The Counselor of Culture and Sports, Patricia del Pozo, has denounced that the Ministry of Culture «marginalizes Andalusian museums again», including those of state ownership located in the autonomous community. «It is incomprehensible that none of the more than 250 acquisitions amounting to 14,624,510 euros made in 2024 enrich the funds of Andalusian museum centers,» she pointed out.
Patricia del Pozo has expressed her surprise at «this affront to Andalusian museums, especially when, among the 35 public institutions benefiting from the Ministry’s purchases, there are eight museums and a state archive under autonomous management: those of Albacete, Ávila, Burgos, Guadalajara, Palencia, Santa Cruz de Toledo and Zamora, in addition to the Fine Arts of Valencia and the Archive of Orense.»
The Minister of Culture and Sports has also highlighted the «paradox» that among the purchases made by the Ministry of Culture throughout 2024, the works of Andalusian artists or those closely linked to Andalusia are relevant, such as Francisco de Zurbarán, Pedro de Campaña or Luisa Roldán ‘La Roldana’.
The Counselor of Culture and Sports of the Junta de Andalucía, Patricia del Pozo.
Del Pozo has recalled that «unfortunately, the same thing happened in 2023 when the department led by Ernest Urtasun allocated 13,965,142.87 euros for the acquisition of cultural goods for public collections, but none of the more than 200 purchase transactions ended up in the funds of Andalusian museums, which are once again ignored.»
«The affront of 2023 is being repeated. In just the last two years, the Ministry of Culture has carried out more than 450 purchases totaling almost 29 million euros, and none of them ended up in the collections of Andalusian museum centers,» she stated.
On this same issue, the Counselor has denounced the absence of Andalusian experts in the Board of Qualification, Valuation, and Export of Historical Heritage Goods, the body of the Ministry of Culture responsible for the acquisition of cultural goods by the State to be part of the collections of museums, archives, and public libraries.