Heard on The StreetMarch 10, 2020
The agreement between Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and the Spanish government to donate works from her collection has been cancelled
The project to establish a center for contemporary Latin American art in Madrid’s Tabacalera (the headquarters of a former tobacco company) has been canceled after nine years of conversations—and two years since she signed a memorandum with Íñigo Méndez de Vigo. The Cuban-born collector and businesswoman announced this morning that "unfortunately" her donation to Spain of 400 works by Latin American artists and the long-term loan of 600 Cuban artworks will no longer take place. The beginning of the end of the talks originated last October when Cisneros received a letter from the former acting minister José Guirao, enumerating the legal issues that prevent the government from accepting her gift unless there are no preconditions.
The renowned collector explained that Guirao's letter made very difficult demands, such as the need for her to specify which 400 works she was willing to donate; that the space had to be called an exhibition center and not a museum; or that representatives of public institutions had to be included in the board of directors. Cisneros is more in favor of including prominent members of society so that the political ups-and-downs will not affect the institution. “But beyond these claims, what I perceived was a reluctance to continue with the project," Cisneros remarked.
A few days ago, she tried to approach the new minister, José Manuel Rodríguez, but got no response.
Sources from the current Ministry of Culture regret that Ella Fontanals-Cisneros "has abruptly cancelled the conversations," and believe that she has not given the ministry’s brand-new team enough time "to study and analyze the feasibility of her proposal."
Cisneros summed up the situation by stating that none of the governments with which she has had to negotiate have had either the money nor the interest needed to carry out the project. "They proposed Tabacalera and I liked it. But the state of the building is disastrous and it would take more than ten million euros to renew it. They never had that kind of money nor did they try to look for it.” She concluded that among the many politicians she has had to deal with in all this time, only Luis Cueto, general coordinator of the mayor's office under Manuela Carmena, showed any real interest.
Cisneros, who has a Spanish passport, revealed that although other cities, such as Seville and Miami, are ready to receive her collection, she still believes that Madrid is the ideal place to host them, and so she is exploring ways to obtain private funding. Ella Fontanals-Cisneros's collection has more than 3,500 works, most of which are stored in a Miami warehouse, except for those that decorate her homes in Madrid, Mérida (Mexico), and New York.
The collection is composed of abstract geometric artworks from Latin America, international and Latin American contemporary art, contemporary video art, and modern and contemporary photography. Some of these pieces are temporarily exhibited or stored in museums such as the Tate Modern in London or the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. Artists whose works are part of the collection include Lygia Clark, Antonio Dias, Jac Leirner, Luis Camnitzer, Gabriel Orozco, Sameer Makarius, Carlos Leppe, Lázaro A. Saavedra, Félix González-Torres, Gustavo Pérez Monzón, Sandu Darie, and Dolores “Loló” Soldevilla.
The renowned collector explained that Guirao's letter made very difficult demands, such as the need for her to specify which 400 works she was willing to donate; that the space had to be called an exhibition center and not a museum; or that representatives of public institutions had to be included in the board of directors. Cisneros is more in favor of including prominent members of society so that the political ups-and-downs will not affect the institution. “But beyond these claims, what I perceived was a reluctance to continue with the project," Cisneros remarked.
A few days ago, she tried to approach the new minister, José Manuel Rodríguez, but got no response.
Sources from the current Ministry of Culture regret that Ella Fontanals-Cisneros "has abruptly cancelled the conversations," and believe that she has not given the ministry’s brand-new team enough time "to study and analyze the feasibility of her proposal."
Cisneros summed up the situation by stating that none of the governments with which she has had to negotiate have had either the money nor the interest needed to carry out the project. "They proposed Tabacalera and I liked it. But the state of the building is disastrous and it would take more than ten million euros to renew it. They never had that kind of money nor did they try to look for it.” She concluded that among the many politicians she has had to deal with in all this time, only Luis Cueto, general coordinator of the mayor's office under Manuela Carmena, showed any real interest.
Cisneros, who has a Spanish passport, revealed that although other cities, such as Seville and Miami, are ready to receive her collection, she still believes that Madrid is the ideal place to host them, and so she is exploring ways to obtain private funding. Ella Fontanals-Cisneros's collection has more than 3,500 works, most of which are stored in a Miami warehouse, except for those that decorate her homes in Madrid, Mérida (Mexico), and New York.
The collection is composed of abstract geometric artworks from Latin America, international and Latin American contemporary art, contemporary video art, and modern and contemporary photography. Some of these pieces are temporarily exhibited or stored in museums such as the Tate Modern in London or the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. Artists whose works are part of the collection include Lygia Clark, Antonio Dias, Jac Leirner, Luis Camnitzer, Gabriel Orozco, Sameer Makarius, Carlos Leppe, Lázaro A. Saavedra, Félix González-Torres, Gustavo Pérez Monzón, Sandu Darie, and Dolores “Loló” Soldevilla.
