For tastes, colors and museums. The Cultural Valencia emerges strongly in the national landscape under its own identity far from the franchise model and driven by an ambitious public-private project where quality takes precedence over quantity. From the emblematic rooms of the thirty-year-old Valencian Institute of Modern Art (IVAM) to the Valeriola Palace, transformed into the Hortensia Herrero art center, the museum route of the capital of Turia captivates “gastronomic” tourism and at the same time arouses a nascent interest among a young sector increasingly dazzled by painting, photography, sculpture and architecture.
The third capital of Spain is home to 34 museums that draw a varied cultural offer that goes from prehistory to contemporary art. A joint work between the public administration and the private initiative that aspires to make Valencia a “city of museumsTo achieve this, they advocate a “boutique” label based on small projects sculpted and polished down to the smallest details, a commitment to local artists and integration into neighborhoods, as they defend. Pilar Tebarregional secretary of Culture of the Generalitat Valenciana; And Alexandra SylvestreDirector of the Hortensia Herrero Foundation, during an informative breakfast organized at the headquarters of ABC in Valencia.
The Ministry of Culture and the private sector, represented by the sponsorship of Hortensia Herrero, believe that Valencia has the necessary elements to compete on an equal footing with established cities in the sector, such as Madrid and Barcelona, and with many other emerging cities such as Bilbao or Malaga. “Each one exposes its own personality“It makes no sense to reproduce other models because we have unique and spectacular spaces that we can enjoy,” explained Silvestre. In the same vein, Tébar highlighted an offer “at the level of the Thyssen National Museum” that allows you to enjoy major exhibitions “without having to travel” to the Spanish capital.
Regarding the work carried out by the Public Administration, the main lines of action go through “put IVAM back where it deserves to be”because it is a museum with 35 years of history and with a history more than consolidated as a national reference. “It is our flagship,” said Tébar, who advanced the Generalitat’s roadmap to integrate it into the Carmen neighborhood and “make it accessible to all neighbors.” They intend to do something similar with the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, the second largest art gallery in the country, which houses – among its 33,000 works – paintings by Sorolla, Goya and Velázquez, for which the possibility of improving its accessibility and opening an entrance through the Viveros gardens is being studied.
The capital of Turia is looking for its own cachet to compete with consolidated places like Madrid or the emerging Malaga
Another emerging public space in the bustling and curious Valencia is the Centre del Carme Cultura Contemporània, located in the heart of the emblematic neighborhood that has developed between the historic Muslim and Christian walls of the city. Just one kilometer away is the Hortensia Herrero Art Centerthe new jewel in the crown which, in its first six months of operation, welcomed more than 100,000 visitors.
A space born in the remains of an ancient palace full of history of Roman Valencia and Muslim Balansiya and which today houses the private collection of the patron Hortensia Herrero, with works by renowned artists such as Andreas Gursky, Anselm Kiefer, Georg Baselitz, Anish Kapoor or Mat Collishaw among others. “We do not want to do what everyone else does and we have a lot of work ahead of us so that society internalizes our presence. It is a project that arises from the restoration of historical heritage and with which its promoter intends give back to society everything you have received“, according to Silvestre.
On its museum route, Valencia hosts other innovative private spaces such as the Bombas Gens Digital Arts Center, the CaixaForum or the Bancaja Foundation.
