The Minister of Culture and Sport, Patricia del Pozo, and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, have announced the expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville to the Palacio de Monsalves and the former public library on Calle Alfonso XII, both properties owned by the Andalusian Government, increasing the current usable area of the museum from 5,937 square meters to a total of 13,526 square meters.
The Palacio de Monsalves and the former library will be the buildings that will house this expansion, following their rehabilitation and conditioning. The Museum of Fine Arts, established in 1835, has been located in the former Convent of La Merced Calzada since 1840, a building that, despite the renovations carried out between 1985 and 1993, still needs additional spaces to display the valuable collection of the museum and appropriate public services.
For this reason, the Andalusian Government and the Ministry of Culture have agreed to incorporate the Palacio de Monsalves and the former provincial public library, both owned by the region, for their adaptation as a second venue for the museum. The works will be funded by the Ministry of Culture’s budget.
«Today we give a definitive boost to a project that not only involves expansion, but also the definition of a new Museum of Fine Arts in Seville, prepared for its second centenary in 2035″, stated Minister Patricia del Pozo, who recalled that «this initiative has been a citizen demand that has been awaited for 15 years.»
This expansion, in the words of Minister Ernest Urtasun, «is not just about square meters, but an opportunity to turn it into a true museum of the 21st century, and we will do it with all the technical guarantees and rigorous planning, because we are aware that it is a complex process. But what matters is that the journey begins today, and we start it with determination, agreement, and resources.»
The first phase of the expansion process will be the planning of the work, which will be carried out by the Ministry of Culture in the coming months based on the progress of the Museological Plan developed by the Museum’s team in coordination with the General Directorate of Museums and Cultural Sites of the Council. The document addresses the institution’s needs regarding its venues (container), collections (content), and how to present them (narrative).
The progress of the Museological Plan highlights the fortunate relationship between the former Convent of La Merced and the content it would house, mainly Renaissance and Baroque works, offering a valuable contextualization factor, while the Palacio de Monsalves also provides that connection for the works of collecting and donations from Sevillian society in the 19th century.
It also emphasizes the need for new uses in the public and internal areas of the Museum, with and without cultural assets present, such as a lecture hall, educational workshops, a shop, and a cafeteria, as well as the expansion of the temporary exhibition hall, restoration workshops, library, and cultural asset storage areas, among others.
Works at the Archaeological Museum of Seville
Minister Del Pozo and Minister Urtasun have also visited the works that the Ministry of Culture is carrying out at the Archaeological Museum of Seville, following the complete evacuation of the collections and the creation and establishment of a second venue for it at the Cultural Heritage Logistics Center of Andalusia, located in San José de la Rinconada (Seville), both operations funded by the Government.
The works began in 2023 and will involve a total investment of 33.7 million euros, of which six have already been executed, almost 20% of the budget. The works aim to carry out a comprehensive adaptation of the museum. The objective of this intervention is the rehabilitation of the historic building, with a modernization of the facilities, an improvement in its exhibition narrative, and a transformation of the spaces for public reception and circulation. With all these actions, the goal is to make it a museum that meets current demands and needs, making it inclusive and responsive to all citizens.
Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has emphasized «the importance of collaboration between institutions to carry out a project of the magnitude of the rehabilitation of the Archaeological Museum of Seville, located in the former Pavilion of Fine Arts of the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929. The recovery of the values of the building designed by Aníbal González will undoubtedly be one of the great attractions of the centenary of that event that changed Seville in the 20th century.»
Thanks to this intervention, as stated by the Minister of Culture, «the museum will be able to adequately display its splendid permanent collection and open up to the beautiful surroundings of María Luisa Park. This is an essential action to preserve the heritage values of the building and respond to the contemporary standards of a museum of the 21st century.» Additionally, Urtasun added that this «is further evidence of the firm commitment of the Ministry of Culture to Seville, Andalusia, and its cultural heritage.»
The building housing the Archaeological Museum of Seville was constructed for the Ibero-American Exhibition of 1929 in the surroundings of María Luisa Park. In 1942, the valuable archaeological collections were moved to the building from the former Convent of La Merced. Over the years, the collections expanded with new pieces, leading to various interventions in the second half of the 20th century to adapt, expand, repair, and modernize the building as required by the institution’s needs.
The current works aim to undo the successive partial additions made to the building and carry out a comprehensive intervention that fully prepares it to adequately display its permanent collection, as well as open the building to the surroundings of María Luisa Park.
