The Lisbon Modern Art Centre is located very close to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is responsible for administrating the Lisbon Modern Art Centre as well as the museum of the same name. This combination of twined locations and joint ticket access make a combined day trip to the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and the Lisbon Modern Art Centre one of the top attractions for art lovers visiting Lisbon.
The Lisbon Modern Art Centre exhibits a wide ranging collection of modern and contemporary art. Much weight is given to local Portuguese artists, but there is a healthy representation of international artists on display as well. The entire collection is displayed across two separate floors.
The Centro de Arte Moderna is a tribute to the art of the 20th and 21st century's, with a total number of exhibits often in excess of 10,000. This makes it the largest modern art museum in Portugal by far.
The Lisbon Modern Art Centre operates in three distinctly different ways. Alongside the more traditional gallery setup, which exhibits s static selection of artwork, it also regularly hosts specialised exhibitions featuring a particular artist, theme or mode of art. Additionally, the venue is often made available for third party exhibitors to use to display specialized collections, for a short period of time. If you intend to visit the centre during your trip to Lisbon, then it is well worth checking in advance to find out just what the centre is presenting during your stay. It may be that by moving your schedule a little you could take advantage of something that suits your taste entirely.
Originally, since its opening in the 1960s, the Lisbon Modern Art Centre only featured local Portuguese artists. However, over the last two decades the centre has opened up to international artists from all around the world, including Asia and Africa.
Highlights of the Lisbon Modern Art Centre
There are two main highlights that every visitor to the Lisbon Modern Art centre will want to take in. The first of these is the Portuguese collection, featuring local artists such as Vieira da Silva, Joao Cutileiro and Souza-Cardoso amongst others. This is the most all-encompassing exhibition of purely Portuguese modern art to be found anywhere in the world.
The second highlight is the large collection of contemporary modern British art. This collection is predominantly made up of art works from the 20th century. The collection features artists such as Bill Woodrow, David Hockey and Henry Moore.
The Lisbon Modern Art Centre for Families
The Lisbon Modern Art Centre is more suitable for families with young children than other art galleries or exhibitions. This is mainly due to the much more modern, and therefor colourful and understandable theme.
Lisbon Modern Art Centre Opening Times
The Lisbon Modern Art Centre is open from Tuesday through to Sunday from 10am until 6pm, with the last admission being allowed at 5:45pm. The Lisbon Modern Art Centre is closed on Monday and on the following national holidays: Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Easter Sunday and May Day. Refreshement facilities close 15 minutes before the venue does.
Getting to the Lisbon Modern Art Centre
The Lisbon Modern Art Centre is located at:
Rua Dr. Nicolau de Bettencourt
There are two metro stations close by, São Sebastião and Praça de Espanha Stations.
