The "la Caixa" Foundation is to build a new CaixaForum centre in the city of Malaga

The Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, and the President of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Isidro Fainé, have signed an agreement to establish a new CaixaForum cultural centre in the city of Malaga from 2026.

In this way, the "la Caixa" Foundation reinforces its commitment to an area in which it has been actively involved for decades through investments in the social, cultural, scientific and educational spheres, many of them in conjunction with Malaga City Council. Both institutions have been collaborating for years, including a firm commitment to culture as an engine of individual growth and social transformation.

With the future CaixaForum cultural centre, the "la Caixa" Foundation, as well as ratifying its commitment to the capital of the Costa del Sol, reinforces its commitment to culture as a strategic driving force for the development of people. More specifically, CaixaForum Malaga will be located in Plaza Manuel Azaña, one of the most visible entrances to the city, which connects with Avenida de Andalucía, a key artery.

Malaga is the sixth largest city in Spain in terms of population, and the fifth largest in terms of the metropolitan area, with more than one million inhabitants. With the future opening, the "la Caixa" Foundation will have its cultural flagship in the six main capitals of Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza and Malaga.

A network of facilities that have in common the CaixaForum experience, a cultural and scientific dissemination model that aims to reach all audiences - the most specialised and the general and family audiences - with a wide and global educational and activity offer. This goes far beyond the exhibitions, and includes music, conferences and debates, as well as social events, educational and family workshops. The aim is to be a living space, at the service of people, where culture is an effective tool for social cohesion and integration.

The CaixaForum cultural centre model has two exhibition halls, an auditorium, multi-purpose rooms, educational and other spaces, such as a bar-restaurant and a shop-bookshop.

According to the Chairman of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Isidro Fainé, "with the signing of this agreement we are making clear our commitment to the city of Malaga, whose firm commitment to culture is in line with the values of the "la Caixa" Foundation: working to improve people's well-being and progress. Culture is a powerful tool that contributes to social cohesion and integration and our aim is to facilitate access to it for today's citizens and those of the future".

For his part, the Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, valued the decision of the "la Caixa" Foundation as "a great step forward that puts us on a par with Madrid, Barcelona and other major Spanish cities, a powerful initiative that reinforces, diversifies and completes our cultural offer. The CaixaForum in Malaga was one of our longings and I am deeply grateful to Isidro Fainé for his decision and drive to ensure that it is built on such a strategic site and becomes a reality in 2026".

This season, the "la Caixa" Foundation has programmed 30 exhibitions that can be visited at the CaixaForum centres and the CosmoCaixa Science Museum, as well as 4,000 activities and 8 exhibitions that will travel to more than 80 cities in Spain and Portugal during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Alliances with leading national and international museums and cultural centres, such as the British Museum, the Museum of Science in Boston, the Centre Pompidou, La Cinémathèque française and the Museo Nacional del Prado, among others, enable the CaixaForum network of centres to project first-rate exhibitions. The current programme includes, for example, the exhibitions dedicated to the Mummies of Egypt; to Nikola Tesla; to comics; The Century of the Portrait, with the Prado Museum; and Expanded Visions. Photography and experimentation, in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou.

In the cultural sphere, the "la Caixa" Foundation has been present in Malaga for 30 years, with the programming, in 1993, of the so-called Science Tent. Since then, the institution has organised more than fifty exhibitions in the city. It has also promoted various exhibition projects within the programme of travelling exhibitions, with examples such as Sebastião Salgado; Leonardo da Vinci, Land of Dreams by Cristina García Rodero; From Pole to Pole, by National Geographic; and the immersive musical experience Symphony under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel.

The involvement in cultural matters is in addition to the ongoing work of the "la Caixa" Foundation with the city of Malaga in social, scientific and educational matters. The entity carries out numerous programmes, including those aimed at combating child poverty, promoting employment for people in vulnerable situations, promoting active and healthy ageing and caring for people with advanced illnesses.

The "la Caixa" Foundation is the leading private foundation in Spain, and one of the most important in the world, and has a budget of 538 million euros for this year, an all-time record.