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The Museum of Fine Arts in Seville begins its long-awaited expansion.
The expansion project for the Museum of Fine Arts has been pending for approximately two decades due to a lack of agreement between the State, the museum's owner, and the Regional Government of Andalusia. On July 7, the triumvirate of key figures from the Seville museum announced that everything is ready to take the next step and incorporate the Monsalves Palace and the former public library on Alfonso XII Street.
The other major benefit of this expansion will be how the museum's usable area will increase from 5,937 square meters to 13,526. The bidding process for the architectural and museological project will begin in the coming months, with funds already committed by the Ministry of Culture.
The Regional Government has completed a comprehensive Museological Plan that encompasses institutional, architectural, collection, and exhibition programs. At this stage, it is essential to hold in-person meetings with the Ministry to present the plan and advance its joint development.
The future Museum of Fine Arts of Seville.
The idea of expanding the Museum of Fine Arts to the Monsalves Palace began to take shape in 2000. This historic building, located very close to the former Merced convent, was once considered as a possible home for the Bellver collection, which was eventually installed in the Casa Fabiola. Both government agencies and cultural stakeholders have agreed in identifying this palace—along with the adjacent building of the former provincial library on Alfonso XII Street—as the natural extension of the museum, the space toward which its growth should be projected.
With this project, expected to be completed by 2035, it will become the second most important art gallery in Spain, while the Museum of Fine Arts will enjoy a significant expansion of both its public and internal spaces, regardless of whether they house cultural assets. The new areas include an auditorium, educational workshops, a shop, a cafeteria, and other complementary services.
Furthermore, the expansion will allow for the creation of new rooms for temporary exhibitions, the improvement of the restoration workshops, the expansion of the library, and the strengthening of the cultural heritage reserve and conservation areas, among other specialized spaces. At the same time, the new museological plan includes a redesign of the current building with the aim of offering a coherent and unified vision of the museum as a whole.
