Museum of Contemporary Art of the City of Marseille (MAC)
The Museum of Contemporary Art of the City of Marseille, known as MAC, is the principal public institution in Marseille dedicated to art produced after 1960. Opened in 1994 in the Rond-Point du Prado district, it holds a collection of over 1,500 works by artists of international renown, with particular strength in Arte Povera, New Realism, and the Supports/Surfaces movement central to French post-war art.
- Type
- Municipal contemporary art museum
- Period
- Opened 1994
- Style
- Purpose-built modernist building
- Location
- 69 Avenue d’Haïfa, 13008 Marseille, France
- Coordinates
- 43.2507° N, 5.3895° E
- Current use
- Active museum with permanent collection and temporary exhibitions
At a glance
- Type
- Contemporary art museum (municipal)
- Period
- Inaugurated 1994
- Style
- Modernist purpose-built museum architecture
- Location
- Rond-Point du Prado, 8th arrondissement, Marseille, France
Overview
The MAC is Marseille’s flagship institution for art created from the 1960s onward, complementing the city’s rich network of museums that spans antiquity to the modern era. As a municipally owned museum, it maintains free or reduced-price access policies in line with Marseille’s broader cultural mission. The MAC gained international visibility when Marseille was designated European Capital of Culture in 2013, which brought new programming and infrastructure investment to the institution.
History
Prior to the MAC’s inauguration in 1994, Marseille lacked a dedicated space for contemporary art on the scale of comparable French cities. The municipality commissioned a purpose-built structure in the southern Prado district to house the growing civic collection that had been assembled since the 1970s. The museum opened with a permanent collection already notable for its holdings in Arte Povera and French Supports/Surfaces canvases. Subsequent acquisitions have extended coverage into video art, installation, and digital practices.
What you see
The permanent collection occupies spacious gallery floors designed for large-format works, featuring paintings, sculptures, photographs, and installations by artists including César, Arman, Martial Raysse, and Claude Viallat. The building’s architecture prioritises natural light and flexible partition walls that can be rearranged for each temporary exhibition cycle. A rooftop terrace and garden space offer views toward the sea and provide an outdoor venue for sculpture.
Cultural significance
The MAC anchors Marseille’s position on the international contemporary art circuit alongside the FRAC Sud and the Musée Cantini, forming a triangle of institutions that together make the city one of France’s most active art centres outside Paris. Its New Realism holdings in particular constitute a reference collection for the movement that transformed French art from the late 1950s.
Practical information
Check the official MAC website (marseille.fr) for current opening hours, admission prices, and temporary exhibition schedules, as these vary seasonally. The museum is generally closed on Mondays and certain public holidays.
Getting there
The MAC is located at 69 Avenue d’Haïfa in the 8th arrondissement. The nearest metro station is Rond-Point du Prado on Line 2, approximately 5 minutes on foot. Several bus lines connect the museum to Marseille’s Vieux-Port and Saint-Charles station. Street parking is available nearby.