09:30 - 12:00 | 13:00 - 16:00
Opening hours: Tuesday to Thursday and public holidays – 9.30am to 12pm – 1pm to 4pm Friday and Saturday – 5pm to 9pm Closed on Sunday and Monday.
Carmina – Dimas Simas Lopes Contemporary Art Gallery has been operating since October 2020 as a branch of the Museum of Angra do Heroísmo, following its donation to the Autonomous Region of the Azores by its founder, whose name it bears. Founded in 2004, Carmina Galeria was for eight years a hub for contemporary art on Terceira Island, acting as an arts laboratory and a space that brought together different cultural expressions. It is intended to continue to assert itself as a centre of reference for the dissemination, reflection and enjoyment of different artistic areas. Alongside temporary exhibitions, it is possible to view works by artists such as Júlio Pomar, António Dacosta,
Analogue Photography Laboratory
Since 2023, the gallery has also been home to the resident analogue photography club of the Angra do Heroísmo Museum, Lux Fecit (‘The Light Made’), whose aim is to maintain and promote the analogue photography process, the operation of photographic equipment of various formats and systems, knowledge of films and laboratory techniques for developing and enlarging, as intangible heritage and, at the same time, the functional preservation of photographic equipment as tangible heritage.
It should be noted that the Lux Fecit photography club is available to take on new members, subject to registration via email:
[email protected] / [email protected].
Carmina – Dimas Simas Lopes Contemporary Art Gallery, since 9 October 2020, has been one of the centres of the Museum of Angra do Heroísmo, after being donated to the Autonomous Region of the Azores by its founder, Dimas Simas Lopes, a renowned artist in the fields of painting and sculpture, whose name the building bears.
Founded on 17 July 2004, this gallery has established itself as an important centre for the dissemination of contemporary art on Terceira Island, serving as an arts laboratory and space for diverse cultural expressions, while maintaining its goal of continuing to be a point of reference for artistic dissemination and reflection.
Therefore, in 2025, this space joined the Portuguese Contemporary Art Network (RPAC), which brings together more than 70 cultural spaces across the country, aiming to promote artistic mobility and bring communities closer to contemporary art, thus enriching the region’s cultural offering.
It should be noted that the application of the Museum of Angra do Heroísmo (MAH) to the Portuguese Contemporary Art Network (RPAC) was based on its multi-site structure, which includes three interconnected spaces dedicated to contemporary art, notably the Dacosta Gallery and the Capítulo Gallery, located in the São Francisco Building, the current headquarters of the MAH, to which Carmina – Galeria adds to this cultural offering, which includes a contemporary collection of over a thousand works representing around 120 artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, engraving, installation and multimedia.
