If you’re a fan of museums, you are probably used to walking around silently, admiring the exhibitions while being careful not to touch anything or whisper too loudly.
In Rome’s Metropoliz Museum of the Other and the Elsewhere (MAAM), this could not be further from the case. The museum, which is filled with impressive art installations from over 300 artists from all around the world, is usually filled with chatter and laughter. This is because it is the home of 200 squatters and 80 of them are children.
Back in 2011, Giorgio de Finis stumbled across an abandoned salami factory occupied by homeless migrants. He decided to use this space to host art events and collaborated with inhabitants to grow the space and fill it with art. Now, the museum is an important contemporary art space and the selection of murals art installations are admired by tourists and locals all year round.
The museum is free to enter and is only open on Saturdays. It is the support from the artists who donate their work and the public who visit the museum which allow them to continue living there without fear of eviction.
If you are visiting Rome, the museum is well worth a trip. The art will fascinate you but the migrants who live there and their stories will fascinate you even more.
