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| Image taken from the website of MAAT. |
I am still amazed at the
way the recently inaugurated MAAT - Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology,
designed by Amanda Levete, is integrated into the landscape. When I approach
that area or when I cross the bridge from Lisbon, I always expect to see a huge
building overlapping or hiding the Central Tejo power plant. But no... The
Central Tejo still emerges majestically and the new building stands at its side
as a smooth and fluid note.
My first contact with
the new museum was back in June. In fact, it was the reopening of the
"old" museum (Museum of Electricity in Central Tejo), after its renovation,
and the MAAT brand was launched. Afterwards, I followed the campaign for the
inauguration of the new building and I read some interviews of the museum director,
Pedro Gadanho, thus forming an initial opinion / expectation. The various
criticisms that arose with the opening of the building, as well as some discussions
with colleagues, brought me more "food for thought", just like my
first visit to the new building.
The opinion of
Pedro-Manuel Cardoso, "MAAT: an architectural project devoid of a heritage
project", presented in three parts in the list Museum (first, second, third part, in portuguese) brought me, as it is almost always the case with this colleague,
new points of view or, rather, obliged me to consider those points of view that
do not, usually, come first in my line of thinking. Very briefly, PMC questions
the design of the building and the advertised content of the new museum and
considers that neither one nor the other allow to create a differentiation in
relation to what is seen in many other cities. Also, he believes that they do not
add anything to the understanding of Portugal and the project as a whole is
characterised “by the absence of a heritage project which could be relevant for
a specifically Portuguese Culture. Built on one of the best sites for the
dissemination of Portuguese culture 'to the world that visits us' in this case
because of the scenic beauty of the Tagus estuary. "
These concerns seem legitimate,
but I do not share them. The new building of MAAT is a work of the 21st
century, such as the Central Tejo is an industrial building of the 20th
century (and from this point of view, identical or similar to many other power
plants in Europe). They are both buildings of their time and Lisbon is city which
alive and lived. As I had the opportunity to say, I find the integration of the
new building into the landscape beautiful and it is undoubtedly the one I like
most among those recently erected in the river area (Champalimaud Foundation, Altis
Hotel, National Museum of Coaches). With regards to the relevance the project
should have to a specifically Portuguese Culture, I find this to be a rather
restrictive expectation. Pedro Gadanho’s interviews suggest that the museum will
aim to show Portugal to the Portuguese and Portugal to the World, but also the
World to Portugal. I'll be glad to see certain exhibitions, as announced, in
the city where I live, as they will be coming to us, instead of us (those of us
who can) going to them. I'm also happy to be able to know Portuguese artists –
both known and new - in the collection of the EDP Foundation, which appears to
be a clear and firm commitment on behalf of the museum.
Pedro Gadanho’s
interview to the magazine Contemporânea (August-September 2016) reveals the role this new museum aims
assume. "I imagine a museum less expected to deal with the art field itself,
in the strictest sense - art for the sake of art, and more a museum that uses
art as an engine for public debate," said the museum director, “(...) [one
offering] not only an aesthetic contemplation, but which also takes an active
role in the production of critical thinking." Pedro Gadanho also said that
the programme will support Portuguese artists using international artists as
catalysts in order to create a platform for meetings between both realities.
And the audience, domestic or foreign, will always find two or three exhibitions
of national artists. MAAT will also create exhibitions in partnership with
foreign organisations that can itinerate, as well as displays that can exist
simultaneously in four places, built with local resources, a model that can
help overcome the economic problem of travelling exhibitions and invest in the
art rather than in transportation. The plan seems to good to me. And it also seems
to meet the environmental concerns of the the EDP Foundation.
Which brings me to
another criticism regarding the creation of the museum. In his opinion article
EDP, MAAT and social irresponsibility, José Vitor Malheiros questions the concept of the "social
responsibility" of companies, considers that this investment is made just
for propaganda purposes, it is "used frequently to try to clean the image
of polluters or to whitewash immoral tax practices", as well as to hide
"a thought according to which assisting the poor, protecting the
environment or funding culture may be seen as a benefit for the private sector
and therefore the State can discard its own responsibilities." I share JVM’s
concerns and, just like in the United Kingdom with BP funding certain cultural
organisations, I think we should all keep a critical eye on this kind of
investment. But unlike Malheiros, I do not think that this kind of investment should
not even exist or that, when it exists, it allows the state to discard its own responsibilities.
One does not exclude the other and certainly does not prevent citizens from
continuing to be demanding with the State. Samuel Rego, in response to JVM, reminds us of the lasting support of the
EDP Foundation for the National Ballet Company and the artistic creation in
general. Like Rego, I see no harm in this investment, it makes me happy, it doesn’t
make me feel that the EDP Foundation is treating me as "poor" and,
above all, it does not neutralise my critical evaluation of the performance of EDP
as a company or that of the state in the cultural sector. It is worth
remembering here another reference Pedro Gadanho made in his interview with
Contemporânea magazine: "EDP Renováveis is the third largest renewable
energy company in the world. It is a very important fact but which is little talked
about. In this sense, I like to line up these themes with those of the museum
and present the work of artists also concerned with these issues.” Again, it
seems to me to be a good plan, a good and necessary link between the positioning
of the company, the Foundation and the Museum.
