José Luis de Vicente leaves the direction of the Design Museum

BarcelonaThe curator and cultural researcher José Luis de Vicente (Granada, 1973) leaves the direction of the Barcelona Design Museum two and a half years after his appointment, according to the The Punt Avui and ARA has been able to confirm from municipal sources, which indicate that De Vicente is leaving the position "to pursue new professional challenges." According to the same sources, a competition is planned to replace him. "It's been two exciting years. We've done so many things and opened up many avenues. And now I have new projects and offers that I'm eager to tackle and that keep me between Barcelona and beyond," De Vicente explains to ARA. "I think that now, with the opening of the Parc des Glòries, the center has everything it needs to begin a new era of connecting with the city in new ways," he adds.

The first two of these projects will be released the week leading up to the Venice Architecture Biennale: The Storm: Vernacular Geoengineering Architectures, conceived jointly with architect Eva Franch, and will be the curator, along with Francesca Bria, of the symposium Archipelago Futuras organized by the New European Bauhaus at Tba21's Ocean Space. And at the end of the month, he will begin teaching in New York.

Later on, De Vicente plans to launch a Europe-wide "platform," partly based in Barcelona, ​​about which he will provide more details later. "The cultural, design, architectural, and arts communities can play a role, and have a role, in European innovation policy. At this critical moment in Europe, when we are seeking to close the innovation gap with the United States and China, the instrumental relationship with cultural communities as innovation communities is a source of enormous potential," he warns.

De Vicente took over as director of the facility after winning a public competition held by Icub (Barcelona Institute of Culture), replacing Pilar Vélez. Of his project, the jury highlighted "the definition of a strategic framework that stands out for its commitment to new formats and platforms that provide a boost of innovation and experimentation and that is very well positioned in the current international context"; and that the project took into account "diverse groups, as well as neighborhood entities." "This is a project that embodies the excitement, emotion, and desire for a new era for the Barcelona Design Museum, in which the facility must play a coordinating role with the cultural and artistic fabric of the city, within the framework of the new cultural centrality represented by Plaça de les Glòries," stated the minutes. "We have done so many things," emphasizes De Vicente. During his tenure, he has opened a new laboratory space and a shop and launched formats such as the DHub Marathon, which has become a snapshot of the sector.

A shift in the museum's line

The choice of De Vicente marked a shift in the heritage-based approach Pilar Vélez gave to the center. However, at the same time, De Vicente's profile fits with the initial vision envisioned for the center before its opening, led by Ramon Prat, which was later abandoned following a political change in Barcelona City Council.

During De Vicente's tenure, some of the center's most successful temporary exhibitions have been seen, includingThe ocean speaksandVinçon/Ikea. 100 Ikea items we wish we had in Vinçon. Matter matters undertook an ambitious renovation of the center's long-term exhibitions that raised a storm. Even so, it doesn't seem that the controversy influenced De Vicente's decision: "I think the fantastic reception it has had Matter matters It explains everything. The exhibition has resonated with many people who have understood that the exhibition represents a 21st-century vision of how a museum operates from its collection by building many sources. Both the curator, Olga Subirós, and the head of the museum's collections, Teresa Bastardes, and myself, are very pleased with the reception of Matter matters", he says.

Since it began operating, the Glòries facility has had a two-headed management: in February of last year, the Councilor for Culture, Xavier Marcé, announced the creation within the Icub of the new Directorate of Cultural Industries, which was headed by Mireia Escobar as the center's executive director and De Vicente assumed the artistic direction to carry out a coherent program between the Design Museum and the Dhub. However, the Dhub ecosystem is complex, because it is not a center like the others in the city, because it depends on a constellation of forces of organized elements. It is a complex facility humanly, it requires coordination directly from La Virreina and the Icub at very different levels. This is an important part of the day-to-day work, and now I have the opportunity to focus on specific projects very focused on the creative and curatorial dimension, and I was really looking forward to it," he explains.