The world’s cultural map is ever-replenished with unique locations ready to surprise their visitors. This year, a wave of incredible brand-new cultural spaces opens, promising groundbreaking exhibitions, cutting-edge architecture, and fresh perspectives on art and community. From futuristic art hubs to immersive history-inspired experiences, these ten museums – spanning from Europe to Asia and beyond – are poised to become the must-visit destinations for art-inspired discoveries. Here’s your guide to the exciting newly opened and to-be-opened museums to put on your art destinations map.
A global cultural meeting point. Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent
Housed in the historic landmark of Tashkent, the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) is scheduled to complete its reconstruction in September. The Сentre is located in a building whose history is rooted back to 1912. In the past, it served as the first diesel power plant of the Uzbek capital, and now it will become a part of Central Asian main cultural hubs. The design by the French architectural firm Studio KO, known for its work on the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Marrakech, is to enhance the artistic experience of the place.
The CCA intends to build a permanent collection of contemporary Uzbek art to preserve the legacy of and support the careers of Uzbek artists, become a cultural landmark of the city, and attract international artists to the country. The route towards such a goal began back in October 2024, when the first artistic residency programme was announced. As part of this programme, artists, writers, and researchers from all around the world will be able to live in historic mahallas (“neighbourhoods” in Uzbek) and learn about local culture and art. The residencies will run three times a year for eight weeks.
Where: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Opening in September 2025
More information: https://www.ccat.uz/
Creativity and heritage hub. Jaipur Centre for Art
Opened in November 2024, the Jaipur Centre for Art (JCA) celebrates the city’s heritage of cultural patronage with a fresh focus on contemporary art. Although long celebrated for its jewellery, textiles, crafts, and interior design and often visited by creatives attracted to the city’s history, Jaipur hasn’t been a major centre for contemporary art. Till now. By organising shows, collaborating with the local community and promoting a residency programme for artists, the JCA aims to promote contemporary art along with the rich local cultural heritage.
To promote Jaipur as a unique art destination, JCA focuses on lasting partnerships, delivering high-quality exhibitions, and engaging audiences to celebrate artistic legacy. As such, the inaugural exhibition, A New Way of Seeing, does just that. Curated by Peter Nagy, the show features artists both from India and other parts of the world, including Dayanita Singh, Sean Scully, and Alicja Kwade. A variety of artistic styles and expressions are brought together to create a space open for dialogue between how art is made and how we perceive it.
Where: Jaipur, India
Opened in November 2024
More information: https://www.jaipurcentreforart.com/
Continual redefinition. Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw
The new building of the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw (MSN) opened in October 2024 in the heart of the Polish capital. The horizontal structure of the building consists of two rectangular parts made of distinctive white concrete blocks. Thomas Phifer, a renowned architect whose projects marry functionality with minimalistic aesthetics, behind the museum’s design, wanted it to be a luminous showcase – a harmonious co-existence of architecture with its surroundings that uses the natural light to the fullest.
The institution’s goal is to promote Polish culture and modern art while being an open and accessible forum for integrating encounters. Along the exhibition spaces that pay attention to performance, digital art, and experimental forms, there is also an on-site cinema with European art-house and genre films, documentaries, and animation. But most importantly, the MSN is the house to many incredible works of contemporary art – from paintings, drawings, sculptures, and installations to films and audio and performative works. The current main collection – Collection 1 – is emblematic of the institution’s identity. Its structure does not reflect the classic museological divisions but its main themes are rather subject to continual redefinition.
Where: Warsaw, Poland
Opened in October 2024
More information: https://artmuseum.pl/en
The charm of the local landscape. Naoshima New Museum of Art
About thirty years ago, with the opening of the Benesse Art Site Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, a vital movement promoting the region began, introducing those interested in the area and the local culture. In May 2025, the Naoshima New Museum of Art will open its doors to continue drawing attention to Naoshima Island as its latest art museum. With the motto “It’s not just about looking at art, it’s about what you can see through it” in mind, the musieum’s focus is to bring out the island’s charm.
Designed by renowned architect Tadao Ando and located on a hilltop near the Honmura district of Naoshima, the three-story building will feature two underground levels and a ground floor for four gallery spaces. The large sloped roof follows the hill’s lines, blending harmoniously into the surrounding landscape. The exterior walls are covered with a black plaster coating reminiscent of charred wood, while the fence made of stacked stones emphasises the connection with the traditional local architecture. The museum will showcase major works and site-specific commissions by artists from across Asia. As such, the inaugural exhibition will display works by both well-known and emerging artists and groups, reflecting a broad engagement with contemporary Asian art, including Takashi Murakami, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Do Ho Suh.
Where: Naoshima, Kagawa, Japan
Opening on May 31, 2025
More information: https://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/nnmoa.html
Colourfully mindful reflections. PoMo
PoMo debuted with the Postcard From the Future exhibition in February, combining permanent objects with works from private collections and other cultural centres. The exhibit’s title was chosen for a reason. It corresponds to the museum’s name and history as PoMo is short for Posten Moderne – “Post Office Modern” in Norwegian. For a century, since 1911, the building that now houses the museum served as Trondheim’s main post office. The main goal of the designers of the new space, India Mahdavi and Erik Langdalen, was to preserve the historical heritage by combining it with a modern cultural centre. To do this, they turned to Norwegian folk art and, inspired by it, used bright colour accents and texture play. Each corner of the building, from the exhibition areas to the ordinary passages between them, has its own specific colour palette reflecting Norwegian nature and culture.
