Lisbon became the capital of contemporary art from Wednesday for the upcoming days as prestigious Spanish contemporary art fair ARCO kicks off and art museum MATT inaugurates three new major exhibitions.

ARCO art fair takes place at Lisbon's Cordoaria Nacional building, a former factory for the country's navy now serving as a gallery, at the river-side Belem district.

There are a total of 58 galleries from 13 countries at the event, and this year there is a new Opening Program for young galleries under 7 years old.

"The exhibition is linked to this historical space which is the Cordoaria Nacional and the idea is to discover Portuguese art in an international context," Director of ARCO, Carlos Urroz, told Xinhua at the building's courtyard.

There are works by around 600 artists including installations, photography and painting. Young Spanish artist Maider Lopez's piece Moving Stones (2015) portrays a nomadic journey through the stones she discovers. Another highlight was Chinese artist Fang Lijun's huge ceramic sculptures.

Galleries selected by ARCO's organizing committee include Cristina Guerra, Pedro Cera, Vera Cortes, Mario Sequeira, Vermelho and Zak Branicka.

The exhibition, which is supported by the EDP Foundation, the Lisbon city council and the Portuguese ministry of culture, opens to the general public on Thursday and ends on May 21.

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