The history of the Museum, established in 1966 with the name of Civic Gallery of Modern Art of Gallarate, coincides with that of its collection which was born and expanded following the acquisitions of the National Prize for Visual Arts of the City of Gallarate starting from its first edition in 1950. The Prize, in fact, was founded on the basis of the creation of a museum and a constantly updated heritage that is owned by the city.

The Museum today preserves more than 5,000 works including paintings, sculptures, installations, artist books, photographs, design objects and graphic works that offer visitors a rich and articulated panorama of the main artistic orientations from the mid-twentieth century to the present day. with openings on contemporary international research.

In December 2009, the Municipality of Gallarate set up the “Silvio Zanella Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art” Foundation which has as founding members the Municipality itself and the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and the Lombardy Region, an institutional partnership of the Province of Varese .

The Foundation’s task is to manage the museum’s activities: the conservation and enhancement of the works in the collection, the organization of exhibitions and cultural events and creative and educational activities for schools and the adult public.

Following this institutional change, in March 2010, the Museum acquires the name MAGA – Gallarate Art Museum and inaugurates the new and most prestigious museum in via De Magri which, thanks to its large spaces, favors a varied and open cultural proposal to offer cognitive support to the heritage of the Museum and to make the public participate and attentive to the issues highlighted, denounced and expressed by the art of today.