Art galleries will close between February 2 and 7 due to “the lack of response from the Government” regarding a reduced VAT

The Consortium of Contemporary Art Galleries announced this Friday that Spanish galleries will interrupt their activity closing its doors from February 2 to 7 due to “paralysis and lack of response” by the Government on a VAT reduction for sales of works of art, antiques and collectibles, similar to what countries such as France, Italy, Germany or Portugal have. “The largest museum in Spain is closing”, they assert.

This has been made known by the board of directors of the Consortium – to which nearly 120 galleries belong – in a statement in which, in addition, they advance that they will cease “all free collaboration” with public and private institutions in Spain for a period of three months.

The Ministry of Culture knows “the demand of the sector” and shares it, as sources from the department headed by Ernest Urtasun have explained to Europa Press, but they remember that “it depends” on the Ministry of Finance, to whom they have “transferred the request on more than one occasion.”

“We will stop carrying out all those procedures that we usually carry out without charge to the institutions, such as: locating collectors for loans, delivery of graphic material, archive search, transportation management and coordination, assembly advice, etc.”, adds the Consortium.

These strikes in their activity, which they defend that it is “essential for society” because it offers free and constant access to culture, come because they have been “forced” to take measures since the situation is “seriously threatening the sustainability of the work of artists and galleries.”

“The lack of action on the part of the Government towards the adoption of a cultural VAT as all European countries around us have doneis being extraordinarily detrimental to contemporary art in Spain since it undermines the competitiveness of Spanish art galleries by practically making their work to defend, support, promote and internationalize the work of our artists is unviable“, they reiterate.

This decision comes after on December 10, both the Consortium and Art Barcelona, ​​Arte Madrid, AGACC Cantabria, AGAS Sevilla, Art Palma Contemporani, CONTEMPORANEA Galicia, LAVAC and more than 1,000 Spanish visual artists read the manifesto ‘Visual Artists Spain sign Cultural VAT NOW’ in which they requested the reduction of VAT and already warned that galleries are “suffocating.”

In said document, The artists ask the Government to “immediately” transpose the European Directive and reduce VAT to figures similar to the European environment, which is between 5% and 8%, and they regret that Spain “penalizes” their work with a VAT “100% higher than that applied in other Member States.”

Now, and given the lack of response, explains the Consortium, they reiterate that these spaces remain “the great forgotten of cultural policies“and they claim that they are at a disadvantage compared to sectors such as music, performing arts or cinema.

“This situation is unfair and unsustainableand contradicts the principles of cultural equity that should guide the action of any government committed to culture,” they continue in the statement.