Contemporary Art Centre to open in Velez-Malaga

VELEZ-MALAGA Town Hall has announced that work on the town’s Contemporary Art Centre will be completed this month and open before the end of the year.

The Contemporary Art Centre which is being built in Velez is the first one in Andalucia which is not in a provincial capital.

So far, works have taken 26 months, double what had been estimated, and are being paid by the town hall and the Junta de Andalucia Council for Culture.

The Art Centre is being built in an early 20th century building which was formerly the Presentacion School, and all that remains is to install the lift, equip it and carry out some finishing touches.

It will have seven exhibition halls, five of them permanent, as well as a book and gift shop, events hall, cafeteria and storerooms.

One of the halls will be dedicated to local philosopher Maria Zambrano and another to recently deceased painter Francisco Hernandez.

Work, which is being carried out by Constructora San Jose SA for €2.4 million, began in February 2010 and was due to take 13 months, but some details have had to been changed as work progressed.

The local mayor, Francisco Delgado, said the town hall aims to allow the Foundation for Culture Development to manage the museum, although they will also accept sponsorships.

The museum will be part of the Andalucian Museum Network, guaranteeing prestigious temporary exhibitions.