This is what the former CAC gallery in Malaga will look like: plans include new name and a change of colour

Paco Griñán

Malaga

Friday, 25 April 2025, 16:14

The reorganisation of Malaga's municipal museums following the closure of the CAC Málaga is at a key moment. The new project is called MUCAC , it has a new corporate image and will have two venue locations: La Coracha, which starts operating this Thursday in the former Municipal Heritage Museum, and also Mayoristas, the main space in the district of Soho that has just received the green light from the Junta de Andalucía's provincial heritage commission to go ahead with the refurb needed to solve the deficiencies and leaks that have plagued this BIC protected status building in Calle Alemania. Bringing back the name of the old food market is one of the novelties of this initiative that will also visually break ties with its former white appearance as the contemporary art centre (CAC) of Malaga by restoring the reddish hue that characterised it during its original use as a commercial building.

With a favourable report now complete from the regional ministry of culture for the refurbishment, the next step is to invite tenders for the actual work, which will have a budget of just over one million euros (1,059,452 with IVA salestax included). The plan is to fix the leaks in the roof of the building, solve the sanitation problems, provide new toilet facilities on the ground floor, change the location of the reception area by bringing it closer to the front door and change its external appearance by returning it to its original colour, the latter being at the request of the Junta de Andalucía itself. "We think it's great because we are the city's department for culture and historical heritage, so recouping identity is part of our mission," said the councillor for culture, Mariana Pineda, when speaking to SUR on Tuesday. She hopes that the contracting of the refurb work by Urbanismo (the city's planning department) will be done as soon as possible, although she acknowledges that the inauguration of MUCAC's Mayoristas location will be delayed with respect to the date they had originally estimated, which was the first quarter of 2026.

Mid-year is the new deadline currently being considered, according to councillor Pineda, who suggests it will be "late spring" next year for the reopening of the former CAC. Making progress and gaining approval of plans with the Junta's provincial heritage commission has been delayed by the difficulties posed by "the bathrooms that have had to change location due to a problem with the water outlet," said Pineda, who, however, reiterates everyone's "commitment" and "professionalism with which we are acting to ensure that everything is open as soon as possible." In order to avoid any further delay in launching the new MUCAC events calendar until the old market building is ready, the attention has switched to the other venue, La Coracha. On Thursday this week there was a reopening with the emphasis on exhibiting the more contemporary works of art from the collection belonging to the former Municipal Heritage Museum.

As for how the interior will be laid out, the future MUCAC Mayoristas will continue to have four exhibition rooms on the ground floor, although an area in front of the library will undergo a change of use to create a workspace for new artists that will allow the selected artists to create and exhibit their work in front of the public. On this same street level the refurbishment includes the aforementioned construction of new toilet facilities that will also serve the restaurant when the art centre is closed, while in the basement there are plans to make some use of the space, but nothing concrete as yet and it may yet just be used for adding to the storage area, said Pineda.

As part of the refurbishment plans, the first-floor toilets will also be updated, while new facilities will be built to insulate the air-conditioning needed and the roof will be repaired. It was precisely the air conditioning that was a major black spot to plague the building during its time as CAC Málaga. For years it suffered from high temperatures in its exhibition rooms. This problem was finally resolved last December when, with the art centre already closed, they managed to complete a renovation of the air conditioning equipment as part of the rehabilitation project that preceded the work that will be done now to protect this equipment further and prevent its deterioration.

MUCAC Mayoristas will also renew its lighting and restore natural light through the small, square-shaped ventilation openings located in the upper part of the library. Therefore, the current treatment that prevents light from passing through will be eliminated. The interior of the building will be renovated with a coat of matt, plastic paint. However, the most visible new feature will affect the exterior: a new covering of masonry paint will be applied to the entire façade, restoring the reddish tone that was originally in the refurb plans for CAC Málaga just over 20 years ago. It was only a few months before the art centre opened that the colour was finally changed to the white tone that has been used ever since.

Regarding the first temporary exhibitions to run in the future MUCAC Mayoristas, the culture councillor gave assurances that they are already working on which collections to acquire on loan for these exhibitions. She stated that the main exhibition for the reinauguration of the future MUCAC in Soho will feature contemporary Latin American art. In addition, two other exhibitions are also being prepared for the opening that will place "Malaga as the capital throughout the history of the Mediterranean and the axis of our identity", and the city "for its proximity to Africa." These exhibitions are marked in red in the events calendar for the middle of next year, although the next steps are to meet the deadlines for the tendering and awarding of the refurbishment contract so that the old CAC Málaga is reborn, albeit with a different name and building colour.