PAC – Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea

The PAC - Milan Pavilion of Contemporary Art is the public space dedicated to contemporary art in the city: a place open to all, where the culture of the present can be experienced and shared through art.
With this objective, the PAC designs and implements monographic and group exhibitions that explore the Italian and international art scene, acting as an active observatory on our time.

Reading the present is a challenge that requires curiosity, openness, confrontation and freedom from prejudice. Contemporary art invites us to overcome stereotypes, to step out of our comfort zone and to look at reality with new eyes, constructing ever different interpretations of the world we inhabit.

In parallel, the PAC promotes the knowledge and participation to contemporary art by accompanying each exhibition with free tools that promote understanding and accessibility. Through its public programme, It deepens the themes addressed by the artists and involves audiences of all ages, from adults to youngsters.

La programming is defined by the scientific committee appointed by the Department of Culture of the Municipality of Milan and is also supported by guest curators Italian and international.

The PAC is one of the first examples in Italy of architecture designed specifically for contemporary art, inspired by the model of the kunsthalle and conceived as an agile and flexible exhibition structure.

Designed by Ignatius Gardella, the pavilion covers an area of approx. 1.200 m² arranged around a central volume on three levels. The lowest floor, connected to the garden of the Villa Reale (GAM) through a large luminous window, was initially intended for sculpture.

The upper level, originally modular thanks to movable walls that are now fixed, was dedicated to painting and receives natural daylight from large, adjustable skylights.
The third level, designed for drawings, prints, photographs and objects, is an artificially lit elevated gallery with a balcony overlooking the floor below.

The three spaces, conceived by Gardella as luminous volumes in mutual dialogue, rotate around the central body of the building, generating oblique perspectives and intersecting visions between the rooms. The perimeter limits coincide with the original limits of the former stables of the Villa Reale, creating a trapezoidal plan that integrates past and modernity in a harmonious architectural synthesis.