The Secretary of State for Culture, Jordi Martí has reiterated this Friday at Arco 2025 that the Ministry of Culture is “totally in favor” to lower the 21 percent VAT In contemporary art purchases.
Precisely, the 71 Spanish galleries present at the Contemporary Art Fair held in IFEMA MADRID until this Sunday, March 9, their lights went out on Wednesday for ten minutes in a sign of Protest for 21% VAT and asked that this tax be reduced minimum to 10 percent.
“With this blackout we want to make visible the discrimination we suffer by not being able to apply a small VATas the rest of the professional distributors from other areas of culture and galleries in numerous European countries, present these days in Arco and in all those international fairs that take place this week in Madrid, “said the entity.
At 12.30 pm on March 5, a message for megaphony repeated up to three occasions that was the scheduled time to start the action. The contemporary art galleries consortium points out that reducing cultural VAT is an “essential” step to reinforce the international presence of artists, increase the competitiveness of galleries and democratize access to contemporary creation.
From the entity they recognize Europa Press that The goal is to at least reduce 10 percent cultural VAT, to match cinema, music or theater.
Urtasun supports the measure but points to the Treasury
For their part, Fuentes de Cultura assured Europa Press that the department maintains the same position that Minister Ernest Urtasun expressed a year ago, when he pointed out that the measure was “extremely positive” and positioned himself in favor of the sector, and add that it is an issue that “depends on the Ministry of Finance.”
“At the moment, we do not have a reduced VAT for the purchase of contemporary art as other European Union countries have. And I have transferred that I am sensitive to this claim and the commitment of this ministry to see with the Treasury how we can advance in that direction, “Urtasun explained a year ago in statements to journalists at the headquarters of their department after meeting with the contemporary art galleries consortium.
“We will always lag behind”
The blackout initiative was intended to show that, while Spanish galleries have their lights off, the rest of international spaces continue to be illuminated and “full of activity”, as those responsible for several Spanish galleries have commented. Among the galleries that turned off their lights is that of Leandro Navarro, which houses a painting by Joan Miró that reaches 1.6 million euros.
Its director Iñigo Navarro said that in neighboring countries, such as France or Germany, VAT is below 7 percent. “We are at a disadvantage with neighboring countries. We are clearly offside. Here many European galleries with Spanish artists come and their paintings have a much lower tax than ours, which makes it difficult for us to carry out projects, ”he laments.
Navarro points out that for people it is very easy to go to France or Germany to buy art and that harms Spanish artists because “they have less visibility.” “If what we want is an equal market or serve us or we will always lag behind,” he said. We hope there is sensitivity towards ours, which sometimes costs a lot to see it, but in the end the art world is the culture and voice of a country. They can’t be relegating us continuously. ”
María Jesús Montero, the “enemy” of all
Another of the galleries that participates in Arco 2025 is Freijo Gallery, which contains the work ‘7,291’, alluding to the relatives platform of deceased in the residences of the Community of Madrid during the pandemic. The director of this gallery, Angustias Freijo said that the Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, is the “enemy” of all. “It is the enemy of the Minister of Culture, Museums, Collectors and of course artists“He stressed.
The action, as Freijo commented, covered the entire sector of contemporary art, which he praised because “it is each time a more serious fabric.” “We all fight much for the sector, ”
In turn, she thanked the director of Arco, Maribel López, to allow this action to be carried out. “It understands us very well and supports us. Without it we couldn’t make the blackout“He said.
Finally, Guillermo de Osma, director of the homonymous gallery, claimed a “much more sensitive” administration to the situation that artists and industry in general live.
“Seeing Spanish artists outside our border is not easy today. And that, obviously, has to do with market and collecting agility“He said.