11 November 2009

Global Seminars & Invited Speaker Series

THE MUSEUMS

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Mr. Juan Ignacio Vidarte
Director General Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

The speech given by Juan Ignacio Vidarte, general manager of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, director , focused on the current role of museums and, specifically, he explained the seven keys to the Guggenheim Bilbao's management , the international dimension to be defined by quality and not by geography; the Education, with the aim of being a mediator between culture, mainly plastic art, and society; visitors; dynamism in content, offering an attractive combination of presentations of the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions; excellence; sustainability and operation at network in relation to other institutions, since the Guggenheim Bilbao has an incipient collection of its own and shares its holdings with the other museums of the network of Guggenheim institutions, considered one of the best private collections of modern and contemporary art in the world.

In Vidarte's opinion, culture can and should be used to achieve economic and social development , generating employment and services, as is the case of the Guggenheim Bilbao, which has acted as a transformer and catalyst for the process of social change in the city since the museum opened in 1997, becoming a major tourist attraction, captivating the attention of visitors from many countries and constituting the most important contemporary symbol of the city, an emblematic work of the most avant-garde 20th century architecture by the American architect Frank O. Gehry. It is a sculptural building, with fragmented volumes - in some cases with regular shapes and in others with unusual curved silhouettes covered in titanium - volumes and perspectives, sinuous curves, play of light and colour, a combination of elements that makes each conference room a unique space that enhances the art on display.
 

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Frank O. Gehry. 20th century

Another of the aspects highlighted by speaker was that museums have nowadays reached their maximum social relevance, and have therefore begun to transcend their original function of conservation, exhibition and research, increasingly taking on other social functions that complement them, such as being a space for meeting, Education, leisure and image projection. The mission statement of the Guggenheim Bilbao is to gather, conserve and research modern and contemporary art and to exhibit it in the context of Art History from multiple perspectives, and aimed at a wide and diverse audience, contributing to the knowledge and enjoyment of art and the values it represents. " Today many museums are a kind of secular church, spaces where society is recognised," explained Vidarte.

The lecture took place at classroom 30 of Central Building of the University of Navarra.