By accepting the Masurel donation in 1979, Arthur Notebart, the then President of the Lille conurbation, drew the local authority into an adventure that was hitherto outside of its scope of responsibility. A non-profit association was set up to manage the museum of modern art and its statutes were drawn up to structure and organise the running of the Museum.

Pierre Chaigneau was then recruited as curator to set up a programme faithful to the donation terms that specify the wishes of Geneviève and Jean Masurel. This programme was put in place in the building that the architect Roland Simounet was commissioned to construct in the new town of Villeneuve-d’Ascq.

The fruitful dialogue between the donors, the architect and the curator culminated in 1983 with the opening of a museum perfectly combining the functions of conservation and display thanks to the permanent and temporary exhibition rooms, a sculpture park, an auditorium, a library, and an educational and cultural department. Joëlle Pijaudier-Cabot succeeded Pierre Chaigneau in 1987 and held the post until 2007.

During this period, an active policy of acquisitions and the programming of major exhibitions of modern and contemporary art earned the Museum international recognition.

A new episode in the life of the MaM began when L’Aracine donated its collection of Art Brut to the Museum in 1999, and the Lille conurbation committed itself to enlarging the Museum to be able to present the Art Brut collection permanently to visitors. The Museum then became a Museum of modern art, contemporary art and Art Brut.

In 2008, a new name was chosen: the LaM (Lille Métropole, musée d’art moderne, d’art contemporaine et d’art brut), announcing the reopening of the Museum in its new configuration.