Study and documentation

Cataloguing of the Collection’s holdings is another of the main functions of the museum. Upon their arrival to the MACBA, the Collection’s works are recorded and catalogued in our database. After an initial identification inventory, we proceed to expand documentation by taking photographs, creating audiovisual recordings and conducting bibliographic and online research. We document our art collection in a specific and rigorous way. We compile a specialized and up-to-date textual and visual bibliography and gather the documentary material needed to offer better and broader knowledge about the works in the Collection: in what context they were made, for what purpose, how they can be interpreted, what field of meaning they open and what impact they have had on the arts and on the creative career of their author. These are some of the domains that enable access to the works under better conditions. The processes of cataloguing and documenting the Collection’s holdings are carried out on an ongoing basis in order to keep the history of the works updated.

The museum has a bank of images of the works that make up the MACBA Collection aimed at researchers, publishing companies and art institutions.

Scholars and researchers can access the works of the Collection. Contact the Collection department, and we will study the feasibility of the request. In some cases there may be associated costs arising from the handling and packaging of the works.