A new privately funded museum in Lisbon, the Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins (Macam), will open its doors on 22 March—exactly 51 years after its founder, Armando Martins, bought his first original work of art.
The painting was by the now relatively unknown Portuguese artist Rogério Ribeiro, but it set the businessman on a path to collecting some of the biggest names in Modern and contemporary art, culminating in the opening of Macam to house his 600-piece collection.
“It has always been my understanding that an art collection shouldn’t just be used to decorate a house, or be hidden away in a warehouse,” Martins says. “The ultimate goal is for it to be displayed for the service and enjoyment of the community.”
Paula Rego's The Knight, the Lady and the Priest 2 is one of the works in Macam's collection © Courtesy of Macam
Macam is housed in the Palácio Condes da Ribeira Grande, an 18th-century palace in western Lisbon that was built for the Marquis of Nisa and later hosted a school before standing empty for several years. The Portuguese architectural firm Metro Urbe have renovated the building to include 2,000 sq. m of exhibition space, a restaurant, café, bar, auditorium—and a five-star hotel. These additions will make the project financially sustainable, Martins says.
The hotel will also display works from the collection in its rooms and public spaces. New works by the Canadian artist Angela Bulloch and the Portuguese artist José Pedro Croft have been commissioned for the outdoor terraces, while a third work by the Spanish artist Carlos Aires is destined for the museum’s art bar, housed in a former chapel where performances and other events are planned.
The project has taken nearly 20 years to bring to fruition, with plenty of setbacks along the way. Martins says that he had originally envisaged his museum being built from scratch on a parcel of public land by the Tejo River for which he obtained a 90-year lease. It was to be designed by the postmodern Catalan architect Ricardo Bofill.
Macam is housed in the 18th-century Palácio Condes da Ribeira Grande Photo: © Fernando Guerra
But the concession was revoked for what Martins says were political reasons. “As a result, I decided to acquire my own property to ensure independence. In 2007, I purchased the Palácio dos Condes da Ribeira Grande, where I would establish my museum.” The 2008 financial crash, the pandemic and the war in Ukraine all later led to further delays.
Martins studied mechanical engineering in Lisbon and went on to make his fortune in the cement and mining industries after moving to Brazil in the late 1970s. He returned to Portugal and founded a property development company, Grupo Fibeira.
Armando Martins Photo: Frederico van Zeller
In was in the 1980s that his collecting really took off, and it now includes works by the most important Portuguese artists of the 20th century, including Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Helena Almeida, Julião Sarmento and Paula Rego, as well as international names such as Marina Abramović, Olafur Eliasson, Elmgreen & Dragset and Dan Graham. Of the Portuguese contingent, Martins says his favourites are the Modernist painters Eduardo Viana and Souza-Cardoso, while among international artists he highlights the work of the German contemporary artist Albert Oehlen. “I’m drawn to Modern and contemporary art because it resonates with me on a deeper level,” Martins says. “While classical works inspire contemplation, they don’t spark the same excitement.”
Macam will not only display works from Martins’ own holdings, but will also exhibit other private collections. It will become “a platform where collections meet, expanding access to works of art that would otherwise be stored or restricted to private circles,” Martins says. A new addition to the historic building has been created for this temporary exhibition space, covered in tiles by the Portuguese ceramicist Maria Ana Vasco Costa.
Amadeo Sousa-Cardozo's Música Surda (around 1914-15) © Courtesy of Macam
The opening of Macam comes at a time of significant growth in Lisbon’s art scene. A museum dedicated to the work of the late contemporary artist Julião Sarmento is due to open this year in the nearby Belém neighbourhood, while last year the Museu do Design and the Centro de Arte Moderna Gulbenkian (Cam) reopened to the public with much fanfare after major renovations.
Cam’s director, Benjamin Weil, welcomes the latest addition to the Lisbon art scene. “The news of Macam’s opening is great,” he says. He sees its plan to play host to other collections as particularly important, adding that it contributes “to the growth of a great art ecosystem in Lisbon”.
• Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins opens on 22 March
