There is already smoke at the Guggenheim Bilbao. Miren Arzalluz is the person chosen to take the reins of the museum and to replace Juan Ignacio Vidarte, who has been in charge of the museum for 27 years, as many as the art gallery that transformed the entire urban planning of Bilbao and the entire tourism sector. Euskadi. The decision was announced this Tuesday after the extraordinary meeting of the museum’s board of trustees attended by Lehendalari Imanol Pradales and the first vice-lehendakari and Minister of Culture and Linguistic Policy, Ibone Bengoetxea. Miren Arzalluz has been chosen in a process of electing candidates at an international level, but from the first moment the name of the daughter of Xabier Arzalluz, who was president of the PNV, has been mentioned in all the pools.
The Board of Trustees argued the choice of Miren Arzalluz (Bilbao, 1978), based on her “experience and international recognition” in the field of cultural institutions, “her long-term commitment to the project, her vision aligned with the Museum’s mission to serve as a key element in the country’s transformation strategy, and its sensitivity to the diverse cultural contexts in which the Museum operates with the capacity to integrate local and global values.”
Currently director of the Paris Fashion Museum–Palais Galliera, she joins the Guggenheim with a “proven track record leading internationally prestigious organizations in the field of culture, providing deep knowledge of the history of art, museums and research, combined with extensive experience in institutional management and international relations,” they have pointed out from the Guggenheim.
The replacement will officially take place on April 1, 2025, although the appointment will be effective one month before. Throughout these four weeks, she will carry out an immersion process in the Guggenheim museums in Bilbao and New York, living with Juan Ignacio Vidarte, until April 1, the date on which she will assume the position of general director with full responsibilities. As planned, Vidarte will continue to be linked to the art gallery, in principle as director emeritus, and to the Guggenheim Foundation in international initiatives of a strategic nature.
In the selection process, a total of 79 professionals were considered, but Miren Arzalluz is the one who adjusted to the profile that was sought: “Great knowledge of art and the functioning of museums, proven management and planning skills within this field and international level, leadership capacity and experience in fundraising and audience development, communicative competence in different languages, high training and qualification in matters related to the museum world and knowledge of the institutional reality and sociocultural context of the Museum, among others. issues.”
Doctor in History from the University of Deusto, Master in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, and Master in Comparative Politics from the London School of Economics in London, Miren Arzalluz has led over the last six years the Palais Galliera. Knowledgeable about the current Basque cultural scene, Miren Arzalluz is a member of the Artistic Advisory Committee of the Museum of Fine Arts of Bilbao and prior to her stay in Paris she directed the Etxepare Euskal Institutua, a public entity dependent on the Basque Government that works to promote the visibility of culture and contemporary Basque creation at an international level. She has also curated exhibitions in different countries around the world and for five years was chief curator of the Balenciaga Foundation and Museum, in charge of exhibitions and the collection.
The new director will have to face, among other issues, the expansion of the art gallery with a second headquarters, planned between Gernika and Murueta, and which, for the moment, is up in the air, after opening the institutions and the board itself for a period of reflection. about the project and with several demands admitted to the National Court. Vidarte has been one of the main supporters of the need for the second headquarters and the Urdaibai reserve as an ideal location and has defended from the beginning that the construction would not alter the environment of the area. In fact, when the first idea of building the second headquarters in the building of the former BBK colonies in Sukarrieta was abandoned, it was Vidarte himself who opted for Gernika and Murueta.
The departure of Vidarte marks the beginning of a new stage in the art gallery, which is consolidated as a point of reference among museums throughout the State and as a strong tourist attraction pole, with a number of visitors that is around the average of the million every year. The latest data for this summer indicate that between June and August a total of 473,493 visitors visited the museum, the second best summer in its history. In the annual cumulative figure as of August 31, 2024, the Guggenheim counted 894,040 visitors, in line with last year and 7% higher than in 2018, the most successful year before the pandemic.
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