Eduardo Costantini recognized in Spain as a Latin American patron

About the International Patronage Awards

The International Patronage Awards are a social initiative promoted by the Callia Foundation, whose mission is to promote patronage in the arts. Each year they recognize the work of three patrons: one Latin American, one Spanish, and one international. They recognize not only the contribution of the winners to art as patrons, but also their ethical and moral convictions, as well as the courage to act in accordance with them. By joining the initiative with generosity and humility, these winners help the Awards inspire other men and women with their same conviction to become involved in the conservation, promotion, and dissemination of artistic heritage and talent.

The jury of the 10th edition of the Callia Foundation International Patronage Awards awarded this year to three distinguished patrons: Eduardo F. Costantini, Simon de Pury and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, for their outstanding work in supporting and promoting art at an international level. The awards were presented by Her Majesty Queen Sofia during the Solemn Ceremony that took place at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando on Monday, March 3, one of the oldest Academies in Europe and the first public collection of fine arts in Spain.

In the Latin American category, the award went to Eduardo F. Costantini, a leading figure in the region and founder 24 years ago of the Malba Museum in Buenos Aires, Argentina; In the Spanish category, the award went to Simon de Pury, a renowned patron who is key in promoting international contemporary art and who has also raised hundreds of millions in auctions organised for amfAR, the Elton John Foundation and the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation; and in the international category, the award went to the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, which has donated more than ninety million dollars in scholarships to emerging and established artists, promoting contemporary art through exhibitions and prizes.

According to the president of the Callia Foundation, Carmen Reviriego, “the International Patronage Awards are a declaration of love to our patrons, who through their commitment to art contribute to building a more sensitive and humane society, and therefore, more fraternal.”

Upon receiving the award, Eduardo F. Costantini said: “It is a great honour to receive the Latin American award of the International Patronage Awards. Collecting, donating and creating the Malba has given colour, projection and meaning to my life. I saw collecting as a social function. Being able to publicly share essential works of Latin American art that I was able to buy over the last 50 years gives me enormous satisfaction. One thinks that one gives and ultimately receives much more by sharing art with people.”

This year, the Callia Foundation selected an emerging female artist to create the works that were given to the winners in recognition of their patronage work. In this edition, the initiative called Art for Equality featured the artist Cristina Mejías.

The solemnity of the event was accompanied by music and dance, with the performance of the singer Estrella Morente, together with the musicians José Carbonell Muñoz and Francisco Javier Conde Morente. Also, to celebrate the tenth edition, the Gala in honour of the winners took place on Sunday 2 March, for the first time, in the Gallery of the Royal Collections. Also on Saturday morning, the award winners participated in public conversations in the auditorium of the Madrid City Hall Center. After the presentation of a video in which Eduardo F. Costantini recounted in first person his passion for collecting and what led him to found the Malba in 2001 and the opening of the new headquarters in Escobar in 2024, he held a conversation with the president of the Callia Foundation, Carmen Reviriego.
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