A few days after the agreement between ERC and PSC to approve the budgets of the Generalitat, the Minister of Culture, Natàlia Garriga (Barcelona, 1969), receives this newspaper in her office at the Palau Marc, at the end of the Rambla, to explain how does all this affect the cultural sector, which will receive a record injection of public money, up to 477 million euros, 1.5% of the total.
When will we reach the desired 2%?
We have to get there by the end of the legislature. So we have two budgets left to achieve this. Now we are very happy to have approved the highest cultural budget in the history of the Generalitat. In two years we have increased it by 174 million euros. When we came to this department we were at 300, in 2022 we jumped from 1.1% to 1.3%, and now we are at 1.5%, but also in a year when the overall budget is so expansive that to reach this percentage the investment must be greater.
What goes up the most are subsidies...
They go everywhere, we try to strengthen structures, which we found very thin. We have many lines of help, heritage conservation, athenes, popular culture, we help grow the TNC, Teatre Lliure, Liceu, Mercat de les Flors... We make all these facilities and festivals able to improve the programming, repay better to third parties... Thanks to this budget, exhibitions and shows arrive in many towns throughout the territory.
But that wasn't the initial budget they had on the table, was it?
well Everyone talks a lot about culture, saying that it is the fourth leg of the welfare state, and it is true, I firmly believe that, but then many times the facts do not accompany the speech of some who say so but do not allocate money to it. What I am saying is that we would not have reached 1.5% before because the proposal we received from the previous Minister of Economy (Jaume Giró, from Junts) was far from this figure.
What new measures are they taking in language policy?
From the beginning, we decided to explain the data honestly, to show everyone that we were not as good as we thought, for example in the language used in schools. It is very important to become aware of the real state of the language. We now have a National Pact for the Language, which is supported by 85% of the Parliament of Catalonia, and we do not want a partisan use of the language.
And audiovisual platforms? Is it true that they don't want dubbing and subtitles in Catalan?
It is not true. We have spoken with the platforms, especially with Netflix, but also with the rest, so that they incorporate Catalan, and the contacts have been good and very fluid, with them and Movistar, HBO, Prime... Only Netflix has done more than a hundred subtitled films and the dubbing of ten more films. We also have all the audios of all the movies already dubbed by TV3 that we will incorporate into the platforms. With Netflix it's done, only minor details of our recruitment are missing. People will be able to access everything dubbed into Catalan. And, as far as production is concerned, we give up to 1.5 million for films with more than 2.7 million if they are in Catalan, last year we subsidized five films. And also five series: we gave 1.5 million to each with the condition that they were shot in Catalan and had television and a platform.
Dubbing or better subtitles?
Mentre hi hagi doblatge en castellà, hi ha d’haver doblatge en català. We talk about it with the majors, and we double down on the titles that we predict will have the most audience.
Catalunya Media City, in Tres Xemeneies, Badalona and Sant Adrià del Besòs, is your dream of making a Catalan Hollywood, or at least a Cinecittà?
It is the big project of the department and the government, with a global cost of 400 million. We must be able to compete at least in the European audiovisual space. Fifteen years ago Catalonia accounted for 40% of Spain's production and now we are lower because Madrid has made a very clear investment there. We want the talent to be able to stay in Catalonia if they want to stay there. It is an audiovisual park, with production companies, for filming, research, with cutting-edge technology. It is about welcoming local production and attracting international production.
It doesn't happen now?
We can't afford them to come and shoot our landscapes – which they do a lot – and then go outside to shoot the interiors of the same film. All the administrations row in favor of this exciting project. ERC in Congress has obtained 60 million from the State that will reach us this year. In a few weeks we will have the urban plan approved, from which we will start distributing the spaces and investing in them.
Could it be that we attract investments in other areas of the area if the investment in the Tres Xemeneies is extended?
The Turbines building, right in front, allows a very quick intervention, in two years we should be able to be there. We also have the audiovisual park in Terrassa, which can grow, and other places where sets can be set up, all this in an area of 30 km, those in Madrid are much further away.
Film and theater professionals are trained here and many go to Madrid, where there is more work.
This has only happened in recent years, the Catalan Administration has not been able to invest as much in the last ten years and we have noticed this very much. We are trying to reverse it. We have detected that there are production companies that are making films and series in Catalan for the first time.
Why does he say that his most ambitious museum project is the MNAC?
You can't do everything at once, better one thing after the other. The first thing that is needed is the expansion of the MNAC at the Palau Victòria Eugènia. It is the project that we must promote first. We are doing the technical and conceptual work, to see how it should be. Many museums like this are not in buildings designed to be museums and have a very small exhibition area, there are many things in the warehouse and many things that could be done there and are not done.
And how is the great library of Barcelona?
The land is municipal, the State will build it, and then the management and staff will be provided by the Generalitat. Demolition has already begun and the work will be completed in 2027, when we will be handed the keys.
What is your model?
That it is at the same time a great cultural center. You will see a very different library to what we are used to.
Won't they appoint a director?
We will wait longer, as usual, there are still four years to go.
Will there be contacts with the Citadel of Knowledge?
We haven't considered it but it's possible. Cultural structures and facilities will become increasingly porous.
And will it allow the literary wealth of Barcelona to be exposed? Right now, there is no place to see the key role that Barcelona has played in literature.
Why not? I'm sure that the features of the site will allow you to see a lot of things.
What do you think about the Liceu's second headquarters project in the port of Barcelona?
We are convinced that the Liceu must have a second headquarters. An ideas competition will be held to see if it would be possible, what the scope and budget would be. We now have more resources, but not all the administrations. We will see it with ambition but with caution.
How do you see Barcelona's advantage in digital art?
We are pioneers in digital art and we are not aware enough. We look across this sector, and we have opened an aid line for innovation and a spectacular amount of projects is coming. With Sónar D there is already a tradition.
Are video games culture?
Yes, of course. 45% of the development of a video game is art, they are artistic disciplines. The difference between a movie and a video game is very small, in this sense. It is a sector that does not ask for lost aid, but rather support, training, incubation spaces, participatory loans...
Everyone knows that they have the right to health, housing, education... but cultural rights are more difficult to understand, aren't they?
Indeed, and for us it is almost the most important thing we are doing. We are concerned about access to culture. We work together with Education so that artistic teachings are in the programs. We promote the Cultural Rights law, so that everyone has access to culture and cultural participation, this will make a better, more democratic, dialogic and happy country.
How is the relationship with the ministry?
Good. It's lucky that we speak the same language, they know perfectly well what we're talking about, that makes things a lot easier. The relationship with Minister Iceta is cordial, we have had personal meetings to resolve issues and it is working. We have made these budget increases that they do not, yes.
Are there colleagues from the government at the cultural events?
Yes, Joan Ignasi Elena is a big fan of opera, we often talk about it, as does Councilor Vilagrà. I find myself at the theater more in Cambray. Oh, and also Campuzano... and, of course, President Aragonès, from Els Pastorets to musicals or the Liceu.
Can her judicial situation (pending trial at the TSJC for disobedience for having participated in the preparations for 1-O) affect her as a councillor?
It could, but we don't know the terms, we are waiting for the letter from the Prosecutor's Office. It will depend on the sentence, which can be appealed.
But is he optimistic?
We are optimistic in the sense that we believe that we have done no wrong and we must think that justice will do justice.
