The Piran Coastal Galleries are the central gallery institution in Slovenian Istria, with the status of a regional museum of fine arts from the early 20th century onward. They fulfill their mission through the preservation of visual heritage and the study and presentation of contemporary creativity from the Primorska region, Slovenia, and abroad. Established in 1974, the institution includes not only the main Civic Gallery but also other galleries such as Meduza 2, the Herman Pečarič Gallery in Piran, the Monfort Gallery in Portorož, Meduza and Loža in Koper, and the collection of stone sculptures in the open-air Forma viva at Seča near Portorož.