Slovakia will have its own national museum of modern art by 2014 by expanding the Danubiana Museum of Modern Art in Čunovo, near Bratislava, said Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer a press conference on December 19, the TASR newswire reported. Krajcer said the new institution should become a venue for fine and visual art exhibitions, a library and documentary centre.
The project will be overseen by the Slovak Centre of Visual Art, a civic association that will be financed by the Danubiana Museum and the Culture Ministry. The ministry has secured €7 million from the state budget for the project. Earlier reports noted that the Danubiana was in serious financial trouble and probably would not survive without state support.
"We've agreed that we'll carry out the expansion along with this private partner [Danubiana]," Krajcer told TASR. According to the agreement, the two partners will run the museum together for 20 years and then Danubiana will become fully-owned by the state, including all the pieces of art acquired.
Krajcer said the current head of the Danubiana museum, Vincent Polakovič, will be the first director of the new jointly-run museum.
Public procurement for construction work on the project should be carried out next year and the work itself could be launched in 2013. "If everything goes well, the construction work should be completed by the end of 2013," Polakovič said, adding that the new national museum of modern art should open in 2014.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
