1 2 adquisiciones 3
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Annual Report 2011 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Introduction 6
Acquisitions 8
Art Program 14
Loans 18
Education 20
Visitors 30
Individual Members 32
Corporate Members 34
Special Events 36
Press 38
Store/Bookstore 41
Publications 42
Projects 43
Awards and Distinctions 44
Forums 45
VIP Visitors 46
Impact 48
RH and Quality 50
CONTENTS 6 7
Juan Ignacio Vidarte, Director General
We were very pleased to see that the museum’s year-end figures for 2011 were quite positive, despite the difficulties that we have naturally faced due to the state of affairs around the world.
One of the highlights of the year’s activity was the art program, which offered a thought-provoking exploration of art from the 20th and 21st centuries. We covered the interwar period in Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, 1918–1936; in The Luminous Interval we engaged in a profound examination of the human condition through contemporary works from the Dimitris Daskalopoulos Collection, one of the most important in the world; Painterly Abstraction, 1949–1969: Selections from the Guggenheim Collections took us on a fascinating journey through the affinities between American and European abstract painting; we witnessed an unprecedented dialogue between two great masters of modern and View of the museum’s north facade with Anish Kapoor’s Tall Tree and the Eye and Daniel Buren’s Red Arches in the background contemporary sculpture, Brancusi and Serra; and we ended the year with a new selection of pieces from the Guggenheim Bilbao Collection that illustrate the artistic debate which took place in Europe in the 1970s and 80s. One of the most significant statistical figures of 2011 was the number of visitors received—962,358 in total, representing a slight yet important increase from the previous year—with the proportion of foreign visitors stable at 62%. Meanwhile, our This year was also marked by several important additions to the collection. We acquired the installation Home (1999) by educational activities were a tremendous success in terms of both turnout and participant satisfaction, and our Individual Lebanese-born Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum and Untitled by the Colombian artist Doris Salcedo, two essential figures for and Corporate Members Programs continue to thrive, helping to support the museum’s activities and increase its financial understanding the development of sculptural and installation language since the 1980s. Another welcome newcomer was the autonomy. All of this, combined with initiatives such as the renovation and expansion of our dining services with the re-launch series of feminine portraits entitled Smiles (1994) by renowned American artist Alex Katz. Finally, an additional four works of the Bistró Guggenheim Bilbao and the opening of Nerua (an haute cuisine restaurant that has already earned its first were donated to the museum: British artist Liam Gillick’s How are you going to behave? A kitchen cat speaks (2009) and three Michelin star), has served to reinvent the museum experience, making it more enriching, varied, educational, and unique. photographs by the Madrid-based creator José Manuel Ballester entitled May 3 (3 de mayo, 2008), The Royal Palace (Palacio Real, 2009), and The Raft of the Medusa (La balsa de la Medusa, 2010) from his series Hidden Spaces (Espacios ocultos). The museum has managed to reach the end of a complicated year with very positive results. I trust that our core values of Thanks to its continued efforts to purchase representative examples of the art of our time, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao competitiveness, creativity, innovation, and research will continue to fuel our progress in the months and years to come. collection now boasts a total of 124 works by 70 different artists.
INTRODUCTION 8 9
José Manuel Ballester. The Raft of the Medusa (La Balsa de la Medusa), 2010. Photograph on canvas, 491 x 717 cm. Single edition Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
In 2011 the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao collection expanded thanks to the acquisition of Alex Katz’s series of paintings entitled Smiles (1994), the works Home (1999) by Mona Hatoum and Untitled (2008) by Doris Salcedo, as well as the donations of How are you going to behave? A kitchen cat speaks (2009) by Liam Gillick and three photographs by José Manuel Ballester from his series Hidden Spaces (Espacios ocultos). Thus, by the end of the year covered in this report, the Bilbao holdings comprised 124 works by 70 different artists, spanning the period from 1950 to the present.
The incorporation of Alex Katz’s pictorial series Smiles marks the artist’s debut in the Guggenheim Collections, where it will Alex Katz. (left to right): Ursula Smiles 2; Ada Smiles; Belinda Smiles; Yvonne Smiles; Katryn Smiles; Karen Smiles; Lauren Smiles; Lysa Smiles; Ahn Smiles; Alba Smiles; Jessica Smiles; from the series Smiles, 1993. Oil on linen, 243.8 x 182.9 cm each. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa join and reinforce the existing selection of works by American creators who began working in the late 1950s and early 1960s, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and James Rosenquist. The son of Russian immigrants, Alex Katz (New York, 1927) is one of the leading painters of his generation. With his particular approach to figuration, in a context where Abstract Expressionism still reigned supreme, Katz presaged the advent of a renewed interest in “realism” in the field of representation, even before Pop Art took off. Though he is often associated with this movement due to the fact that his work incorporates ACQUISITIONS 10 acquisitions 11
details taken from the film industry, advertising, or fashion, Katz refuses to accept this label: “Pop art is about signs, whereas I deal with symbols. Pop Art is cynical and ironic, while my work is not. Those are the differences. Pop art is modern, my work is traditional.” Many of the subjects depicted in Katz’s paintings are women. The series of works, united under the generic title Smiles, consists of eleven portraits of smiling women against a dark neutral background. To create his portraits, Katz often relies on people from his own circle of acquaintances (his wife, female friends, etc.) whom he identifies by including their first names in the titles of the canvases. In his case, the recourse to portraiture should be understood as an exercise that attempts to solve the classic “figure-ground” relationship; consequently, the portrayed subjects serve the purpose of research tools.
