MACAM - Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins — Attraction in Lisbon

A nice exhibition space showcasing a personal collection of art encompassing portuguese 19c to international contemporary art, mostly paintings, housed on a 19c palatial estate. Both building and content are a good reason for visiting.

The palace started as residential, and was temporarily used as a public school before being adapted to the actual hotel-museum complex, for which it went through a long and careful refurbishment and expansion. The back gardens were the most transformed, with a new building being added in its periphery, along with a new basement space that raised and flattened the ground level of the backyard. The original building itself was adapted to a hotel and exhibition space, with most of the ground floor's architectonic space being fairly preserved, and less so on the upper floors. The desacralized chapel is now a bar space. Overall, the refurbishment is quite balanced.

The museum itself is organized in 4 different galleries, 1 and 2 in the original palace, and 3 and 4 in the new backyard building. The first two start from 19c portuguese art and it evolves, chronologically, into an international contemporary art scene. The other 2 galleries, housed in the new building, continue the path into contemporaneity, bringing in installations, video and alternative media. Here, the art pieces tend to revolve around thematics of sustainability and other contemporary concerns. I wonder if these spaces will be permanent or have a regular rotation and even temporary exhibitions. The pieces of this collection are top world examplars of their time, and its 1-2h visiting time invites one on a well spent, albeit loose and sometimes stochastic, look into a cross section of portuguese and international modernist and contemporary art. The curatorial texts could be improved, as could signage, though.

One cannot avoid establishing a parallel with the Gulbenkian Foundation, where there too, the personal collection stand as a portraiture of its owner, left for posterity. Unlike the Gulbenkian Foundation where the museum is an 'atemporal' portraiture that complements the 'temporal' activities of the foundation; here the museum provides the 'differentiation' and the hotel the 'financial'.

Tickets for the museum can be bought at the entrance. There is a nice café/restaurant in the backyard. Parking isn't easy, but there are many public transport options. There are free lockers, but the locking system is esoteric. Photos without flash...

I had the chance to visit the newly opened Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, MACAM, for just 40 minutes yesterday, and it left a significant impression on me. Though my time was limited, the experience was truly enriching.

First of all, the space itself is remarkable: housed in the Palacio dos Condes de Ribeira Grande, the museum has been thoughtfully adapted, blending light with historic architectural details. The design is clean and purposeful, yet full of character. Secondly, the collection is impressive, featuring works that span from realism to contemporary pieces by Portuguese artists— all presented without fuss and in context. What I loved most was the peaceful atmosphere; there’s no tourist frenzy here, just tranquility, light, and art. I will definitely return to explore the temporary exhibitions. If you're in the area between Alcântara and Belém, particularly around LX Factory, don’t miss it. Even better, consider staying at the local hotel that is part of the museum itself, as the exhibitions extend into...

"I love it. Don’t miss the chapel—the work of Christ on the cross is fabulous. And it’s going to be a bar. Incredible space. What a marvelous restoration. Gallery 1 has so many amazing Portuguese artists like Paula Rego, Skapinakis, Amadeo, Almada, Nery, etc., etc.—lots of incredible stuff. Gallery 2 is an excellent surprise. The friendliness of the staff and their smiles. The MC at the cafeteria :) A real ace. I can’t wait to see the chapel in full service and the hotel buzzing. Not so cool: The temporary exhibitions felt very 'political' to me, almost doctrinal... the curation in choosing the pieces, but I loved 'The Million.' Let’s see what the future brings.... Thank you Mr...