Chile to get a new contemporary art museum

A new museum project is underway in Chile. Led by the businessman and philanthropist Claudio Engel and his four children, the New Museum of Santiago (dubbed NuMu) will be built around the family’s substantial art collection, as well as host both national and international temporary exhibitions.

The NuMu is scheduled to break ground in the Chilean capital in August. Once completed, it will comprise more than 2,000 sq. m of exhibition space, a dedicated sound-art room and an auditorium with 180 seats to accommodate film screenings, dance and theatre performances, talks and community events. The museum will also include a library, restaurant and museum shop.

The project is spearheaded by the Engel Foundation. Claudio Engel, born to German immigrants who arrived in Chile in the 1930s, has established himself as a prominent collector of contemporary art. The NuMu’s permanent exhibition, derived from this collection, will be the backbone of the museum’s programming, according to María Pies, director of the Engel Foundation. Engel’s expansive collection includes work by artists such as Alfredo Jaar, Paz Errázuriz and Pilar Quinteros.

“The Engel Collection is an important reference point for contemporary art in our country and region, encompassing works by Chilean and Latin American artists from the 1960s to the present,” Pies tells The Art Newspaper. “It brings together key pieces of our history and heritage, constituting a collection of more than 1,000 works by more than 200 artists in various media.” (The museum’s temporary exhibitions have not yet been announced.)

The NuMu will be housed in a new building designed by the architect Cristián Fernández and his namesake firm. It will be the first large-scale contemporary art museum in Chile to be housed in a new structure. The country’s leading public contemporary art museum, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, is located in two venues in Santiago—both are neoclassical buildings that have historically served a variety of non-exhibition functions.

“NuMu will be situated in Vitacura’s Bicentennial Park, one of the city’s major green spaces,” Pies says. “This setting will allow us to integrate the museum’s programming with the surrounding recreational and natural environment, offering activities for a wide range of visitors.”

However, the museum’s lush location has not been without controversy. Scientists and urban planners have publicly criticised its placement, citing concerns over the reduction of public green space in a city of nearly seven million people.

Alongside worries about urban biodiversity, the area’s limited access to public transportation has raised fears of increased traffic. The NuMu team points to a new metro station planned just a few blocks from the site. “This will allow visitors to explore several museums in one trip, connecting different cultural hubs across the city,” a museum spokesperson said in a statement.

The final permit to commence construction on the NuMu was granted in April, giving the official green light to move the project forward. The museum’s opening date has not been announced but will likely be in late 2027 or early 2028.