The history of MAMbo is inextricably linked to the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna, whence the existing museum came to life and on which rest its research’s foundations as well as the project it is still carrying out.

The Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Bologna opened in 1975 in the spaces specially designed by artist and architect Leone Pancaldi; it was born in the atmosphere of intellectual fervor that pervaded the city at the beginning of the Sixties. Before GAM’s opening, more than a decade of events, exhibitions and competitions had taken place in hope of its construction, culminating in the opening activities joint under the title "A museum today."

GAM’s activities, spanning over more than thirty years, were based on a binary project combining the presentation of cultural vanguards to the re-reading of Italian and international art history: from the International Week of Performance to anthological shows devoted to the protagonists of the twentieth century, from its parallel and complementary activity within the Villa delle Rose to the constant monitoring of young Italian artists represented by its Spazio Aperto experiment.

Mambo, sharing this extraordinary tradition’s motivations with the aim of enhancing its outcomes, has developed a program of activities combining the institution’s international placement with a reflection on the role of museums, whose immediate relevance can’t ignore the theoretical tenets established in the Seventies.

The birth of MAMbo is part of the urban recovery of the Manifattura delle Arti, which includes the DMS university campus (in the former Manifattura Tabacchi), the Film Archive (in the former Macello) and Cassero (in the former Salara). The museum’s presence in this city, from its origin as a center of production and trade, strengthens the idea of a museum as a new center of cultural manufacture, testing, research and innovation.