National Museum of Guatemalan Art

The National Museum of Guatemalan Art, known in Spanish as Museo Nacional de Arte de Guatemala or MUNAG, is an art museum located in Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez Department, Guatemala. Inaugurated in 2021, the institution aims to incorporate, safeguard, protect, promote, and disseminate the Cultural Heritage of the Nation. It achieves this by exhibiting pieces and works from different historical periods of the country, spanning more than 3,000 years of artistic production.

The museum was planned and completed under the government of President Alejandro Giammattei through the Ministry of Culture and Sports. The first phase was inaugurated on September 10, 2021. Work on the second phase began shortly after, on December 1, 2021, and was inaugurated on August 1, 2022, adding ten rooms to the exhibition space. On its first day of operation following the second phase completion, the museum received more than 500 visitors, and it has attracted more than 175,000 visitors since its initial opening. The institution is primarily funded by the Ministry of Culture and Sports, with additional support from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration. As of 2021, its operating budget was approximately 567,000 Guatemalan quetzals per year.

Encompassing more than 842 square meters of exhibition space, the museum's collection covers the precolonial, colonial, and Republican periods of Guatemalan history. The oldest works in the holdings exceed 3,000 years of age. The institution emphasizes the evolution of Guatemalan art, from the primacy of art in prehispanic roots to the splendor of colonial imagery, painting, and silverwork resulting from the fusion of European influences and prehispanic expressions, as well as innovative modern and contemporary creations. The museum also incorporates technological and audiovisual resources alongside educational and cultural activity areas.

Among the oldest and most significant pieces in the collection are artifacts originating from the archaeological sites at Tikal National Park in the Petén Department and Takalik Abaj in El Asintal, Retalhuleu Department. Specific highlights include the lintel from Tikal Temple III and the burial offerings of King K'utz Chman.

MUNAG is housed in the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, a structure dating to the 16th century. The building has been modified and adapted for various functions over the centuries, and by 1776 it served as the seat of the administrative and political power of the Captaincy General of the Kingdom of Guatemala. The edifice is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation of Antigua Guatemala, a status the colonial city shares with Tikal National Park since 1979. The palace sits facing the central park of Antigua Guatemala, a location that King Philip II granted the title of "La muy noble y muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala" in 1566.

The museum is located in Antigua Guatemala, Sacatepéquez Department, Guatemala. It operates under the administration of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Guatemala, which provides the majority of its operational funding. Since opening, it has played a significant role in the modernization of state museums and cultural centers safeguarding national patrimony, drawing substantial public attendance in its first years of operation.