MA*GA Museum

MA*GA Museum is one of the most relevant Italian contemporary art museums. The museum's identity is intertwined with the history of the Premio Gallarate, founded in 1949 and still active today. The Museum, officially established in 1966 with the name of Civic Gallery of Modern Art of Gallarate, was born thanks to artworks acquired during the first eight editions of the Prize. A turning point in the history of the museum is 2009, in which the city of Gallarate establishes the "Fondazione Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea Silvio Zanella" foundedy by the City of Gallarate, the Ministry of Culture, Region Lombardia and the Province of Varese. In March 2010, the Museum acquires the name MA*GA - Gallarate Art Museum and inaugurates the new location.

In the ten years of the Foundation's life, a series of relevant projects have characterized the museum’ activity, in a perspective of constant attention to the artistic Italian culture, in dialogue with international institutions, both in a historical sense and through a constant look at the contemporary world.

This is a look that opens up to multiple areas of contemporary culture, from literature to performing arts, from design to fashion. An example of this multidisciplinary approach is the Sala Arazzi Ottavio Missoni.

The Museum is recognized by the Lombardy Region since 2004 and member of AMACI since 2007, since 2018 the MA * GA has been recognized by the MIC Cultural Institute of National Relevance and by the Lombardy Region as a "Subject of regional importance". From 2021 together with the Municipality of Gallarate opens HIC - Hub of the Cultural Institutes of the City of Gallarate in which a new large library, for study and research alongside the exhibition spaces, in an innovative perspective of inclusion of knowledge and interdisciplinarity.