On Sunday, President Artur Mas inaugurated the Museum of World Cultures in the Born district of Barcelona accompanied by the Catalan Minister of Culture, Ferran Mascarell; the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias; Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor of Innovation and Creativity, Jaume Ciurana; and the Heritage Director of Barcelona’s Institute of Culture (ICUB), Josep Lluís Alay.

 

The museum, which offers a rich and diverse collection of art from African, Asian, American and Oceanic origins, is intended to show cultural variety “through the artistic experience of peoples from a multidisciplinary perspective”.

 

Aside from the educational interest it would generate, the museum is also intended as a dissemination and social projection platform which would bring together heritage and knowledge of other world cultures. As a public body, it would serve as a “space of knowledge, dialogue and debate” by displaying a wide arrange of collections open to the public.

 

During the inaugural event, the President of the Catalan Government spoke of the importance of having an understanding of the global context and defended his intention to place Catalonia on the world map, asserting “the need, the responsibility, the demand and the determination to continue our international projection which is so deeply necessary in the 21^st century”. For this reason the Chief Executive attributed the Central Government’s repeal against the Generalitat’s Foreign Action policy to a “closed and antiquated mentality” which does not correspond “to the current setting nor to the requirements of contemporary societies”.

 

The President dedicated part of his speech to thank the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias, and the Barcelona City Council, for this new addition to the city and affirmed that the museum was “yet another indication of Catalonia’s will have a global perspective and to project itself abroad”.

 

“If there was ever a place to have a Museum of World Cultures, it would be in a global city like Barcelona” affirmed the President, as he referred to it as a “great capital”, “a symbol of pride for all Catalans” and the “best territorial representation of Southern Europe”. The President also asserted that it “makes sense” that Catalonia and Barcelona should host a Museum of such characteristics, because “our country is richly diverse and is made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds”, celebrated Artur Mas.