The Foundation was established in 1993 by the couple formed by artists and collectors, Ben Jakober and Yannick Vu and philanthropist Georges Coulon Karlweis. In that year a former underground cistern of the Sa Bassa Blanca property was transformed to accommodate a unique collection of children's portraits from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
In 1995, the Foundation received the first visits of groups connected to the world of art and culture, and finally in January 2001 it was opened permanently to the public in general. Visits to "Nins" space, the rose garden and Sculpture Park, so characteristic of the Foundation, combine the enjoyment of art with nature.
In 2006 part of the main building designed by Hassan Fathy was opened to visitors: the Karlweis Wing, which houses a collection of modern and contemporary art and the “Mudejar” polychrome coffered ceiling on the top floor.
Finally, in 2007 the Sokrates exhibition space was added as well as the area of the "Zoo", a Sculpture Park with huge granite animals inspired by representations of ancient civilisations.
During its young history, the heritage of the Foundation has been recognized on numerous occasions. The Nins collection was declared catalogued as Heritage of the Balearic Islands, and the “Mudejar” coffered Ceiling as Heritage of "Great Cultural interest". The Foundation has also received awards and recognitions like the Special Mention of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards (2009), the Gold Medal of the Town of Alcudia (2008) or the Gold Plate of the Majorca Tourism Development Foundation (2008), the award in Touristic Experience (2017), among many others.
The works and pieces of the foundation, especially from the Nins collection and the works of Domenico Gnoli, have traveled to other museums and exhibition halls, both nationally and internationally, either forming an exhibition in itself, or forming part of larger exhibitions with specific works.
Sa Bassa Blanca Museum (msbb) has stood out since its inception for being in constant renovation, which has culminated in 2014 with the start of temporary exhibitions.