All this will be put to
the test, however, from the moment the museum start working in full. There are,
however, some points about what was done or said so far on which I would like
to comment:
First of all, I do not
understand and I disagree with the latest "fashion" of inaugurating unfinished
museums. Inaugurations which obey political agendas and show no respect for the
citizens (from this point of view, I found a little unfortunate the fact that
Samuel Rego chose to remind us in his article of the inauguration of the -
still unfinished - National Museum of Coaches, which charges a ticket in order
to present an "exhibition of coaches" in a warehouse). In the case of
MAAT, I think it was, above all, an error of judgment and a consequent failure
of communication. It seems fine to open the new building of a museum for people
to get familiar with it, but not with the pomp and circumstance with which one
inaugurates a finished museum and, above all, making it very clear in the
advertising campaign that it is the opening of the building only. The
installation "Pynchon Park" in the museum’s central area is not
enough, obviously, to solve the frustration of those queued for a long time and
then came out questioning: "Is this all?".
Another issue, which
initially seemed to be well handled, is the new brand. In June, with the
reopening of Central Tejo, the MAAT brand was firmly presented. To me, the whole
complex became MAAT and everything I saw from there onwards reinforced this
image, the new identity. In a recent visit, however, I realized that the
question of identity is far from being solved internally, which is something rather
serious at this point. I was at the museum ticket desk at Central Tejo, clearly
marked as "MAAT", when I heard a member of staff explaining to two
visitors that "This is the Electricity Museum" and that MAAT (the new
building) is next door. There is still work to be done and it is fundamental.
Teams must (and deserve) to be informed, aware, confident in what they do.
Considering the investment made in communications (with regard to promotion),
it is a pity not to have given the necessary attention with regards to the internal
communication. Quite often, less investment in advertising spots and posters
and more in the adequate preparation of the Communications team brings better
results for the institution as a whole, and at all levels and points of contact
with the exterior.
I left for the end a
point that makes me think the most and which is also connected to communication:
the way the new museum (which aims to be the "engine for a public
debate" and have "an active role in the production of critical
thinking") will relate to the Portuguese, to the local community. What
worries me is that when the question is put to the museum director, he
invariably responds by mentioning the membership scheme. So Pedro Gadanho told Contemporânea magazine that the museum aims to "win a local audience and its loyalty" and
that its responsibilities "have to do with the fact if we wish to create
real access to contemporary art. " Hence the membership programme, which he
considers pioneer, designed to "create loyalty and a sense of
community." Also, in an interview with the Agenda Cultural he talked about the "responsibility
to democratize access to art, make art more understandable, more attractive for
wider audience. There is also a responsibility to help people understand that
art can bring something to everyone and that is not only a strange and very
elitist language, just for a group of connoisseurs.” Soon after, though, when
asked about how he plans to attract the Portuguese audience, Gadanho once again
answered that "(...) we have created a membership, not as a form of
economic return, but as a way to integrate people and make them feel that the
museum is theirs. Thus, through an annual symbolic price, people can bring
someone else with them, young people and children come already for free, so the
whole family can come with a membership card, which allows them to return to
this place as many times as they wish."
It will be a mistake, an
already too common mistake, to consider that the main barrier to access is the
ticket price and that relevance, the sense of community, are created with
discounts. It takes a different kind of work, it takes humility and courage (as
it was recently said at Access Culture’s annual conference), as well as an honest and genuine desire to communicate with people, for
museum professionals to be able to overcome their own psychological taboos and
communicate in a simple, engaging and relevant way with people with different
backgrounds and kinds of knowledge. The way to make the connection between what
is being proposed by an artist or an exhibition and the lives of the
inhabitants of this city, as well as all other visitors, will be a key issue.
The language (usually "strange and very elitist," as Gadanho says)
can be (and usually is) the first barrier. More than thinking that the
Education Department will solve it afterwards, because it will "explain"
to those who do not understand (another common mistake and a very narrow view
of the role of the education service in a cultural organisation), there will be
a need to communicate at all levels (from the website to the promotional
materials to information available in the exhibition itself) in a clear and
understandable way, with relevant content. The first temporary exhibitions at
the Central Tejo show no indication that this is the intention of the museum.
If the wish to make this museum an engine for public debate and an active agent
in the production of critical thinking, also for those who enjoy television and
football, is genuine, the course to take will have to be quite different.
I´ll be waiting for the
next steps with renewed expectations.
Read also:
Maria Isabel Roque, MAAT, a montanha e o rato
Ana Carvalho, Museus e Pessoas: Pedro Gadanho. In Boletim ICOM Portugal, série III, n.º 6, Maio 2016
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