PoMo is to host temporary exhibitions twice a year and pay special attention to individual expositions. It also aims to create a “new normal” and eliminate gender inequality; for this reason, it allocates 60% of its budget to purchasing works by female artists. So far, it has managed to increase the number of exhibits created by women to about 40% and continues to move towards gender balance.
Where: Trondheim, Norway
Opened in February 2025.
More information: https://pomo.no/en
A unique reinterpretation. MACAM – Museu de Arte Contemporânea Armando Martins
A contemporary art museum and a five-star hotel in the Condes da Ribeira Grande Palace, dating back to the 18th century. Such a reinterpretation of a historical space is the first of its kind in Europe. During the restoration, the architects paid special attention to the cultural heritage of the place, combining it with modern trends – the gardens and historical elements of the building were restored, while its facade was decorated with modern three-dimensional ceramic tiles paying respect to the Portuguese traditional art. Some parts of the palace were also reimagined, such as the chapel. It has been transformed into an art bar àCapela, which will become a venue for cultural events such as live music performances, poetry readings, and literary sessions.
This art space aims to bring out of the shadows the masterpieces that are in personal collections. That is why MACAM not only presents a permanent exhibition of more than 600 pieces owned by Armando Martins but also invites other art lovers to display their works to the public. The first such temporary exhibitions will be War: Reality, Myth and Fiction and The Anthropocene: In Search of a New Human.
Where: Lisbon, Portugal
Opening in March, 2025
More information: https://macam.pt/en
Contemporary reflections, future dreams. New Taipei City Art Museum
Nestled at the confluence of the Yingge River and the Dahan River in the Sanying Reclaimed Land, the New Taipei City Art Museum (NTCAM) is set to be a driving force for the city’s cultural innovation, combining urban aesthetics, natural ecology, and regional industrial traits. As New Taipei City’s first public art museum, revolving around the idea of an “open museum”, the NTCAM aims to connect diverse cultural venues and art communities throughout the city, introduce international art trends, and promote aesthetic education for all ages, aspiring to become a museum for everyone.
The architectural design integrates humanistic and historical perspectives while emphasising the balance between urban structure and nature, encapsulating the dialectical relationship between modernity and humanity. While the opening exhibitions, such as NTCAM Collection: Encounters in Reflection, Reimagining Radical Cities, and The Ongoing Nature, serve as a vessel for artistic exchange and catalyst for creative inspiration, highlighting local culture and global themes, reflecting our present moment while envisioning what lies ahead.
Where: New Taipei City, Taiwan
Opening on April 25, 2025
More information: https://ntcart.museum/
A welcoming assembly. Almaty Museum of Arts
The first private museum of contemporary art in Central Asia, the Almaty Museum of Arts (AMA), is set to open in the summer in Kazakhstan’s largest city. Founded by Nurlan Smagulov, the museum will house over 700 works of modern and contemporary Kazakh art – one of the largest private collections of its kind. As a space for discourse on art in the region, actively interacting with the international scene and critically reflecting on the processes taking place in society today, the museum plans to continue to expand its collection from Kazakhstan, Central Asia, neighbouring regions, and beyond.
Designed by Chapman Taylor, the museum is inspired by the juxtaposition of Almaty’s natural landscape and urban environment, with the city on one side and the mountain ridge on the other. The inaugural programme is to be imagined as a festival, influenced by the museum’s location and the vibrant legacy of aqyns, the traditional Central Asian storytellers. The first major presentation of the AMA’s collection, curated by Inga Lāce, will explore such connections and tensions between hospitality and migration. Qonaqtar is situated at the intersection of той (a traditional Kazakh celebration) and a gathering of people, capturing the act of travel leading to an assembly and the joy of awaiting and welcoming guests.
Where: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Opening in Summer 2025
More information: https://www.almaty.art/
A platform for contemporary art and internationalisation. Malta International Contemporary Art Space
The Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) is the country’s first modern art museum. The museum’s building harmoniously combines contemporary architecture with the historical 17th-century Floriana fortifications. Led by architect Carlo Terpolilli of the Florentine firm Ipostudio, the modern intervention to the historical landscape is defined by providing a contrasting yet complementary dialogue between modernity and the past, blending into the city’s panorama.
Opened in late 2024 in Floriana, the museum aims to strengthen Malta’s cultural ecology and impact that of the Euro-Mediterranean region. By becoming an active player in contemporary art, MICAS wants to raise public awareness of the importance of visual art, highlighting the ways art and artists help interpret the world around us.
Where: Floriana, Malta
Opened in October 2024
More information: https://micas.art/
A new iconic experience. Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi
The long-awaited opening of the Guggenheim branch in Abu Dhabi is finally coming to sight. Designed by Frank Gehry and almost twice the size of the Bilbao Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the space will bring together local culture and contemporary art while fostering a space for experience exchange.
Located on Saadiyat Island, a developing cultural district off the coast of the UAE capital, is an inventive experiment in 21st-century museum design, redefining the approach to the visitor experience and viewing art in the context of a desert landscape. The impressive tubular building of a cluster of galleries of varying heights, shapes, and characters incorporates sustainable local elements. Featuring works by artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, the collection has been meticulously developed over fifteen years and represents a deep commitment to curatorial excellence.
Although the opening date has not yet been confirmed, with the construction expected to be completed this year at the moment, the inauguration is widely awaited among the art community and art lovers. Along with the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, we encourage you to keep an eye out for the official announcements in the near future.
Where: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Opening TBA
More information: https://www.guggenheim.org/
