[1] The building, built between 1901 and 1909, was first used as a department store, the Galeries de France.

The MaMa was opened at the occasion of the operation "Algiers, capital of the Arabic culture 2007".

The museum is located at the number 25 of the street Larbi Ben M'hidi (formerly rue d'Isly).

The current curator is Mohamed Djehiche, an art historian.

The MaMa presented a retrospective on Olivier Debré (May–August 2010) and a tribute to M'hamed Issiakhem (December 2010 – January 2011).