About CAM

CAM is an art and culture centre with a collection of contemporary and modern art which includes the largest representation of Portuguese artists to date. The building is currently under renovation. In the meantime, we continue to bring art beyond our walls.

The idea of creating a new venue at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for the experience of Modern and Contemporary art emerged towards the end of the 1970s. Soon after, José de Azeredo Perdigão, founding president of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and the board entrusted Sir Leslie Martin and his collaborators with the design of a multifunction building, which would house the collection of Modern and Contemporary art that started being amassed in the late 1950s, but work as a venue to create and present new formats and showcase the work of emerging artists.

Inaugurated in 1983, CAM (Centro de Arte Moderna) was not meant to be just a museum, which the name implies. It naturally became the headquarters of ACARTE, an avant-garde multidisciplinary programme launched in the following year by Madalena Perdigão.

Closed for a major restoration and expansion project designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and his associates, the building will reopen to the public with a selection of works from the Collection, on rotation and shown in different contexts, and continue to feature new projects by contemporary artists. CAM will also have a new space dedicated to sound art, and another to works on paper. A Live Arts programme will complement the exhibitions programme, reflecting the eclectic artistic production of our times, by artists living in Portugal and everywhere around the world.

Time being a scarce commodity, we aim to design our cultural spaces and programmes so that everyone can enjoy an experience of art, adding as little as 10 minutes of art to their daily routine. We believe should be a part of everyday life, experienced as often as possible, like a stroll in the park, to unwind and think differently about the world and its complexity.