Opened on 24 June 2012, within the framework of “Guimarães 2012 – European Culture”, the José de Guimarães International Arts Centre (CIAJG) is part of the Arts and Creativity Platform, an infrastructure project to transform the Old Market of Guimarães into a multifunctional space.
The CIAJG is a structure dedicated to contemporary art and the relationships it weaves with arts from other eras, different cultures and disciplines. It houses pieces from the three collections that José de Guimarães has been gathering for around five decades – African art, pre-Columbian art and ancient Chinese art -, works by the artist and other contemporary artists and objects of popular, religious and archaeological heritage, in a spiritual and symbolic itinerary that describes a geographical and temporal arc that originates in his homeland – the city of Guimarães – and that crosses civilizations of three continents with rich and complex cultures, to return to the place of origin, providing a reflection on diversity as a way of constructing identity. In short, the CIAJG functions as an Atlas, gathering and relating objects, images and ideas from cultures from very far away places.

The architectural design of the Platform for Arts and Creativity, where the José de Guimarães International Arts Centre is located, was designed by the Pitágoras Arquitetos studio and has been awarded several prizes. In 2012 it won the international architectural prize “Detail Prize 2012”, from the German architecture magazine of the same name. In 2013, he received the National Urban Rehabilitation Award in the “Social Impact” category and was awarded the “Red Dot Design Award 2013” ​​in the “Best of the Best” category. In 2015, he won the “Plan 2015 Award” in the “Culture” category.