In a press conference held on June 23 alongside colleagues Pablo Corral, minister of Culture; Maria Fernanda Cartagena, director of the Fundación Museos; Paulina León, coordinator of the CAC; and Jaime Izurieta, director of Mecánica Urbana; the mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas, informed that the current Centro de Arte Contemporáneo (CAC) will be transformed into the new Museo de Arte Contemporáneo. Meanwhile, according to Mauricio Rodas, his administration will support art and culture without surrendering to ideological interests, "that is a mistake," he affirmed, and added that "art is the ultimate expression of freedom." The first of its kind in Ecuador, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo is expected to begin operations in October of 2016. For this reason the mayor's office in Quito announced that, although the budget has yet to be allocated, an investment in the project for approximately USD 1,000,000.00 has been planned. According to Maria Fernanda Cartagena, the rest of the budget required to mount the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo—to purchase artworks, for instance—could be funded through cooperative models from a combination of public and private sources. Additionally, partnerships will also be sought with museums from Colombia and Peru. The announcement puts an end to speculations on whether the former military hospital where the CAC is located would be turned into a five star hotel, as the mayor was emphatic in announcing that: a museum and not a hotel will be housed in the building; adding that the project answers to the requests from neighbors to transform this area of the city into a center of cultural development. The Museum, which will occupy the north wing of the old building, will aim at continuing to be a vehicle that encourages and promotes the development art, as its "has already been doing thanks to the solid work of the ACC," said Maria Fernanda Cartagena. Likewise, the institution will preserve the memory of contemporary art and record its processes. In this manner the museum aims to become a space for the national and international projection and dissemination of works by Ecuadorian artists.