Mona Hatoum (Beirut, 1952) and Doris Salcedo (Bogotá, 1958) are both essential figures for understanding the development of sculptural and installation language since the 1980s. Their works reflect the adoption of a new strategy in the museum’s acquisitions policy, which aims to expand the geographic scope of the Bilbao collection beyond European and American art.
Hatoum’s work Home is a large table strewn with various kitchen utensils that are attached to each other by metal clips and wires plugged into an electrical outlet. A computer program causes the electric current to turn on several small light bulbs hidden beneath some of the objects, which shine with variable intensity and frequency, while speakers amplify the humming noise that this circuit emits. The entire installation is fenced off by a series of horizontal steel cables that separate the audience from these potentially lethal objects. Hatoum created Home in the 1990s, a critical period in her international career when museums around the world dedicated major exhibitions to her work and she was shortlisted for the prestigious Turner Prize (1995). In this piece, as in other pivotal examples from her earlier and later oeuvre, the artist creates an unsettling, threatening scene that contrasts with the habitual ideas comfort and safety that the term “home” usually evokes. Hatoum triggers an emotional response in the spectator by creating environments that are halfway between attraction and repulsion, between the familiar and the bizarre.
Doris Salcedo is the first female Latin American artist to have a work included in the collection of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Her piece Untitled belongs to the largest series she has produced to date, begun in 1989 and still in progress, in which she combines groups of old wardrobes and tables to create hybrid forms whose cavities and surfaces are partially covered with concrete. Thanks to their material qualities, the resulting forms operate as vehicles of implicit narratives, both personal and collective, and in many cases represent first-hand evidence of a real victim of the war in Colombia, as the artist has pointed out. In 2007 Salcedo exhibited a work entitled Shibboleth, a huge crack in the floor symbolizing the gap that separates the First and Third Worlds, in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern, London.
In addition to these acquisitions, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao collection also received four donations: an installation by British artist Liam Gillick and three photographs by José Manuel Ballester.
Mona Hatoum. Home, 1999. Wood, galvanized steel, stainless steel, electric wire, crocodile clips, light bulbs, computerized dimmer switch, amplifier, and speakers. 76.2 x 198.1 x 73.7 cm (table). Overall dimensions variable. Edition 1/3 + 1 AP. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Doris Salcedo. Untitled, 2008. Wood, metal, and cement, 78 x 247 x 121 cm. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa 12 acquisitions 13
José Manuel Ballester May 3 (3 de mayo), 2008 Photograph on canvas, 268 x 347 cm. Edition 1/2 + 1 AP Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
The Royal Palace (Palacio Real), 2009 Photograph on canvas, 276 x 318.4 cm. Edition 1/2 + 1 AP Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
themes and attitudes that the artist addresses in his work. Here Gillick brings to social sculpture the utopian dream of access to upscale design and the modern discourse about the inhabitable space. Inside the installation, a stuffed cat sitting on one of the cabinets talks to the audience about encounters, relationships, utopia and melancholy, dreams and disappointments, the passage of time and transformation, flooding the exhibition space and the spectator’s mind with sound.
