Boosting the remodeling of the Mnac to complete its reform in 2029

The idea comes from afar.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
01 June 2022 Wednesday 12:05
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Boosting the remodeling of the Mnac to complete its reform in 2029

The idea comes from afar. First there was talk of expanding the Victoria Eugenia pavilion. Then it was decided to remodel it completely. But the reform of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (Mnac) was in the air because none of those plans had come to fruition. Yesterday things changed.

The entity's Board of Trustees, which includes the Ministry of Culture, the Generalitat and the Barcelona City Council, unanimously agreed to put out "the extension project and drafting services for the basic and executive projects", that is, , the matter is already serious and will soon begin to take shape, although this boost to the remodeling of the Mnac will not be, much less, a matter of a day: the Board estimates that the works will culminate in the year 2029.

The first step will be to develop the "feasibility and museography plans and architectural projects" which will happen between this year and next. The contest will take place in late 2023 or early 2024, the Museum said in a press release. Sources from the entity explain that, at the moment, there is no budget and that the cost of this expansion will be known later as the projects progress.

The work can mean a radical change in the soul of the largest art gallery in Catalonia. The Museum now has 13,000 square meters for its permanent exhibition and another 2,300 square meters for temporary ones. The remodeling of the Victoria Eugenia Pavilion would provide the Mnac with 15,000 more square meters.

How will this new space be managed? For now, nothing is closed. In its day, it was considered to move the modern art collection to the new space, but “everything is open”, indicates the same sources. The fact is that the Mnac is undergoing a growth process and cannot exhibit part of its funds.

The collection of second and post-war avant-gardes, for example, is yet to be located. And the same happens with works created with new techniques such as comics. In addition, it is not ruled out that the National Museum of Art of Catalonia will share this new future space in the Victoria Eugenia Pavilion with other museum facilities in the Catalan capital.

Despite so much uncertainty, after yesterday's agreement, the first stone has been laid so that in 2029, coinciding with the centenary of the Universal Exposition, the remodeling of the Mnac can be a reality and the Monjuïc area a powerful concentration of cultural facilities. as the new bet of the quintessential art gallery of the city is complemented by the Caixa Forum, the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, Miró Foundation, Ethnological Museum, Botanical Institute and Garden, Olympic and Sports Museum, Archaeological Museum, Free Theater , Mercat de les Flors and Poble Espanyol.

The Board of Trustees of the Mnac also decided at its meeting yesterday to renew Pepe Serra as director of the entity for five more years, until 2027, after assessing "very positively" his work at the head of the art gallery. Serra has held the position since December 2011.

During these years, the Mnac has experienced a significant growth in visitors. The Museum registered 400,000 visits in 2012 and more than doubled, 900,000, in 2019.

In this period, the Museum has organized more than 70 exhibition projects, has renewed the presentation of the collections of modern, Renaissance and Baroque art, has worked on the formation of the post-war and avant-garde collection, and has increased its collection with acquisitions and donations, according to the entity.

The Board of Trustees of the Mnac also highlighted the creation of the Xarxa de Museus d’Art, which has gone from having only three sections in Catalonia to being made up of 22 museums, the deployment of a roaming policy in Europe and an international presence.