The new museum located in the Palácio Condes da Ribeira Grande, on Rua da Junqueira, is set to open with approximately one-third of its collection, featuring 600 works, including both permanent and two temporary exhibitions in the contemporary wing of the new building.
“This project is a museum with a five-star hotel, not a hotel with a museum. The hotel exists to ensure the sustainability of the museum project,” emphasized the collector during a media tour of the new cultural space, which includes 64 rooms displaying artworks.
The museum’s inauguration will be celebrated with three days of events and commemorative activities featuring music, poetry, and art commentary, offering free entry to the public from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
In the initial opening phase, the hotel will be available only to invited guests and will open to the general public by Easter, according to the proprietor, who expressed pride in leading a “solely private project.”
“I decided not to rely on public funding, which is unprecedented in Portugal. As a private museum, it is funded entirely by private capital,” noted Armando Martins, who began collecting screenprints with friends at age 18 and acquired his first painting, by Portuguese artist Rogério Ribeiro, on March 22, 1974, his 25th birthday.
Acquisitions intensified in the 1980s, particularly focusing on contemporary Portuguese 20th-century art, later expanding to include international artists.
“In 1988, I organized the first exhibition with about 90 works by Manuel Cargaleiro, consisting of both screenprints and original paintings, in my hometown Penamacor. Over 500 people attended, and we had to involve GNR to manage the traffic,” the collector reminisced, highlighting the public’s appreciation of fine arts.
The Armando Martins collection includes works by renowned Portuguese artists such as Paula Rego, Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, José Malhoa, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso, Almada Negreiros, Eduardo Viana, Pedro Cabrita Reis, Julião Sarmento, Rui Chafes, José Pedro Croft, Lourdes Castro, among others.
The oldest piece in the collection, displayed in the first room of the gallery housing the permanent exhibition, is by José Malhoa (1855-1953) and is titled ‘A sesta dos ceifeiros.’
“This collection was assembled over more than 50 years, with the aim of sharing the artworks with the public and enjoying them, as the collector hadn’t seen them for a long time,” commented Adelaide Ginga.
MACAM comprises four galleries, with two located in the historic building and two in the new structure, featuring a facade of three-dimensional tiles by Portuguese artist and ceramist Maria Ana Vasco Costa, inspired by traditional Portuguese tile art.
The permanent exhibition is titled ‘Uma coleção a dois tempos,’ curated by museum director Adelaide Ginga and Carolina Quintela, featuring works by Portuguese and international artists like Júlio Pomar, Helena Almeida, Ernesto Neto, Marina Abramovic, Olafur Eliasson, Isa Genzken, Liam Gillick, Dan Graham, and Thomas Struth.
In the deconsecrated and fully restored chapel, three artworks by Spanish artist Carlos Aires, inspired by the local patron saint Nossa Senhora do Carmo and Lisbon’s patron Saint Anthony, were specifically created for the space.
“An extraordinary restoration was conducted, completing this space which is dedicated to performing arts in addition to visual arts,” indicated Adelaide Ginga, adding that the space will permanently host a bar and offer a program including poetry, theater, and concerts.
Adelaide Ginga explained that the 18th-century palace, formerly occupied by an aristocratic Portuguese family, was later used for private education, followed by public high schools, before being abandoned and subsequently purchased by Armando Martins.
The new wing hosts two temporary exhibitions, titled ‘Anthropocene: in search of the new human?’ exploring human activity’s impact on the planet, and ‘War: reality, myth, and fiction,’ depicting the world’s current fragility and complexity amid various global geopolitical conflicts.
The museum’s program also includes the MurMur project, inviting emerging artists to create specific works for the large walls at the entrance of the new building, with Marion Mounic as the first artist invited, presenting the ‘Harem’ installation.
Inside the museum, visitors can view works by Rui Toscano, Matt Mulligan, Eugénio Merino, Edgar Martins, and other artists.
The museum and hotel cover 13,000 square meters, with 2,000 dedicated to exhibitions, including a reserve area housing the rest of the collection, and a section planned to receive works from other private collectors, under ‘The House of Private Collections.’
Asked about the future growth of the collection, Armando Martins assured that he will continue to annually invest in art acquisitions and maintain his preferences, assisted by curators Adelaide Ginga and Carolina Quintela in decision-making.
The entrepreneur and president of Grupo Fibeira, specializing in real estate, hospitality, and services, expressed a desire to expand the collection to include artists from underrepresented regions, notably Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
MACAM also employs a team of conservation and restoration experts who have worked on some long-stored artworks and features a team of mediators to organize communication with school audiences and the local community.
Among the international artists represented in the collection are Gilberto Zorio, John Baldessari, Albert Oehlen, Antoni Tàpies, Antonio Ballester Moreno, Juan Muñoz, Santiago Sierra, Pedro Reyes, Carlos Garaicoa, Marepe, Rosângela Rennó, Vik Muniz, and Isa Genzken.
Regarding the security of artworks displayed in the hotel rooms, where nightly rates range from 300 to 400 euros, the director mentioned that alarm systems are in place and guests will be “sensitized to the importance of protecting and caring for” the pieces.
The collection will primarily be exhibited in the Lisbon museum, with temporary exhibitions refreshed every six months and occasional rotations of permanent displays, according to the organization.
The five-star MACAM Hotel, managed by Vera Cordeiro, includes a restaurant and café.
