The Department of Culture promotes the National Collection with almost 5 million euros in acquisitions in 2025

The Department of Culture has allocated almost 5 million euros in 2025 —specifically 4,891,744 euros— to the acquisition of assets for the National Collection, a figure that represents an increase of more than 1.3 million euros compared to the previous year. This increase consolidates the policy of strengthening and expanding the public cultural heritage of Catalonia, with the aim of completing and enriching the funds that are made available to citizens in archives, libraries and museums throughout the territory.

During this year, 636 acquisitions have been made, which have allowed a total of 344,881 works and collections to be incorporated into the National Collection. To these purchases are added 232 works from donations and 58 by donation, which further expands the size of the incorporated heritage. If these data are compared with those of 2024, when 431 acquisitions and 23,090 works were registered, the increase is particularly significant both in terms of the volume and diversity of the materials incorporated.

The Minister of Culture, Sònia Hernández, highlighted that these acquisitions allow for “the National Collection to be completed”, which she defined as a shared heritage that “affirms identity, preserves memory and guarantees the cultural continuity of the country”. She also highlighted the importance of consolidating its social use and guaranteeing its accessibility, understanding it as a fundamental cultural right of citizens.

Among the most relevant additions of the year is the Forvm Photography Collection, made up of some 1,700 images by 356 international authors, with names such as Agustí Centelles, Colita, Joan Colom and Hannah Collins. This collection, acquired partly by purchase and partly by donation, reinforces the historical and artistic story of contemporary photography and the second half of the 20th century.

Also particularly significant is the entry of the Pau Casals Fund, deposited in the National Archives of Catalonia, which brings together 182 documents and 20 images of the composer's family correspondence. This incorporation acquires an added symbolic value in the context of the 150th anniversary of his birth, reinforcing the universal dimension of his figure within Catalan culture.

In the heritage field, the daguerreotype Casa Vidal Quadras i Muralla de Mar, dated 1848, stands out, an exceptional piece that shows the city of Barcelona before major urban transformations. It is the first daguerreotype of this nature known in the Iberian Peninsula and has been deposited in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya along with other photographic materials from the 19th century.

The National Collection of Contemporary Art has also been expanded with 46 works by 40 artists from different generations and disciplines. This collection includes established creators, mid-career artists and new contemporary voices. Among the names represented are Antoni Muntadas, Joan Fontcuberta, Nazario, Pep Duran, Eva Fàbregas and Paula Artés, among many others. More than half of the acquisitions have been made in galleries, while the rest come directly from artists or their heirs, which reinforces the institutional role of the Collection as an agent of artistic recognition and projection.

The acquisitions in contemporary art also allow us to build a more complete account of current Catalan creation, incorporating both consolidated figures and emerging creators who work with new languages. This line is complemented by the Postwar Art and Second Avant-gardes line, created in 2023, which has allowed us to incorporate 43 works by 28 artists from the second half of the 20th century, with names such as Antoni Clavé, Modest Cuixart or Albert Ràfols Casamada, among others.

In parallel, the comics and illustration line has selected 19 acquisitions, totaling 240 objects, with an investment of nearly 160,000 euros. This public call, open to professionals, galleries and individuals, consolidates this creative field within the National Collection and reinforces its institutional presence.

Photography has also played a prominent role in this year's acquisitions. 25 projects have been selected from 116 proposals submitted, with an investment of over 359,000 euros. The works included range from daguerreotypes and historical techniques to contemporary documentary photography, with themes that address memory, exile, social movements, territory or the relationships between landscape and society. Among the notable projects are Espe Pons' Flucht, Maria Espeus' Hola! Barcelona series and several works by Salvi Danés focused on memory and social ties.

Finally, these acquisitions are distributed in a dozen museums and centers throughout the country, which reinforces the territorial dimension of the National Collection and guarantees public access to the heritage. Overall, the 2025 acquisitions program consolidates a strategy of sustained growth based on disciplinary diversity, the preservation of memory and the contemporary projection of Catalan cultural heritage.