Armando Martins, art collector and president of the Fibeira group, specializing in real estate and hotel development, combined the useful and pleasant by buying in 2006 the Palácio Condes Da Ribeira Grande in Lisbon, dating from the 13th century, in order to restore it to install its art collection and create a five -star hotel. The building, acquired by the Count of Ribeira Grande in 1752, remained a private property until its rental by the State from 1939 to 2002.
The Museum of Contemporary Art and Hotel of Armando Martins (Macam) opened its doors on March 22. “I hope this project can be useful and make a contribution to the city of Lisbon, its culture and those who visit us”he told Forbes.
Visitors can discover a rich collection of several hundred works, considered to be the most important private collection in Portugal in terms of medium diversity: photography, sculpture, drawing, video, installation, painting, ranging from 19th century to the present day. Among the artists represented are the Portuguese José Malhoa, Almada Negreiros, as well as international artists Daniel Buren, Marina Abramović, Albert Oehlen and Ernesto Neto.
The renovation of the palace, led by the Portuguese architecture studio Metrourbe since 2018, has aimed to preserve historical spaces and materials: the facade, the monumental staircase, the vaulted ceilings and the old chapel. The site made it possible to save certain original paintings in the chapel. The interior and exterior masonry, the iron balconies and balustrades, the original framework of the library, as well as the rooms of the rooms were restored. A new wing was built to host temporary exhibitions. Its facade is coated with three -dimensional tiles designed by the Portuguese artist Maria Ana Vasco Costa, inspired by the local ceramic tradition. The cost of the operation was not communicated.
The complex includes, in addition to the hotel and exhibition spaces, a restaurant, a coffee, an auditorium and a museum shop. The desecrated chapel will host concerts, cultural events and poetry readings throughout the year.
The collection is exhibited almost everywhere in the palace, both in the 64 hotel rooms and in exhibition spaces (on 13,000 m², 2,000 m² are dedicated to exhibitions). Three artists were invited to make works in situ: the Spanish Carlo Aires, the Portuguese José Pedro Croft and the Canadian Angela Bulloch. Adelaide Ginga, former curator at the Museu Do Chiado de Lisbon, was appointed director of the museum. The entry to exhibitions is paying: € 8 for the permanent collection and € 15 for all exhibitions.
