The Museum of Modern Art or Serralves Museum is located in the Serralves Estate, very close to the centre of Porto in Portugal and is considered to be the first contemporary art museum of this size in the country.

The estate was designed by the architect Alvaro Siza Vieira, with whom the Serralves Foundation signed a contract in 1991 to create a museum. Construction only began five years later and the land was chosen for the development of the Domaine de Serralves.

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto opened its doors in June 1999 and its first exhibition was entitled « Circa 1968 ». The new museum building was built with an area of 13,000 square metres, of which 4500 square metres of exhibition space was divided between 14 galleries. The former building of the Casa de Cerralves houses the office of the Serralves Foundation.

In 2000, a large auditorium was built. The estate is surrounded by a magnificent and picturesque park, in which the museum is located. Visitors can visit the library, the book and craft souvenir shop or eat in the restaurant after visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art in Porto.

The architect Alvaro Siza Vieira not only designed the building but also participated in its interior design. When you visit this museum in Porto, you can see the central hall of the museum, its atrium, as well as its wooden and marble room.

The Porto Museum of Contemporary Art has a vast collection of contemporary art works. Part of the collection has been purchased by the museum and there are works from private collections.

Each year, the museum presents exhibitions of works by guest artists including works by Franz West, Roni Horn, Klaes Oldenburg, Richard Hamilton and others. Among the museum’s collections are paintings by the famous Portuguese artists Paula Regu and Elena Almeida.

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