With the visit of the ambassadors of Italy and Germany, Giuseppe Manzo and Ulrich Sante, respectively, the University Museum reunited with its public. 

After several months of remaining closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic, MUNTREF Immigrants Hotel headquarters reopened its doors on Saturday, October 31st, with the distinguished visit of the ambassadors of Italy and Germany, Giuseppe Manzo and Ulrich Sante, and that of its public. The reopening was attended by the rector of the UNTREF and general director of its museums, Aníbal Jozami, along with the MUNTREF’s Art Director and Director of the University’s Art and Culture Department, Diana Wechsler. 

Jozami and Wechsler served as guides for the exhibitions displayed in the halls of the Center for Contemporary Art, where the public was able to appreciate Los diarios del alma (Diaries of the Soul), by the Italian Maria Lai, as well as, Memoria colectiva (Collective Memory), by the Argentine Carlota Beltrame; and El estado fotográfico (The photographic State), by the Chilean Julia Toro. Wechsler remarked that the Lai and Beltrame exhibitions were due to premiere on March 14, but on account of the quarantine they had to be put off.

“We are happy to be able to give birth to these exhibitions that could not be seen until today. It is a unique opportunity to come in intimate touch with Maria Lai’s diaries of the soul and with Carlota Beltrame’s work, which offers traits from a collective memory that places us in Tucumán, in our country but also in a transhistorical past”, explained the artistic director of the Museum. Jozami also expressed his joy over the reopening of the building and highlighted the artistic quality of the exhibitions. “We are waiting for all of you at the Contemporary Art Center in the old Immigrants Hotel to enjoy these works of art,” the rector invited. 

The public was also able to see the For all the men of the world (Para todos los hombres del Mundo) exhibition, put on at the Immigration Museum, where they were guided by its content creator Marcelo Huernos. Besides, each visitor was gifted a catalog or book of their choice for being the first to come after the reopening. As informed by the Museum, between Saturday and Sunday, approximately 100 visitors came to the museum distributed in shifts of up to 20 people. 

Visits to the MUNTREF Immigrants’ Hotel Headquarters can be made from Tuesdays to Sundays between 12pm and 6pm, with prior reservation through the Museum View MUNTREF application, which can be downloaded from Google Playstore, or by email to visitasmuntref@untref.edu.ar. 

The app Museum View MUNTREF is not only a platform for booking ones visits to the Immigrants Hotel, but is also conceived as a tool for interaction between MUNTREF and its public since it provides general information and access to videos, image galleries, multimedia content, audio guided tours and media articles on its different locations. The new mobile application allows you to make virtual tours through the exhibitions and sends user’s news alerts. Very soon it will be extended to the IOS system devices (Apple App Store).

The assistance to the Museum will be done following the guidelines of the protocol elaborated by the Argentine Network of Museums and Art Spaces and authorized by the Buenos Aires government and the national government. Among the bio-safety measures are the permanent use of a mask, keeping a minimum distance of 2 meters and using alcohol gel. Reservations are made for 1 person or for a group of people living together with a maximum of 4 people, and the tours are made in one direction only to avoid crowds and unexpected crossings. 

The rest of the museums of the University maintain the virtual tours in 360 formats that were being carried out through the initiative #miramuntref.