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MACAM opens in Lisbon with three free days dedicated to contemporary art

The Armando Martins Museum of Contemporary Art (MACAM), inaugurated on March 21, opens its doors to the public this Saturday, with three days of free admission. Located in the building of the former Condes da Ribeira Grande Palace, MACAM exhibits Armando Martins' private collection of more than 600 works, from the late 19th century to the present day.

 

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MACAM opens in Lisbon with three free days dedicated to contemporary art "A new chapter for culture in Lisbon, helping to transform the area from Alcântara to Belém into a contemporary art cluster" Carlos Moedas Lisbon has a new museum The MACAM collection includes around 600 works by 280 artists Armando Martins and Carlos Moedas In addition to two galleries reserved for permanent exhibitions, MACAM also has two galleries dedicated to temporary exhibitions, a restaurant and a bar in a former chapel MACAM will have free admission every first Sunday of the month, between 10am and 2pm.

With a total area of 13,000 square meters, MACAM has around 2,000 square meters of exhibition space, with 215 pieces from a collection of over 600 works. This collection is the fruit of half a century's work by Armando Martins, who began buying serigraphs at the age of 18 and, shortly before April 25, 1974, bought his first original piece, a painting by Rogério Ribeiro.

MACAM's new wing, created to connect the historic palace to the exhibition space, stands out for its innovative façade, covered with three-dimensional tiles designed by Portuguese artist and ceramist Maria Ana Vasco Costa, who won the Surface Design Awards in London in February. Among the main names in the collection are major figures in Portuguese art, such as Paula Rego, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, José Malhoa, Amadeo Souza-Cardoso, Almada Negreiros, Eduardo Viana, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Julião Sarmento, Rui Chafes, José Pedro Croft and Lourdes Castro, among others. "An intersection between tradition and innovation, between history and modernity," said Carlos Moedas, Lisbon's mayor.

"To enter this new museum is to see transformation. It's seeing something extraordinary. It's not just the restoration of the 18th century palace, it's not just the restoration of the heritage, it's the whole new building that will house the temporary exhibitions. Seeing the way the tiles by Grande Mariana Baixo Costa cover the façade is incredible."

As well as two galleries reserved for permanent exhibitions, MACAM also has two galleries dedicated to temporary exhibitions, a restaurant and a bar in a former chapel. The public will be able to browse the museum's four galleries, where the inaugural exhibition "Uma coleção a dois tempos", curated by Adelaide Ginga and Carolina Quintela, depicts everything from naturalist and modernist movements to the Portuguese avant-garde and contemporary photography.

"This area from Alcântara to Belém has become a real cluster of contemporary art, a unicorn of contemporary art. Here we have the MAAT, we have the CCB Museum of Contemporary Art, we have Arte Lisboa, we have the Torreão Nascente, we're going to have the Julião Sarmento Museum and we're going to have a new Lisbon Contemporary Art Center, with all the works that the City Council buys at Arte, but then doesn't exhibit. So we're going to have the new Contemporary Art Center on Avenida da Índia," said Carlos Moedas.

MACAM will have free admission every first Sunday of the month, between 10am and 2pm.