The Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC) was created in February 1990 with the aim of giving the local community an institution for the research, conservation and promotion of contemporary art. Later the centre began to acquire the first works in its permanent collection of contemporary art.

In 1997 the Cartuja Monastery became the centre's headquarters, a move which was to prove decisive in the evolution of the institution. The CAAC, an autonomous organisation dependent on the Andalusian Government (Junta de Andalucía), took over the collections of the former Conjunto Monumental de la Cartuja (Cartuja Monument Centre) and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Sevilla (Contemporary Art Museum of Seville).

From the outset, one of the main aims of the centre has been to develop a programme of activities attempting to promote the study of contemporary international artistic creation in all its facets. Temporary exhibitions, seminars, workshops, concerts, meetings, recitals, film cycles and lectures have been the communication tools used to fulfil this aim.

The centre's programme of cultural activities is complemented by a visit to the monastery itself, which houses an important part of our artistic and archaeological heritage, a product of our long history.

Permanent Collection
From a chronological point of view, the CAAC collection can said to date from 1957, the year in which Equipo 57 became known. The permanent collection includes pieces by Luis Gordillo, Candida Hofer, Rebecca Horn, Pablo Palazuelo, Joseph Kosuth and Louise Bourgeois. It focuses in particular on the history of contemporary Andalusian creativity and its relationship with other national and international artistic contexts.

To complement their visit to the centre, visitors may also see the historical grounds of the former monastery which includes the old chain door, atrium, chapels of Santa Catalina, San Bruno, Santa Ana, Profundis and la Magdalena, the priory cell, church, the sacristy, cloisters, monks' chapter, refectory, gardens and orchards.

Since 1994 the centre has organised a series of themed exhibitions relating to different aspects of the Monastery in which pieces from its archives address relevant events in contemporary aesthetic creation.

Documentation Centre / Library
At present the Library contains over 26,000 volumes concerning multiple aspects of contemporary art, with particular interest in exhibition catalogues from the 1960s to the present and numerous facsimiles. The Library also subscribes to almost a hundred periodical publications and has an important collection of exhibition leaflets, posters, audiovisual material, etc.