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Malaga's cultural influence in Spain and beyond bounced back last year. After a couple of years of only making fifth place among the leading cities for culture in Spain, the capital of the Costa del Sol climbed one place in 2024 to stand in fourth place nationally, only surpassed by Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao, thus placing it next to its best ranking ever, which was the bronze medal achieved in 2021 that it shared with Valencia, now left behind by Malaga.
This change in Malaga's fortunes was recognised on Wednesday at the Albéniz cinema with the presentation for the first time in public of the Observatorio de la Cultura, the annual report prepared by the Madrid-based cultural non-profit organisation, Fundación Contemporánea, in partnership with La Fábrica. This report serves as a thermometer of the best cultural attractions in Spain, be they a museum, a theatre, some music event, cinema or even a monument.
With the presence of leaders and decision-makers working in the arts and culture (and politics) from all over the country, this event highlighted the fact that Malaga's bounce-back to fourth place is evidenced by its leading institutions, which continue to be among the most highly valued in Spain and the region of Andalucía.
In 2023 the Picasso Museum (MPM) became the cultural flagship of the region with its great temporary exhibitions commemorating the 50th anniversary of Picasso's death and the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of the art gallery itself.
By 2024 it was the turn of the Malaga Festival, whose commitment to Spanish-language cinema has already topped the list of Andalusian initiatives in previous years, to restore Malaga to the top ranks.
1. Prado Museum (Madrid)
2. Reina Sofía Museum (Madrid)
3. San Sebastian Film Festival
4. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
5. Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum (art museum, Madrid)
6. CCCB of Barcelona (a contemporary arts and culture centre)
7. CaixaForum (a network of cultural and educational centres across several Spanish cities)
8. Teatro Real (opera house in Madrid)
9. Fundación Juan March (art museum, Madrid)
10. (Tied) Malaga Festival (film) and Arco (annual contemporary art fair in Madrid running since 1982)
The Malaga Festival of film, which will hold its 28th edition in March, holds top spot at regional level and enters the national top ten by climbing four places to be in tenth position, tied with the contemporary art fair in Madrid known as Arco.
For this reason, the president of the Fundación Contemporánea and La Fábrica, Alberto Fesser, presented Malaga Festival's director, Juan Antonio Vigar, with the cultural award for Andalucía. First place at the national level once again goes to the Museo Nacional del Prado, followed by the Museo Reina Sofía in second and the San Sebastián Festival in third, followed by the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid.
In the national list the Picasso Museum (MPM) also features high up in the listings in 20th position. That is a gain of one place, tying with the Centro Botín in Santander and Chillida Leku. At regional level the MPM confirms its leadership among Andalucía's primary art galleries by taking second place behind the Malaga Festival. The province's presence in the national list is completed by the Pompidou Centre, which occupies 49th position, third place in Andalucía's list, meaning that the three main cultural offerings in the region are all from Malaga province alone.
Among the main initiatives valued at national level, Genalguacil Pueblo Museo (a village in the Serranía de Ronda with a contemporary art museum and dozens of street art on display) also repeats its previous success and even climbs up to 80th position from 94th, tying with the Sitges Festival, while La Térmica also sees a rise, reaching 87th position having also come from tying at 94th. In the regional ranking the list is completed by the Russian Museum (9th), the Carmen Thyssen Museum (11th), the Soho Caixabank Theatre and the Cervantes Theatre (both tied at 12th) and the town of Villanueva del Rosario (14th) with its initiative of galleries and artistic residencies (and one of the few rural culture proposals in this ranking).
The Fundación Contemporánea's 2024 report has been drawn up with the participation of 461 experts and leaders in the world of art and culture, whose votes have been used to draw up this list of the most interesting sights and events of the past year in Spain. A list in which the votes from each region must be endorsed by the rest of the panelists around the country in order to be included in the Observatory of Culture, as confirmed by Alberto Fesser.
One of the new elements in this review was to ask about heritage, a value that does not usually feature in this annual report as it tends to assess mostly the country's contemporary cultural offerings. In this section, Granada and Cordoba are the undisputed treasures of Andalucía with the Alhambra and the Mezquita respectively, although Malaga achieves third place with its Alcazaba-Gibralfaro Castle and grounds, which is the most visited monument in the province (nearly 2.5 million people a year step through its medieval walls).
"Together with the Roman Theatre and the Arab wall, we have a place of [historical] significance in the heart of the city centre, and that is what the visitors who come to Malaga are looking for", said Susana Martín, director-general for culture with Malaga city council. In the recent debate on the touristification and saturation of the city's monuments, she stated that "there are not too many visitors", although she advocated "working on better management so that the public leaves happy."
The event to celebrate Malaga's cultural achievements featured performances by the innovative violinist Luz Prado, flamenco singer Rocío López 'La Boterita' and the guitarist Rubén Portillo. Following this touch of flamenco to the proceedings, the presentation event closed with speeches from the various insitutions involved in these activities. President of Malaga's provincial council (Diputación) Francisco Salado gave his congratulations on the province's rise in the national ranking and emphasised the take-off in popularity of the La Térmica contemporary culture centre, which "encourages us to continue working."
In turn, Malaga's mayor Francisco de la Torre also referred to the "stimulus" that this cultural barometer represents for Malaga, with the newly-earned badge of cultural honour of Andalucía for his city's film festival and the excellent position in the ranking of the Pompidou Centre at Muelle Uno, which was the first centre to set up outside of France, "after which came Shanghai and Brussels", he said pointedly. Before this gathering of cultural and political dignitaries, the mayor did not want to miss the opportunity to make his case for his city for the outstanding funding issue surrounding the Auditorio de la Música (Malaga's new 1,700-seat music auditorium).
He mentioned that the Cervantes Theatre "is too small for us" and, despite the support of the Junta de Andalucía and the Diputación for central funding to be forthcoming, "we are left with the Ministry of Culture and we hope that it will realise that it is appropriate to do so." Currently the Ministry's contribution from Madrid will represent 20% of the investment compared to other projects of this type that it has financed 100%.
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