Montjuïc’s cultural footprint to be expanded under new plan

The pavilions of Fira de Barcelona at the foot of Montjuïc mountain are to become museums, according to the government’s new museum plan presented yesterday by the culture department at MNAC. The Victòria Eugènia building will become an extension of MNAC, while the Alfons XIII building will become Catalonia’s new National History Museum, the result of a merger between the national museums of history and archaeology. Thus the two palaces will join the cultural complex at the foot of Montjuïc, which now includes MNAC, CaixaForum and the Mies van der Rohe pavilion.

The plan, presented by culture minister Lluís Puig, lays out Catalonia’s policy for the development of its museum sector until 2030, although specific targets are more short-term, until 2021, with their corresponding budgets.

Among the measures included in the document, one of the largest is converting the two pavilions of Fira de Barcelona next to Montjuïc’s fountains into museums, something MNAC has called for over many years, as Catalonia’s modern art museum lacks space for its growing collection. Also, a national museum long foreseen is the Museum of Natural Sciences, which will gradually be taken over by the government from the Barcelona city council at a cost of 1.8m euros.