrio Joven’ section, designed to foster new talent in the Latin American art world and the U-TURN Project Rooms, a special exhibition area that brings together a variety of international galleries in an effort to put world class international art before the Latin American public.

Entrance to the art fair, can be purchased online or at the ticket window at La Rural.

Before making an important art purchase, visitors may want to read up on the legal steps necessary to export art from Argentina.

ArteBA 2020
April 16-19
La Rural
Avenida Sarmiento 2704
-Blue and green pavilions
Palermo
Tel: 4816-8704

• Hours: 2:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m.
• General Admission: $$
-2 day access: $250, Every day access: $500
• Seniors and Students: $125
• Kids under 12 free

Transportation to ArteBA

Bus
Lines by Santa Fe Avenue: 12 – 15 – 21 – 29 – 36 – 39 – 41 – 55 – 57 – 59 – 60 – 64 – 67 – 68 – 93 – 95 – 111 – 118 – 160 – 161 – 188 – 194
Lines by Sarmiento Avenue: 37 – 67
Lines by Oro Street: 34 – 160
Subway
Palermo Station
Plaza Italia Station
Train
San Martín Line: Palermo Station
Mitre Line: Minister Carranza Station, 3 de Febrero Station

→ Read about how to use Uber & Ride-sharing Apps in Buenos Aires

Don’t forget to book your hotel in Palermo in advance for ArteBA

El Museo de Bellas Artes: Fine Arts in Buenos Aires

The Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (MNBA) is the home to Argentina’s largest national fine art collection.

Situated along the greenery of Libertador Avenue in the ritzy neighborhood of Recoleta, the National Fine Arts Museum 1870’s façade alludes to the primarily 19th century European pieces found inside.

Bella Artes is one of Argentina’s oldest museums and in contrast to the more modern Latin American Art Museum, MNBA has a vast permanent collection. There are 688 major works and 12,000 minor works, mostly donated by private collectors. The pieces are displayed on two floors of labyrinth-like rooms with a total of 34 exhibition halls.

Best of all for visitors on a budget, admission to this world-class museum is free .

European and international art from the middle ages to the 20^th century make up much of the first floor with portrayals of female nudes splayed on grassy knolls and somber religious iconography. There are also pieces by Édouard Manet, Henri De Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh and Camille Pissarro, along with a room of Francisco De Goya.

A considerable amount of space is dedicated to decorative Spanish art and sculpture, revealing the genre’s popularity in Argentina at the end of the 19^th century.

Argentine Arts and Temporary Exhibitions

The National Fine Arts Museum opened the contemporary Argentine art pavilion in 1980. Today MNBA houses the world’s largest collection of Argentine art with works by undervalued national artists such as Benito Quinquela Martín, Antonio Berni, Ernesto de la Cárcova, and Xul Solar.

Some of the museum highlights are Auguste Rodin’s sculpture, ‘The Kiss’; Pío Collivadino 1903 work, La Hora Del Almuerzo (The Lunch Break); Cárcova’s 1893 ‘Sin pan y sin trabajo’ (No Bread, No Work); and ‘Two Dancers in Red and Yellow’ by Degas.

Works by Jackson Pollack and three whimsical pieces by optical and kinetic artist, Martha Boto demonstrate the acquisitions department’s desire to round out their collection with an array of international contemporary works from recent decades.

The Buenos Aires Fine Art museum also offers something for the more anthropologically inclined.

In the pre-Colombian arts room ornate decorations are found in everyday objects. Tucked away in a back room is a unique assortment of silver bombillas (straws for drinking the famous national drink, yerba mate). There is also a collection of peinetónes, elaborate decorative hair ornaments that were considered high fashion for women at the beginning of the 19^th century.

Temporary exhibitions include a panorama of Argentine cinematography with a focus on work produced between the 1950s to the ‘70s.

Art Library & Sculpture Garden

The Museo de Bella Artes also has an extensive fine arts library with 150,000 visual art magazines, journals, and books. Annexed alongside the galleries on the first floor, the public library overlooks the sculpture garden outside.

The library and the museum offer a wide range of classes, seminars, and workshops for the community, including an interactive tour for the blind and activities for kids.

A nifty gift shop can be found between the two floors, spiraling upwards with books on art and the city.

There is no on-site café but Modena Design, located behind the museum, allows visitors to gaze upon the contemporary sculpture garden while enjoying a post-museum coffee. — Alana Fichman

Buenos Aires' Museum of Fine Arts, or el Museo de Bella Artes is one of South America's premiere Fine Art Museums. Best of all for Budget Travelers, entrance if free to visitors. Read about Buenos Aires' Museum of Fine Arts on Wander Argentina — photos: Hernan Jourdan

Museo Nacional de Bella Artes

Libertador Avenue 1473
Recoleta
Tel 5288-9900
• Museum Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 12:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 9:30 am to 8:30 pm
-Closed Mondays & national holidays

•Library Hours
Tuesday-Friday: 12:30 pm-6:30 pm
Saturday: 10:30 am to 3:30 pm

• Admission: Free (except for temporary exhibitions)
• Digital audio tours are available in English and Spanish upon request

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