About the Maritime Museum of Ushuaia

THE BEGINNINGS

The former prison of Ushuaia, an old abandoned construction, within a naval base, was enabled as a museum based on an agreement with the Argentine Navy in 1994. A project that changed the fortunes of an emblematic building.

The Museum began operating on March 3, 1995, with a private collection, which began in 1985, of ship models, engravings and old maps that make up regional history.

Today collections are exhibited that illustrate the maritime history of the region, from the discovery of Magellan, the life and customs of the Yagán people, to the legends of the gold prospectors, the foqueros and life in the Patagonian ranches and the pioneers. .Some time later the Museum of the Presidio was built, where the history of the prison is told, from its creation as the first prison in Tierra del Fuego, in 1896, until its definitive closure, in 1947. Criminals considered dangerous were confined there. for their recidivism, some of mythical fame, such as Cayetano Santos Godino, Petiso Orejudo, or Mateo Banks, el Místico. Also political prisoners, particularly in the 1930s, after the military coup. Walking through the pavilions and cells, one has a very vivid idea of ​​how the days of the inmates, the punishments or the forced labor, passed in that far corner of the Earth, in a prison that one arrived and from which one escaped, depending on it is said, only by sea.

Listening to the neighbors of Ushuaia was very important. They contributed important material on the history of Ushuaia, the ancient settlers, the canoe Indians, and Fuegian architecture. "A group of local artists also approached and thus was born on March 3, 1999, the first Art Gallery of the province and with it the drawing, painting, sculpture, theater and photography workshops. A library specialized in history was organized maritime and regional with the support of the local Legislature and the Naval Base. "

In 2002 we inaugurated the Multipurpose Room, in what was the former bakery, which presented the same building problems already mentioned. Today they are held from Exhibitions, Video Conferences, Theater, Intangible Heritage meetings, etc. In December 2006 the Museum of Marine Art Ushuaia was inaugurated, the first Art Museum of the Province. Works by artists from 1880 such as Larravide or De Martino, artists such as Berni, Soldi, Spilimbergo, Quinquela Martín, March, Del Prete, Daneri, Lacámera, Sívori, Lynch, Vaz, Biggeri, Forte and more are exhibited. The common thread that links these artists is water, and the approach to different related topics, such as the port, fishing, boats, port work and its characters. The marine goldsmithing section also stands out.

Research is another key to the museum and its results feed both permanent and temporary exhibits. Through them, numerous surveys have been carried out of the historical human settlements in the region, with the support of the Argentine Navy, in private sailboats and with the Ice Lady Patagonia Icebreaker. In October 1997, a 1/1 scale model was inaugurated, a replica of the Lighthouse at the End of the World. In February 1997, the director of the Museum, Lic. Vairo, carried out the archaeological survey of the original remains of the lighthouse and especially its foundations, in Isla de los Estados. The remains of the lighthouse finally reached Ushuaia, aboard the icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar, which was returning from Antarctica. Today the replica is visited by thousands of tourists.