Minister of Culture Maruja Herrera announced that the Anthropological Museum Reina Torres de Araúz (MARTA) could reopen as early as this December. "I can leave in early January, but I want to be very firm that by the end of December we will have the Reina Torres de Araúz Museum," she affirmed. The minister stated that the museum has its vault to safeguard the entire collection and promised a modern museography so that all Panamanians can tour the country's history in a didactic and interactive way. Founded in 1976 as the Museum of the Panamanian Man, it is the main space dedicated to anthropology in the country and houses thousands of archaeological, ethnographic, and goldsmith pieces that document the pre-Columbian and contemporary history of Panama. The project also contemplates areas for permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as educational spaces, with the aim of turning the museum into a center of knowledge and citizen encounter. The collection of ceramics, goldsmithing, and ethnographic objects narrates the history of the isthmus from pre-Columbian times to the present, reinforcing its value as one of the main repositories of Panamanian cultural heritage. It has been closed since 2013. In 2020, the restoration works began, but they have faced multiple setbacks. The comprehensive restoration includes the rehabilitation of the historic building, the old railway station, the construction of new conservation spaces, and the development of a contemporary museographic proposal.
