The Minister of Culture, Pedro Adão e Silva, revealed today, in a press conference, that in April, "the courts notified the CCB that the terms of the arrest that were in force when there was lending [with José Berardo] were maintained, and the State will continue to have the responsibility of showcasing the Berardo collection, ensuring its safety, preservation, and public enjoyment."
The works from the Berardo Collection have been detained by the courts since July 2019, following a process brought in court by Novo Banco, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and BCP, to recover a debt of around 1,000 million euros.
Pedro Adão e Silva recalled that he denounced, a year ago, the lending agreement between the Associação Coleção Berrado, the Fundação CCB and the Ministry of Culture, followed by the extinction of the Fundação de Arte Moderna e Contemporânea Coleção Berardo, "and the CCB was finally able to take back possession of a space that is his."
At the press conference, the Minister of Culture also recalled that "an action is taking place in the courts, in which the State is not a party, between three banks and the universe of businessman José Berardo". "When this process ends, we will be available to negotiate with whoever is the legitimate owner. Until then, we assume responsibility for preservation and security, but also for public enjoyment [of the Berardo Collection]", reiterated Adão e Silva.
According to the minister, who spoke in the presence of the CCB administration, chaired by Elísio Summavielle, MAC-CCB will open on October 28th with a new "expository speech", which will also include works from the Teixeira de Freitas Collection and the Ellipse Collection , acquired by the State in 2022.
"We are in an advanced phase of negotiation and understanding to receive the Teixeira de Freitas Collection in deposit at the CCB and also the Ellipse Collection, which will allow, at the end of October, to open a new museum here with an exhibition discourse with all these collections, maintaining the identity of each one of them", said Pedro Adão e Silva.
For the Minister of Culture, "the acquisitions only make sense to give visibility, to, on the one hand, correct a historical void, which is the absence of a true public collection of contemporary art, a symptom of the country's impoverishment, and also to create effective conditions for what is ours to be seen by everyone", he stated, recalling the circulation of the State's Contemporary Art Collection (CACE), through the current exhibitions in Côa and Castelo Branco.
Pedro Adão e Silva believes that, after a transition phase, at the end of October, a new phase will begin in the CCB's 30 years of existence: "It will be a great moment in which we will have a contemporary art museum with a European profile in Lisbon, and which will allow integration and dialogue between the exhibition center, the concert halls and the Garagem Sul [with architectural exhibitions].
Asked about launching a competition for the museum's management, the minister said that this decision was up to the CCB administration. At the end of the press conference, the president of the cultural center, Elísio Summavielle, indicated that "the terms of the application are being finalized" to open the competition for the artistic director, who will jointly lead the museum and Garagem Sul.
"The 'open call' for the competition will be opened as soon as possible", indicated the president of the CCB, predicting this week.