• The de-escalation of culture - uncertain conditions
  • The new norms of culture: theaters, bookstores, cinemas ...

Entering the Santander Botín Center tomorrow will be the first cultural activity allowed in person in Spain since mid-March. Cantabria has entered phase one of mistrust and the museum designed by Renzo Piano will open its doors at the first opportunity. "It was the decision of the president of the foundation, Javier Botín, and the result of the work we have done this time to make the visit experience as comfortable as possible within the new security demands," explains Íñigo Sainz de Miera, Center Director.

What will be different for visitors to the center? "We have changed the circulation inside the building. Now there is a staircase to go up and another to go down, so that no one will cross the road. The classic curtain that isolates for the video room has disappeared, as have the brochures and the material Didactic available. There are screens in the lockers, hydrogel dispensers and masks and there are marks on the floor so that the queues are tidy ... But I think the experience of going to an exhibition will be similar. " And the capacity? "We have never been obsessed with the number of visitors. In the room above, the capacity was 250 people. We left it at 83 people. The room below has capacity for 200 and stays at 66. I think it is enough. practice, the center only fills on August 15 and at Easter, "says Sainz de Miera. Do you expect people to go, beyond some solitary visitor? "We will go day by day. I do not rule out that there is an audience, among other things, because there are not so many alternatives to start dating ..." Inaugurations and non-exhibition activities are also conditional on that we will see.

This Saturday, the Official State Gazette established the conditions that art centers will have to meet when they reopen to the public, a measure conditioned on the entry into phase one of the different territories. At the moment, the museums of the provinces least affected by the coronavirus are not in a great hurry to meet their public again. In Seville, the Museum of Fine Arts has yet to comply with the specific measures ordered by the Government. "We have worked during these weeks but there are always small changes ... In any case, what will really allow reopening will be the instruction given by the Secretary of State for Public Administrations on the reinstatement of state workers to their posts, " he explains. museum fountains.

In Extremadura, the National Museum of Roman Art in Mérida also does not expect to open until May 25 , which is the date set by the General Fine Arts Directorate for all national museums. In Biscay, the Guggenheim leaves it for June 1. In Gran Canaria, CAAM still awaits a track. And so, throughout the Spain that comes out of torpor.

What about the territories that are still in phase zero? "We hoped to open today but, in the end, phase 1 did not arrive in Valencia. If we can, we will open on May 18, with the capacity reduced to 358 people," explain sources at IVAM. " Actually, on Sundays we filled up, but the rest of the time that capacity is enough . There will be trays on the floor to disinfect the shoe soles and a more frequent cleaning ratio. The cafeteria is a concession. It has a terrace but I don't think that can open immediately ... Actually, we don't expect many people to come the first few days. We will have to learn little by little. "

Javier Hontoria, director of the Patio Herreriano Museum, is in the same uncertainty about dates. His forecast is to open on May 25, "but everything is a little opaque." The Patio Herreriano has designed a new circulation for its visitors , who will enter through the south wing towards the north wing. "We can order the flow between room and room. Inside the room it seems less realistic to ask people to follow a defined itinerary, really". Do you expect a large audience? "I don't know. I think people will be fearful, but now that there is talk of proximity tourism, it is not uncommon to think that more people can come to Valladolid to see exhibitions."

In Malaga, José María Luna, manager of the Pompidou Center, the Russian Museum and Picasso's Birthplace, also does not expect to open until the end of May. "We may have a problem at the Casa Natal because the spaces are small and it always has many visitors . We will have to be more restrictive there. In the other centers, I am moderately optimistic. I think the public will return soon and will get used to the new conditions As soon as we can, we will start scheduling activities as well, as a way to contribute to citizen morale. "

In Barcelona, ​​Pepe Serra, director of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC), considers another factor: the economic viability of opening for a very small audience. "Even if only one person came, we must open: we are an essential public service and we must reinforce that vocation ... Blockbuster exhibitions are something else . They are environmentally unsustainable: the number of trips they require, the new wooden boxes, insurance ... In Europe, there are 2,000 or 3,000 works that are always on the go. The museum has to bet on what is its own and specific. "

And at the Picasso Museum, the most visited in Barcelona (more than a million people in 2019, with 90% of foreign public), there is no hurry either: These tourists are not going to come to it and that will greatly influence our income. We will have to adjust our budgets, manage with more austerity and resize our projects. "

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