LISBON.- The Centro de Arte Moderna (CAM) Gulbenkian’s 2026–2027 season is defined by a spirit of radical collaboration and the reimagining of the traditional museum experience. Anchored by Rosa Barba’s immersive "carte blanche" intervention in the CAM nave and the mythologically inspired survey Scheherazade, the upcoming program emphasizes the "living" nature of art through site-specific commissions and deep dives into the institution’s own collection. From Bruno Zhu’s exploration of agency and Inês Zenha’s fluid meditations on the body to João Maria Gusmão’s ironic deconstruction of the medium in Painting is Easy. Do It Yourself!, the season bridges the gap between high culture and everyday life. By integrating sound installations, fashion, and experimental residencies in the Engawa Space, CAM positions itself as a dynamic laboratory where the boundaries between artist, object, and audience are constantly dissolved and reconstituted.
Rosa Barba: Drawing Vocabulaires
May 16–September 28, 2026
Curator: Benjamin Weil
Rosa Barba (Agrigento, 1972) is the third artist to be offered a ‘carte blanche’ to intervene in CAM’s nave and select works from its Collection. This first large-scale exhibition of Barba in Portugal immerses visitors in a space defined by projections of imagery, sound, light, and objects, creating a narrative experience that reimagines cinema beyond the traditional screen. CAM co-produced a new film for this show with MAXXI Rome.
Book: co edited with Hatje Cantz, CAM, MAXXI and proyectoamil.
Bruno Zhu: Belas Artes
February 28–July 27, 2026
Conception: Bruno Zhu, in collaboration with the CAM team
Influenced by fashion design, publishing and scenography, the work of Bruno Zhu (Porto, 1991) departs from the object as a means to explore notions of agency, authorship, and power. The exhibition is part of a curatorial line at CAM that fosters new perspectives of its Collection by inviting artists to engage with and reinterpret it. Belas Artes follows instructions set out a written agreement featured in ‘License to Live’, commissioned and produced by Chisenhale Gallery, London, and licensed by CAM.
Book: Fiction Non Fiction: Volume 2, co-edited with Bierke Verlag.
Inês Zenha: Murky Waters
September 19, 2026–February 22, 2027
Curators: Luís Silva and João Mourão
The work of Inês Zenha (Lisbon, 1995) combines myriad techniques, focusing on the body and its representation to explore questions of identity, desire, and vulnerability. Murky Waters expands on the artist’s research into the body, proposing a fluid and resilient representation that celebrates water and the notion of ‘becoming liquid’ as a poetic way of confronting systems of power.
Exhibition co-produced with CA2M—Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo, Madrid.
Painting is Easy. Do It Yourself!
October 10, 2026–February 08, 2027
Curator: João Maria Gusmão
Painting is Easy. Do It Yourself! presents a selection of works from the “la Caixa” Foundation Contemporary Art Collection. The exhibition takes as its starting point a photograph by Antoni Muntadas, which ironically depicts a hardware-store advertisement with the slogan Pintar es fácil. Hágalo usted mismo! Linked to the idea that anyone can be an artist, the image highlights a key paradox of contemporary art, positioned between a high-value cultural object and an everyday product. Featuring works by Gerhard Richter, Jorge Queiroz, Sigmar Polke, Damián Ortega, Paul McCarthy, Angela de la Cruz, among others.
Ongoing
Scheherazade, the Never-ending Collection of CAM
–September 20, 2027
Curator: Leonor Nazaré
Inspired by the legendary storyteller of “One Thousand and One Nights”, the exhibition presents more than 160 works from the CAM Collection, ranging from modernist icons to recent acquisitions. It displays works by more than 100 artists, including Sonia Delaunay, Júlio Pomar, Paula Rego, Julião Sarmento, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso and Maria Helena Vieira da Silva.
Other projects
In January, CAM will present Testimonium by Jacob Kirkegaard (1975), an immersive, multichannel sound installation that invites visitors to listen to waste and to perceive the sonic textures of discarded materials.
In March, Diogo Pimentão (Lisbon, 1973) presents site-specific works resulting from performative actions in collaboration with the French dancer and choreographer Emmanuel Eggermont.
The Engawa Space continues to be a laboratory for experimentation at CAM, unfolding through a dynamic programme of artist residencies, and gathering events.
Gustavo Ciríaco’s (Rio de Janeiro, 1969) is the first artist to take over the space. Through a series of workshops, Ciríaco shares his creative process with the public, which ultimately results in a sensory Carnival.
In March, in partnership with ModaLisboa, we present the new collection by the designer Lidija Kolovrat (Bosnia, 1962), based on the idea of seeds as points of birth.
In April, Maria Paz Aires (Porto, 1998) occupies the space through a collaborative residency with students from Católica University.
In June, Katharina Lackner (Austria, 1981), an artist and curator who works with notions of play, will build an interactive space with and for the public.
