Il Museum of Contemporary Art de Barcelona, better known as MACBA, is an authentic institution in the cultural landscape of the city: its collection of contemporary art is one of the most important in all of Europe, and its program of events and temporary exhibitions make it a flagship for the city. Designed by the American architect Meier and built in 1995, the MACBA played a central role in the urban recovery of the then degraded Raval district, contributing strongly to the renewal of the area.
The MACBA collection
The MACBA collection consists of contemporary works of art, from the mid-50s of the twentieth century to the present day, by local, national and international artists, such as Antoni Tápies, Cristina Iglesias placeholder image, Xavier Miserachs, Öyvind Fahlström o Brassaï, bringing together more than 5000 works to date.
The fund of the collection extends to various visual arts: sculpture, painting, photography and video, by contemporary and avant-garde artists. The works on display are only a small part of the collection, and are changed on a rotating basis: most of the exhibition space is used to set up important temporary exhibitions, either with loans from other museums, or with own material. Consequently, those who return to visit the museum have a completely different experience each time.
MACBA temporary exhibitions for 2021
- Hard jelly - hidden stories from the 80s (November 4, 2016 to March 19, 2021): after the end of the Franco dictatorship, Spain experienced a period of renewal, to leave behind a cumbersome past. The exhibition is divided between 1977 and 1992, focusing on a series of important moments in the social and political life of the Iberian country and presenting the work of some groups, activists and artists capable of highlighting the paradox between a very libertarian present and a dark recent past.
- Miralda MadeinUSA (22 October 2016 - 9 April 2021): the exhibition presents all the projects of Antoni Miralda, famous for her collective works, during her stay in the United States.
- Akraam Zaatari - against photography. History of the Arab Image Foundation (6 April - 24 September 2021): The archives of the Arab Image Foundation in Beirut contain an enormous amount of photographic material from the Middle East and North Africa. Created by local photographers and artists, AIF has become a center dedicated to the study of photography and the practices of conservation of photographic material.
Useful Information
How to reach the MACBA
MACBA is located in Raval, a very central district of Barcelona. The museum can be reached from the Rambla (metro Liceu, line 3), from Plaça de Catalunya (lines 1, 3 and 6) or from the Universitat metro station (lines 1 and 2), in a few minutes on foot. The area is full of tourist signs, making it easy to reach the museum center.
Working Time
MACBA is open every day, except Tuesdays: from Monday to Friday it opens from 11:00 to 19:30, and from 24 June to 25 September the opening is extended until 20:00; on Saturdays it opens from 10:00 to 21:00, and on Sundays from 10 to 15. The museum is closed on January 25st and December XNUMXth, if Tuesday is a holiday the museum remains open.
tickets
Buy tickets from the official website
The cost of the entrance ticket is 10 euros; children under 14 enter for free: it is also possible to take advantage of activities aimed at children from 1 to 5 and from 6 to 12 years, at a cost of 3 euros per child. Students, professors, and over 65s benefit from a reduction on the entrance fee. The MACBA se VIVE program consists of dance performances, music, unusual guided tours or artistic performances, every Saturday starting at 19:00; the cost of the ticket in this case is 5 euros. Entrance to the museum is free for Barcelona Card holders, and the MACBA is part of the Barcelona Art Ticket circuit.
App MACBA
The MACBA app is free to download, for both Android and iPhone, and allows you to improve the experience inside the museum, and contains information on the museum, exhibitions, the agenda of activities, and multimedia information on some works from the museum collection. Inside the MACBA you can take advantage of the free WiFi throughout the building: just ask for the password at the reception.
