In 1966, in response to the voices of prefectural residents, the museum was established as the Shinano Art Museum Foundation in Shiroyama Park adjacent to Zenkoji Temple, and in 1969 it was transferred to the prefectural government. In 2021, the main building was built and renamed the Nagano Prefectural Art Museum.

The museum's four pillars of "appreciation," "learning," "exchange," and "research" are at the core of its activities. These activities include collecting modern and contemporary art, with a focus on works by local artists and Shinshu landscape paintings; holding collection exhibitions and special exhibitions; providing art groups with opportunities to present their works; offering a variety of learning programs; conducting exchange activities outside the museum; and researching and disseminating modern and contemporary art. The museum is also actively engaged in research and dissemination of modern and contemporary art.

Through these activities, the museum aims to be a people-oriented museum where artists, curators, visitors, and all other people who gather there learn from each other, infuse cultural enrichment and creative joy into daily life and serve as a hub of exchange and tourism that connects the prefecture and beyond through art.

NAM Collection 2026 Phase 1