Contemporary art reflects modern society, its values, problems, and challenges. It can serve as a mirror reflecting various aspects of modern life and stimulate discussion and resolution of current topics. In this article, you will learn about the best European museums of contemporary art that are actively involved in the preservation and development of cultural heritage. You can also estimate and support initiatives to restore art institutions and develop art and business in Ukraine during the war on this platform https://algorytm.ngo/.

Kanal – Center Pompidou

Brussels, Belgium

Not as famous as the Paris Pompidou Center, but much more interesting. If the first Pompidou is the embodiment of a textbook on the history of modern art with the most famous works, then the Brussels version is worth going for a new, unusual, and impressive experience. The building is a former car parking lot of the Citroën plant, which, fortunately, has been little altered: visitors rise from hall to hall not by stairs, but along wide stages that were used for the smooth descent of cars. Particular attention should be paid to the lower floors – the former workers’ locker rooms. Following museum site-specific trends, they were generally left untouched. Now they have turned into an installation with creaking, slamming doors of lockers and showers – as if the workers had never left, and the life of the plant had paused only for a moment so that the audience had time to look at everything here.

Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art

Paris, France

Paris is one of the capitals of contemporary art, to which a separate list of the best museums in Europe can be dedicated. But if the Pompidou, the Grand Palais, and the Orangerie have already been closely examined a hundred times, it is worth paying attention to the Cartier Art Foundation. It is located directly opposite the Montparnasse cemetery, and from afar you will notice a seemingly floating building designed by the famous museum architect Jean Nouvel. The six-story building is made almost entirely of glass and steel, creating a feeling of “breathing” architecture. The building is surrounded by a garden, which is also actively used for exhibitions. The emphasis in the exhibition is on young and not the most famous artists and, what is important, with a very wide geography – from the CIS countries and Eastern Europe to Africa and Asia.

Tate Gallery

London, UK

Tate Britain is annually ranked among the ten most visited museums in the world. Its modern department houses art from 1900 to the present day. In addition to the main exhibition, large-scale retrospectives of classics of modern art are regularly held here. The peculiarity and advantage of the museum is its unique architecture. Tate has the famous Turbine Hall, which was built for the generators of the power station located here. Due to the huge area and voluminous spaces, works of non-standard sizes are exhibited here: there is little room for Olafur Eliasson’s “sun” from “The weather project” and Anish Kapoor’s “Marsyas” to fit.

Brandhorst Museum

Munich, Germany

The Museum named after the couple Udo and Annette Brandhorst was opened in the capital of Bavaria relatively recently – in 2009. Ten years for a museum is not so much, this allows it to meet all the latest museum trends and easily adapt to new ones: natural materials, neutral colors (they do not distort daylight), many inclusive programs, as well as different-sized spaces that were created for some works specially. Very few museums can take into account almost all the wishes of the artist when creating an exhibition, but Brandhorst can. Over the course of several years, museum staff worked with renowned abstract artist Cy Twombly to design an entire floor to permanently display his famous Lepanto series.

Gallery Konig

Berlin

One of the most interesting and important galleries in Berlin occupies the space of the Church of St. Agnes. This is an experimental Brutalist building from the 1960s that has been abandoned for a long time. It was restored by Johann Koenig, an art dealer and gallery owner. By the way, Koenig lost his sight due to an accident at the age of 12 but still became an influential gallery owner. Konig sells his autobiography entitled “Blinder Galerist”. It’s also worth coming here because of the amazing, unique church space – massive walls made of raw concrete, dim light, and unusual cubic architecture. The gallery also has contracts with more than 40 artists, including world stars like Katharina Grosse and Erwin Wurm, as well as very young talents.

Reina Sofía 

Madrid, Spain

This museum is usually praised for its collection of famous Spanish artists: 

• Salvador Dali, 

• Pablo Picasso, 

• Joan Miró, 

• Antoni Tapias and many others. 

The museum is also famous for housing one of the most significant works in art history – Picasso’s Guernica. Because of this, a strong impression is created that the Reina Sofia is a classic treasury museum. The museum has long acquired a large number of works by contemporary Spanish artists, feminist and queer art for its collection. Exhibitions and discussions about women in art history are often held here – local artists of the early 20th century did not receive the same attention that the famous representatives of the Spanish avant-garde received.

Moderna Museet 

Stockholm, Sweden

Since its opening in 1958, this museum has been considered one of the most advanced in the world. It was conceived as a “museum for the future.” The Stockholm Museum of Modern Art was one of the first to understand that when creating exhibitions it was worth paying attention to artists of all nationalities, and not just famous Europeans and Americans, and even began working with refugees. 

Wrapping It Up

Contemporary art reflects the spirit of the times, sociocultural changes, and themes relevant to modern society. It allows people to better understand and analyze complex aspects of their lives and the world around them. We recommend that you evaluate and support Ukrainian initiatives to develop art and business during the war on the NGO Algorithm of Actions website.