In Lleida, modern and contemporary art is found at the MORERA. More than a hundred years of history with the same objective: to make the city’s recent artistic heritage available to all.

The birth of the Lleida Art Museum

One of the most important cultural and artistic initiatives to take place in Lleida in the first third of the 20th century was the creation of the Lleida Art Museum in 1914. The Provincial Council and the City Council promoted the new museum with the firm intention of making it, in the words of the time, “a popular institution that will have a notable influence on the conduct of our people.” These words were spoken during a period of cultural vitality, when a large number of cultural activities were being undertaken.

The Lleida Art Museum was inaugurated in 1917 with a collection initially constituted by the works of the pensioners of the Lleida Provincial Council, a small number of deposits from the Modern Art Museum of Madrid and donations from the painter Jaume Morera i Galícia, to which works by Carlos de Haes would later be added via a donation by Morera himself in 1924. This act of generosity from the Lleida-born artist, promoter and patron of the arts was, in fact, why the museum changed its name to the Jaume Morera Art Museum.

The Jaume Morera Art Museum: a nomadic museum

The Jaume Morera Art Museum, which operated from two different premises over the course of just over twenty years – the Sant Lluís Market (1917-1934) followed by the former Hospital of Santa María (1934-1939) – disseminated art and artists from Lleida in collaboration with other civic organisations, such as the Ateneu de Lleida.

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War marked a turning point in the museum’s history. The end of the war led to an unfortunate period of complete inactivity which would last for almost forty years and go on to define the museum’s future. It would remain closed until the recovery of country’s democratic institutions, with its collections distributed among different buildings in the city. The museum would reopen its doors in the former Hospital of Santa Maria in 1959, but would be forced to close again, ten years later, in 1969.

The museum was moved to the former Roser convent in 1975. During the 1980s (the decade of civic and cultural recovery brought about by the country’s transition to democracy), the institution as such underwent a resurgence. The museum began to be linked to the new cultural reality through a celebration of the work of Lleida’s most significant contemporary artists, on one hand, and the insertion of the city within the channels of art exhibition, on the other.

A project with a permanent home

With the enactment of the Museums Law in late 1990, the Lleida Provincial Council initiated the transfer of 50% ownership of the museum to the Lleida City Council. Since 1993, the Jaume Morera Art Museum has been entirely under municipal ownership: first by an autonomous body, then the Municipal Institute of Cultural Action and, since 2004, by the Lleida City Council.

In 2007, the museum was moved to the old Casino Principal building on Carrer Mayor because a Parador Nacional hotel was being built in the former Roser convent. This was intended to be a provisional move ahead of the construction of what was to be its new home next to the La Panera Art Centre.

However, the project for the new headquarters was postponed. It was not until 2016, following a public hearing held by Compromís pel Museu d’Art Jaume Morera in 2012, that the first steps were taken for the museum to have its own headquarters in the old Courthouse building located at Rambla de Ferran, 13, where rehabilitation and adaptation work began in 2019.

Despite all the changes of venue, the museum continued to promote modern and contemporary creations through the acquisition of works of art, the scheduling of exhibitions and activities and the development of educational and public programmes.

The MORERA. Modern and Contemporary Art Museum of Lleida

Once construction work was underway on the new MORERA headquarters on Rambla de Ferran, the museum took the opportunity to re-define its image. First, it would change its name from the Jaume Morera Art Museum to the one by which it is currently known: the MORERA, followed by the description “Modern and Contemporary Art Museum of Lleida.” It would also replace its graphic image with a new logo, a new graphic design and a new website, where the museum’s collection can be accessed via the Constellations platform. In 2022 it presented its Strategic Plan 2022-2025, defining all of the museum’s activity for this period.

In 2024, with an art collection consisting of more than 5,000 pieces, the MORERA welcomes visitors to a newly renovated building from which it conducts all of its conservation, research and heritage dissemination activities concerning 20th and 21st century art produced in Lleida. It also serves as a centre for cultural and artistic activities that highlight the role of the Ponent region in shaping the local culture.