José Manuel Ballester (Madrid, 1960), winner of the Spanish National Photography Prize in 2010, donated three large- format works to the museum: May 3 (2008), The Royal Palace (2009) and The Raft of the Medusa (2010). Thanks to his Liam Gillick. How are you going to behave? A kitchen cat speaks, 2009. Wood, lamps, stuffed cat, text, door blinds, MP3 player, dimensions variable. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa. Donated by the artist, with the generous support of the Casey Kaplan Gallery, New York, and Esther Schipper, Berlin. generosity, the Bilbao collection’s photography section has gained three creations by one of the most prominent Spanish Views and details of the installation at the Venice Biennale, 2009 artists of his generation. These works belong to the Hidden Spaces series, a reinterpretation of masterpieces of classic and modern painting which Ballester strips of all their original actions and characters in order to create a new protagonist: space itself. Some of the pieces from this series are based on famous canvases, such as Francisco de Goya’s The Third of May, Originally created for the German pavilion at the 2009 Venice Biennale, How are you going to behave? A kitchen cat speaks 1808, Velázquez’s Las Meninas, and Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa, through which Ballester is reconciled with the classics is an installation that stands out within the praxis of Liam Gillick (Aylesbury, United Kingdom, 1964), who is universally without having to forsake his own time. His particular interpretation of humankind’s struggle against time and death is one of acknowledged as one of the most important artists of his time. His artwork constitutes a new interpretation of Conceptual the leitmotifs of his oeuvre. and Minimal art, but it is just one part of his extensive, multifaceted output as a critic, writer, designer, curator, filmmaker, and artist. This installation features a series of pinewood kitchen cabinets inspired by the famous Frankfurt Kitchen, which architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky designed for a social housing project in the 1920s. The piece is a synthesis of the 14 15
permanent collection title: Painterly Abstraction, 1949–1969: Selections from the Guggenheim Collections dates: June 14, 2011–January 8, 2012 galleries: third floor curated by: Tracey R. Bashkoff and Megan Fontanella nr. of works: 71 total visitors: 635,246 (at the end of show)
temporary exhibition title: Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, Germany and Spain, 1918–1936 dates: February 22–May 15, 2011 galleries: third floor curated by: Kenneth Silver, Helen Hsu, and Vivien Greene nr. of works: 156 total visitors: 199,178 sponsored by:
Annette Messager. Dependence/Independence (Dépendance/Indépendance), 1995. Fabric, black-and-white photographs, wool, ropes, fishnet stockings, stuffed animals, nettings, plastic, and lamps. Dimensions variable. The D.Daskalopoulos Collection top: Gallery 303 during Painterly Abstraction bottom: Antonio Donghi. Circus (Circo equestre), 1927. Oil on canvas, 150 x 100 cm. Gerolamo and Roberta Etro, Milan, featured in the exhibition Chaos and Classicism This year’s art program has covered a broad spectrum of modern and contemporary art, from the art of interwar Europe page 16 top: Richard Serra. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 1987. Hot-rolled steel, eight plates, 184.8 x 400 x 5.1 cm each. Collection of the artist to the latest trends found in Dimitris Daskalopoulos’s collection. European and American paintings from the 1950s and 60s page 16 bottom: Bilbao Circle, 2000. belonging to the Permanent Collections of the Guggenheim Museums struck up a sequential dialogue with the second Richard Long. Delabole slate, diameter 1,300 cm. Guggenheim Bilbao presentation of the Bilbao Collection within the Selections series, which examines the artistic debates of the 1970s and 80s Museoa. Gerhard Richter. Seascape (Seestück), 1998. Oil on by a generation of European artists whose careers began in the late 1960s. Finally, one hundred years of sculpture, illustrated canvas, 290 x 290 cm. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa by the work of one of the field’s most celebrated pioneers, Constantin Brancusi, and one of its greatest contemporary page 17 top: Thomas Hirschhorn. Cavemanman, 2002 exponents, Richard Serra, marked the exhibitions scheduled in the final quarter of 2011.. (detail). Wood, cardboard, tape, aluminum foil, books, posters, videos, mannequins, cans, shelves, spray paint and fluorescent light fixtures, dimensions variable. D.Daskalopoulos Collection page 17 center: View of the exhibition Learning through Art, 2011 page 17 bottom: View of the exhibition Laboratories: Insights into the Permanent Collection. Aitor Ortiz, 2011 ART PROGRAM 16 art program 17
temporary exhibition title: The Luminous Interval: The D.Daskalopoulos Collection dates: April 12–September 11, 2011 galleries: 103 a, 105, and second floor curated by: Nancy Spector y Katherine Brinson nr. of works: 56 total visitors: 532.287 sponsored by:
permanent collection title: Learning through Art dates: June 14–August 28, 2011 galleries: 103 b nr. of works: 56 total visitors: 308.999 sponsored by:
permanent collection title: Laboratories: Insights into the Permanent Collection. Aitor Ortiz dates: September 13–November 13, 2011 galleries: 103 b nr of works: 4 total visitors: 162.769
temporary exhibition title: Brancusi–Serra dates: October 8, 2011–April 15, 2012 galleries: second floor curated by: Oliver Wick nr of works: 53 total visitors: 387,851 (at end of show)
permanent collection title: Selections from the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Collection II dates: November 15, 2011–November 4, 2012 galleries: 103 a and 105 curated by: Petra Joos nr of works: 8 total visitors: 104,651 (as of December 31, 2011) 18 19
