Thursday, March 28

The Reina Sofía Museum leaves open the possibility of renewing Manuel Borja-Villel as director


The Reina Sofía Museum is facing the end of the mandate of Manuel Borja-Villel, after 15 years at the helm of the institution. “The public competition process for the election of a new director must begin once the current one has ceased, in January 2023, not before,” the museum explained to elDiario.es. “The Royal Board of Trustees of the museum has already begun to work on the bases of the process that will guarantee publicity and free competition and thus, once it can be launched, the deadlines will not be extended,” they add. At the meeting on November 28, the call for the new contest will be established.

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The museum has preferred not to respond to this newspaper if the current director wants to continue leading the institution. It is the only question he has declined to answer. And although the contract cannot be renewed, since the period established in it has expired, Manuel Borja-Villel, 65, could present himself again to the public process. “Yes, it would be possible for the current director to participate in the public bidding process and that, if elected, lead to a new contract,” they warn.

The Museum Statute does not specifically enter into the call for renewal, but the management of the Museum has decided to exhaust the contract of the current director before calling the competition for its renewal. “It is considered more opportune that the formal initiation of said process by the Board of Trustees occurs when the current director is no longer part of it. This will abound in a guarantee of full independence, transparency and absence of conflict of interest ”, they assure from the museum.

The previous selection process lasted three months. “Which does not mean that this time it is the same, but perhaps it serves as a reference.” From the museum they calculate that the ruling could be made public in April. “It will be the Board of Trustees, with the advice of a committee of experts and professionals from the world of culture, who chooses one of the candidates and is later appointed by Royal Decree, agreed upon by the Council of Ministers,” they clarify.

During those months there will be no director and the responsibility of the museum will fall on the manager: “Regarding the operation of the museum in that interval, the institution has an organizational chart that includes both an artistic deputy director and a deputy managing director [Julián González Cid] a vice manager [Mabel Tapia]. The structure allows an agile operation, since each one of them would assume the competences that correspond to them in the absence of the direction. Also add that the programming is done a couple of years in advance, approximately, as in all museums of this scale”, they assure from the direction of the Reina Sofía.



www.eldiario.es