Contemporary art galleries and artists lock themselves in 4 Spanish museums to protest reduced VAT

The National Association of Contemporary Art Galleries has called a new protest for this Friday, February 20 in order to claim a VAT reduction for sales of works of art, antiques and collectibles, similar to what countries such as France, Italy, Germany or Portugal have.

Thus, gallery owners and artists from all over Spain will lock themselves in museums throughout the country. The concentration will take place simultaneously in different museum institutions, encompassing a national mobilization with representation in CAAC (Seville), IVAM (Valencia), MACBA (Barcelona) and MNCARS (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid).

Thus, in Seville the protest will begin at 6:00 p.m., in Valencia and Barcelona at 5:00 p.m. and in Madrid at 7:00 p.m.

“We lock ourselves in to claim that we are not asking for privileges, we are asking for equality. And to remember that there are no museums without art, no country without artists or heritage,” they defend.

After the interruption of its activity on February 7, the association explains that “the response of the institutions has been silence.”

“Neither the Ministry of Culture nor the Ministry of Finance, organizations responsible for our claim, have made any contact, ignoring an unsustainable reality.“they explain in a statement.

In Spain, the VAT on these purchases is 21%, while other sectors and countries have lower taxes. For example, in Portugal it is 6%, in France it is 5.5% and in Italy it is 5%. “The art galleries of Spain are still suffocated,” they explain.