The City Council of Aveiro is going to change the location of the contemporary art museum that had been negotiated by former mayor Ribau Esteves as compensation from the real estate developer, within the scope of the extension of the Canal de São Roque. The canal works, which include a lake, are in the final phase. The current mayor, Luís Souto, announced at a press conference that the proposal is "under evaluation" and that there will be a new space for the museum.
Luís Souto maintains the project for the contemporary art center in the city, which will be created "in a purpose-built space", but did not provide details about the location. The mayor stated that the municipal commitment will be "to give great emphasis to contemporary art", noting that there is a collection of works handed over by the State to the municipality's custody that is stored away and that he intends to put an end to this, advocating for cultural decentralization.
One of the ideas under consideration is to take advantage of the proximity to Porto and the tourist flow of cultural interest, including the possibility of attracting visitors from Galicia who may include Aveiro in their visiting route.
One of the poles of the future museum will be installed in the building of the Morgados da Pedricosa, which has undergone extensive refurbishment. For this new use, it was necessary to revoke the agreement with the Portuguese Federation of Gastronomic Confraternities, to whom Ribau Esteves had promised the space as a national headquarters, and to end the exclusive use of the gallery by the association Aveiro Arte. The building will initially serve as support for the Museum of Aveiro during its works, and will later have a function that will be revealed later. The former library, adjacent to Avenida Lourenço Peixinho, will house the collection of the Ceramic Biennale.
