Lyon's Musée d'Art Contemporain faces the Tête d'Or park, on the exceptional site of the Cité Internationale, located at the north-east approach to the city centre. It harmoniously integrates modernity with history, in keeping with the building, designed by Renzo Piano, in which it is housed. This building marries a façade in the style of the 1930s, on the park side, with a glass front on the Rhône side.

The Musée d'Art Contemporain was inaugurated in December 1995, on the occasion of the 3rd Biennial, which was devoted to "video and computer culture", a logical development of the museum's active participation in the two previous Biennials, in 1991 and 1993.

Between 1984 and 1996, more than 100 exhibitions were organised by the Musée d'Art Contemporain, and 70 bilingual and trilingual catalogues were published.

It may be recalled, at this point, that the first "Octobre des Arts" took place in 1984. It included the simultaneous presentation of several dozen exhibitions in various parts of the Lyon conurbation. Then, in 1988, there was "La couleur seule, l'expérience du monochrome", which attracted 56,000 visitors.

Since its creation, the Musée d'Art Contemporain has been pursuing a policy of production of art-works which is unique in France. This policy gives artists the opportunity to experiment with unusual materials, forms, ideas and dimensions, and to create works in harmony with places.
Today, the collection, which includes the largest number of installations ever brought together by a museum, is representative of French and international creation since the end of the 1960s.

From July 8 to September 24, the museum, in cooperation with the Biennial, will be presenting an exhibition created for the Internet, entitled "Version Originale", which will bring together 28 French-speaking plastic artists, including Ange Leccia, Hervé Graumann, Ben, Serge Comte, Philippe Parreno, Patrick Corillon, the Devautour collection, Claude Closky, Marie-Ange Guilleminot, Pierre Huygue, Catherine Beaugrand and more besides.

The museum also invites you to another event: Ann Hamilton's first solo exhibition, in November 1997.