Centro Cultural de Cali

The Banco de la República Cultural Center in Cali is a place for reading, writing, research, and encounters with anthropological, artistic, and cultural knowledge from Valle del Cauca and Colombia. Its facilities make it possible to enjoy the extensive collection of goldworks held by the Calima Gold Museum, as well as the catalogue of Banco de la República’s Library Network and a large and varied bibliographic collection in the Regional Documentation Center. In addition, the public can access a variety of exhibitions (visual arts, documentary, heritage and anthropological subjects), and a continuous program of concerts, workshops, and conferences in the music room and auditorium.

The Banco de la República Cultural Center is located in the cultural heart of Cali, surrounded by the Municipal Theater, the Foundation for the Promotion of the Arts (PROARTES), City Hall’s Cultural Division, the Society of Public Improvement, and La Merced Archaeological Museum. It is also near the School of Fine Arts, Antonio María Valencia Music Conservatory, La Tertulia Museum of Modern Art, and the Jorge Isaacs Theater. Currently, the Cultural Center seeks to position the Library Network as a platform for collection management, committed to physical and digital conservation, as well as offering accessible, inclusive, and stimulating services, spaces and programs for users.

History

The cultural offering of Banco de la República in Cali began in 1984 with a collection of 72 books and 6 journal titles on economic and administrative topics, which had been part of the specialized collection of the bank's Economic Research Department. In 1989, it expanded to include the Regional Documentation Center, a multipurpose room, and a repository for the collection, and also began the process of finding new space to protect the collection of books, goldwork pieces, and works of art. At present, the collection includes over 14,000 reference materials, in addition to the Library Network catalogue. In May 1990, the central bank's cultural activities were moved to a new location, where space was made available for the Calima Gold Museum, access to the Library Network catalogue and the Regional Documentation Center, an auditorium, the Portón de los Libros fair, a music room and an exhibition hall. In April 1991, the Calima Gold Museum was inaugurated with a collection of 472 goldwork pieces and 142 ceramic and stone pieces from the Llama, Yotoco, and Sonso periods. The collection currently contains 454 pieces in total.