The Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela is home to both small galleries and large art museums, dedicated to contemporary, as well as traditional art. Here are some of the top art galleries and museums to visit in the Galician city.
This contemporary art gallery is the most important in Santiago de Compostela and its collection includes both local Galician and international artists, particularly Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American. The museum houses around 1,200 works from the second half of the 20th century, as well as holding temporary exhibitions.
Housed in the 9th century Monastery of San Paio de Antealtares, the Sacred Art Museum features everything from paintings and sculpture to gold and silver works, and documents from Benedictine and Jacobean times. Highlights include the altar that was built above St. James’ tomb, the silver reliquary where St Palayo’s arm is kept and a Christ statue from the 13th century.
Part of the Instituto Europeo Campus Stellae university, the Espacio de Arte is located in the city’s Old Town and showcases national and international collections in a range of different artistic disciplines.
Translated as ‘The Land of Shadow’, in reference to the shadows artists create within their works, this contemporary art gallery comprises four rooms. Each room is dedicated to a different artistic discipline – painting, sculpture, photography and sound. The exhibits change monthly and showcase a wide range of artists and works.
Located in the Old Town, this unique gallery opened in 2012 as a continuation of the community project – the Bus Station Space Gallery. Directed by Luisa Pita, it is an ambitious cultural project which is both an exhibition and meeting space for local established and emerging artists.
Calle Cardenal Payá 9, Santiago de Compostela
Situated on the atmospheric Praza da Quintana, the Metro Gallery is a contemporary art space, which opened in 2007. It specialises in exhibiting works from local Galician artists and has both changing exhibitions, as well as a permanent collection.
Located high on a hill on the outskirts of the city, along the Camino de Santiago, sits this unusual outdoor gallery, located in the garden of the artist José Cao Lata himself. A sculptor, Lata creates huge installations in his garden, carved from stone and representing various social issues in Spain. Jam-packed with unique pieces, Lata loves visitors and will even give explanations about each one of his works.
