Galeria Presenca

Galeria Presença was established in Oporto, in 1995 under the direction of Maria de Belém Sampaio. In 1998, the gallery moved from its original installations, to Rua Miguel Bombarda, being one of the first galleries to integrate what it was to become the art block of Miguel Bombarda, where most galleries of contemporary art are still located nowadays.
Galeria Presença is devoted to the representation of its artists within the national and international scope. The gallery – with over 20 years of continued practice - has endeavored to introduce the work of Portuguese and foreign artists in different stages of their artistic career, from emerging artists to well-established ones, into the art circuit, through its dynamic exhibitions programming at its premises in Porto. Amongst the long list of artists that have exhibited at Presença, we may mention a few such as: Helena Almeida, Ana Hatherly, Joana Vasconcelos, António Palolo, Zhang Huan, Catherine Opie, John Baldessari, Richard Prince, Jorge Queiróz, Cristina Iglesias, Miroslaw Balka, Jack Pierson, Sean Landers, etc.
The gallery represents artists belonging to different generations, from Portugal and abroad, and our continuous activity aims for a better acknowledgement of our artists and a broader recognition of their work, either out or in-borders.
We keep a consistent dialogue with cultural institutions worldwide in order to achieve a broader divulgation of our artists and we strive for their continuous practice, consistently introducing new works into the art sphere.