Exhibition, curated by Miguel von Haffe Pérez, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Contemporary Art Centre, the embryo of the Serralves Foundation and its Museum of Contemporary Art.

‘10 June 1974. Not even two months after the Carnation Revolution, a street action in Porto was already inscribing an unprecedented and, to this day, unparalleled moment in the history of the construction of cultural centres and museum spaces dedicated to contemporary creation,' says Miguel von Hafe Pérez, curator of the temporary exhibition “Contemporary Art Centre - 50 years: Democratisation lived”.

Starring artists and intellectuals from the city linked to institutions such as Cooperativa Árvore, Teatro Experimental do Porto, Seiva Trupe or Cineclube do Porto, the ‘Burial of the Soares dos Reis Museum’ gives voice to a popular demand fuelled by the effervescent drive to open up to modernity, rescued from the heavy silence of the dictatorship.

Born out of a complaint from the city, the CAC - Contemporary Art Centre was set up around two years later in the Soares dos Reis National Museum. From 1976 to 1980, the Contemporary Art Centre promoted around 100 exhibitions and various cultural activities. Alberto Carneiro, Ângelo de Sousa, Álvaro Lapa, Júlio Pomar, Emília Nadal, Eduardo Nery, among many others, showed their works in anthological form for the first time in Porto.

The intense dynamism of the programme was only possible thanks to the establishment of partnerships with embassies, foreign cultural institutes and institutions, which made it possible to present important contemporary art exhibitions on national and international tour in Porto.

As part of the official programme of the Commemorations of the 50th Anniversary of 25 April, the exhibition ‘Centro de Arte Contemporânea - 50 anos: A Democratização Vivida’ will be on show at the Soares dos Reis National Museum until the end of 2024, with the patronage support of BPI and ‘la Caixa’ Foundation, and the institutional support of Círculo Dr. José de Figueiredo - Amigos do MNSR.