Declaration 2
Dear friend,
By means of this email we are taking the liberty of responding to your support for the text of April 21st 2009 (www.rekaldeadhesiones.com), in which we expressed our concern over a series of political decisions concerning the Sala Rekalde of Bilbao. We are doing so now as we trust in your interest in this question, and because some of the consequences of those decisions are beginning to come into effect.
The letter of support was signed by 647 people related to the reality of contemporary art from a great number of countries. It was published in the press and sent to the representatives of the different political parties who form part of the Cultural Commission of the Representative Assembly of Biscay, which was responsible for evaluating the situation.
While the first reactions, in statements to the press, by the Representative for Culture of the Provincial Council of Biscay, responsible for the Sala Rekalde, seemed to respond positively to our demand for endorsement of the programme developed by the Sala Rekalde, it is only now that the real conclusion of the question is being made public:
The dismissal of the Director from her post has meant her return to the curatorial position she held before her appointment, a position that has been occupied successively by the persons responsible for designing the Sala Rekalde’s programme. The administrative situation created has in practice meant that Leire Vergara, who has been responsible for the programme since 2006 and who has no connection with the dismissal decreed in April, has been dismissed from her position. What is clear is the inconsistency of Miren Josune Ariztondo, the Representative for Culture: after expressing, in the press and before the Cultural Commission of the Representative Assembly of Biscay, her support for the programme developed, she has dismissed the person responsible for that programme for a supposedly administrative reason.
At their time, different professional groups (amongst them the Association of Directors of Spanish Contemporary Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art and the Council of Visual Art Critics) demanded that the Representative for Culture should apply the recommendations of the Document of Good Practices in Museums and Art Centres, signed by different professional groups and the Ministry of Culture. To date, the Representative for Culture has not announced any open public competition to fill the position of artistic director of the Sala Rekalde. We understand, together with the abovementioned groups, that the Sala Rekalde has acquired a position amongst the artistic institutions in which it is not permissible to dispense with a procedure considered as basic by all the agents and institutions of the sector.
In our earlier communication, we wished to leave beyond all doubt the proven value of the programme of the Sala Rekalde. Now that even those who brought about this situation have publicly recognised this value, all we can do is ask that they take decisions accordingly and avoid the irresponsibility of squandering the international prestige that Rekalde has won in recent years. Such achievements are difficult and fragile, and are only possible in situations of mutual trust between the agents of art and the managers of culture. In the wake of so many erroneous decisions, this trust can no longer be taken for granted. We will continue to monitor the consequences of this process with great concern and determination.
We will let you know if any public initiative arises in response to this situation, and we will try to keep you informed about the conclusion of this lamentable process.
Thank you once again, and best wishes,