About Cultural Policy

Modern art was not encouraged at its beginnings in Spain; The Franquist re-gime hurt this situation even more by being overtly hostile to artists and especially to avant-garde work. On the other hand, after the death of the dictator and with the arrival of democracy, the Spanish government and the autonomous regions implemented an ambitious cultural policy so that democratic Spain could reappropriate its contemporary patrimony rejected by Franquism. These booming endeavors and in particular the creation of many contemporary art museums highlight the importance of Spanish cultural decentralization. The national museum, Queen Sofia, is discussed in particular; the author of this article is its present director. All this cultural effervescence is part and parcel of Spanish democracy.