The building that houses the Museum of Contemporary Art is eclectic in style and was originally designed by the architect José Mª Ortiz in 1861 as the old Courthouse and prison.

This centre, which is quite recent to the city, was established in order to promote contemporary cultural initiatives. It is characterised by its dynamic programming and a spirit of participation.

The main activity of the museum centres on temporary exhibitions of recent artistic work in a variety of forms (painting, sculpture, architecture, video, design and film). There are three priority areas – multidisciplinary exhibitions, Spanish and international art and culture and historical research and reviews to promote past Galician artists and artistic movements as well as more recent work. Apart from the main building, exhibitions of new Galician artists are held in the Annex Building.

The MARCO is the most innovative exhibition area in the city and organizes educational programs for schoolchildren, students and families and courses for artists and teachers. Facilities also include a library and a collection of periodicals and audiovisual material.

The unusual layout of the museum with the exhibition spaces surrounding a central point makes the MARCO particularly suitable for collective exhibitions. The museum regularly holds its own thematic exhibitions, organized around a theme or geographical area, in consonance with contemporary artistic movements. It thus represents the wide multicultural artistic panorama of the moment and contributes to the circulation of exhibitions among other art centres.