Casas das Mudas is located on a hill overlooking the village of Calheta and currently houses the Museum of Contemporary Art.
The Museum of Contemporary Art was created in 1992 and was previously installed at the Fortaleza de São Tiago in Funchal.
In 2004 Centro das Artes-Casa das Mudas is inaugurated. The project is by the Madeiran architect Paulo David, having carried out numerous temporary exhibition projects throughout his eleven years, as well as developing a varied program in his auditorium.
In 2015, Casa das Mudas opens as a Museum of Contemporary Art. The Casas das Mudas Museum of Contemporary Art is a modern building awarded internationally for its architecture and perfect integration into the landscape, it is the stage for several exhibitions, musical shows, plays and conferences.
The Contemporary Art Center, which had been at Quinta Magnólia since 1986 and contained several works of art centered on the Cidade do Funchal prizes (1966-1967) was then transferred to Casa das Mudas. The collection of contemporary art from the St. James Fortress also went to Casa das Mudas.
The collection is vast and diversified with works of art from the 60s to the 90s and with the representation of several artists, such as Joaquim Rodrigo, António Areal, Helena Almeida, José Escada, Manuel Baptista, Nuno de Siqueira and Artur Rosa, Gäetan, Fernando Calhau, Rui Sanches, Rui Chafes, Pedro Calapez, Pedro Casqueiro, Pedro Portugal, José Pedro Croft, Michael Biberstein, Ilda David, Sofia Areal, Álvaro Lapa, Ana Hatherly, Daniel Blaufuks, Pedro Gomes, Joana Vasconcelos, Fernanda Fragateiro, Manuel Rosa , Ângelo de Sousa, António Palolo, Eduardo Batarda, José Loureiro, Patrícia Garrido, Miguel Branco, Jorge Molder, Graça Pereira Coutinho, Albuquerque Mendes, Pedro Valdez Cardoso, Pedro Cabrita Reis, among others.
It is possible to see the exhibitions divided by themes: Abstraction, Non-Figuration, Figuration, Portrait and Landscape.