Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum Plans New Contemporary Art Space
By Lisa Knoll
30/09/2026
More than 360 works from the TBA21 Collection are set to form the basis of a new Madrid venue devoted to contemporary art, environmental themes and public engagement
Madrid’s Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza is preparing to expand beyond its existing home with a new venue dedicated to contemporary art. The project will bring together more than 360 works from TBA21, the foundation and collection established by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza in 2002.
Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza and her heirs are expected to give more than 180 works to the Spanish state at no cost. The group has an estimated value of €16m and will become part of the public collection associated with the new institution.
A further selection of approximately 180 works will be made available through a long-term loan arrangement. Phillips has valued this group at about €10m. Together, the two holdings will introduce works by artists including Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramović, John Akomfrah, Monica Bonvicini and Candice Breitz.
The museum describes the planned institution as a space in which contemporary artistic practice can intersect with ecological questions and civic participation.
Its home will be the Palacio de Hielo y del Automóvil on Calle Duque de Medinaceli, a historic Madrid building that has remained largely unused for around 20 years. The Spanish government will finance its renovation and is also expected to cover the future venue’s operating expenses.
An international competition to select the architectural team is due to begin in early 2027. If the current timetable is maintained, building work should be completed around 2031.
Spain’s finance minister, Arcadi España, said the redevelopment would allow the Palacio de Hielo y del Automóvil to acquire a new role appropriate to its historical importance. The building previously had associations with scientific and historical research.
The project also marks a further stage in a relationship between TBA21 and the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum that has developed over several years.
Earlier proposals to establish a stronger contemporary programme at the Madrid museum were abandoned in 2008. The idea later resurfaced, particularly after the institution presented an exhibition by John Akomfrah in 2018. In 2019, TBA21 and the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza entered into a four-year collaboration through which works from the foundation’s collection and newly commissioned projects were presented at the museum.
Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza has previously resisted the conventional model of establishing a private museum centred on a collector’s name. Speaking in 2020, she indicated that owning a dedicated building was not an immediate priority and questioned the value of simply reproducing the structure of traditional national museums.
The new initiative nevertheless extends a family relationship with Madrid’s museum landscape that dates back several decades.
The Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, situated close to the Prado, is built around the collection assembled by Francesca’s father, Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza. Spain acquired that collection in 1993 for approximately $350m.
Its holdings trace the history of European painting across roughly eight centuries, reaching into the late 20th century. The museum also displays works belonging to Carmen Cervera, Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza’s widow. Her collection has remained in Madrid under a long-term agreement concluded with the Spanish government in 2021.
The forthcoming contemporary venue will therefore add a new chapter to the Thyssen-Bornemisza presence in the Spanish capital, shifting the emphasis from the historical collection associated with the family towards the international contemporary art assembled by the next generation.