Jesús Mari Lazkano The Curve of Destiny (La curva del destino), 2004 Acrylic on canvas, 300 x 500 cm Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Over the course of 2011, a total of 331 works have traveled to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao from institutions in the With regard to loan requests for items in the Bilbao Collection received from other institutions, the CAPC Musée d’art Guggenheim Network and museums such as the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, the Menil Collection and the Museum of Fine contemporain in Bordeaux requested Jesús Mari Lazkano’s The Curve of Destiny (La curva del destino, 2004) for inclusion Arts, both in Houston, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the Tate in London; in the exhibition Dystopia, held during the summer in that French city. Moreover, lenders such as the Spanish Royal Family, and from non-institutional lenders such as The D.Daskalopoulos Collection, one of the world’s most important private Tubacex, artist Anselm Kiefer, and the Carreras-Múgica Gallery have maintained their relationship with the museum through contemporary art collections, which loaned works for the exhibition The Luminous Interval that opened at the Museum in April. the long-term loan of their artwork. LOANS 20 21
Target groups 2011 Beneficiaries Programs
schoolchildren 32,656 7 Different types of tours, orientation sessions, free admission, and educational materials (in Basque, Spanish, English and French)
educators 104,686 6 Participative programs Online teaching resources WikiEducators
university 60 1 Undergraduate and graduate students
families 15,950 9 Participative programs Virtual tour social programs 1,098 5 Art at hospitals Volunteers accesibility 329 2 Programs for children and adults with disabilities
museum members and general public 93,757 7
didaktika 391,773 3 Educational spaces Zero Espazioa
total 640,309 40*
Carlos Garaicoa during his lecture at the museum, February 22, 2011 *Not including audio guides or Guggenheim Bilbao magazines
As an innovative and dynamic artistic, educational, and cultural venue, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao offers a broad Selected Highlights and varied array of on-site and online activities and programs designed to meet the public’s growing interest in active participation. didaktika As part of the didaktika project, the museum has continued to design educational spaces with key resources and tools to Catering to students, educators, families, Museum Members, disadvantaged collectives, disabled persons, art professionals, help audiences make the most of their visit to the exhibitions. This year, with a view to increasing the visibility and use of the and the general public from Bilbao and around the world, these programs are designed from a multidisciplinary approach visitor orientation room Zero Espazioa and making it more user-friendly, interior and exterior signage was reinforced and in which modern and contemporary art education and interpretation is viewed, analyzed, and enjoyed from various some of the contents reorganized. perspectives. BBK (Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa) continues to sponsor a high percentage of these programs.
EDUCATION 22 education 23
View of the annual exhibition of the program Learning Through Art, 2010–11 Worshops for schoolchildren at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Meanwhile, Gallery 103B has been converted into a transitional space leading to the museum exit in order to improve the participated in this new edition of Learning through Art, the educational program sponsored by BBK which involved a total flow of people. Visitors are offered one last didactic experience in this space thanks to a number of new features, such as an of 196 students between the ages of 6 and 12. On this occasion, the artists who worked with the schoolteachers and museum extensive overview of the history of architecture, the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry by American director Sydney educators were Elssie Ansareo, Nadia Barkate, Naia del Castillo, Ibon Garagarza, Iñaki Gracenea, Joxerra Melguizo, Manu Pollack, a timeline of the most important milestones in the history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, and sneak Muniategiandikoetxea, Jorge Rubio, and Ibon Sáenz de Olazagoitia. A selection of the surprising projects created during the previews of upcoming exhibitions. program were exhibited from June 14 to August 28 in Gallery 103B, and the next edition corresponding to the 2011–12 school year started in October, with new schools and collaborating artists. schoolchildren and educators In 2011, a total of 32,656 students—58% from the Basque Country, 25% from the rest of Spain and 17% from France—and families 104,686 educators participated in these programs in one way or another. The 2011–12 school year kicked off on October 4 With regard to the family-oriented program, 15,950 children and adults actively participated in the activities that the museum with the first workshop-tours for preschoolers and primary school students, guided tours for high school students, the special offered specifically for families, such as workshop-tours, children’s performances, and special workshops revolving around the program for pre-university art students, and the training programs and online materials for educators, all with a transversal, art program. multidisciplinary approach and offered in several languages. The children of Museum Members participated in the Spider Workshops, focusing on Louise Bourgeois’s work Maman, learning through art on March 19, 20, 26, and 27 and November 20, 26, and 27, and the Puppy Workshops involving Jeff Koons’s sculpture were During the 2010–11 school year, nine schools—PS Zuazo LHI in Barakaldo, PS Pío Baroja LHI in Bilbao, PS Juan Ramón offered on May 21, 22, 28, and 29 and October 22, 23, 29, and 30. In addition, to celebrate the beginning of summer vacation, Jiménez LHI in Barakaldo, PS San Ignacio LHI in Bilbao, PS Mendiola LHI in Donostia-San Sebastián, PS Ramón Bajo LHI workshops for the children of Museum Members were organized from June 27 to July 8 in connection with the exhibitions in Vitoria-Gasteiz, PS Samaniego LHI in Vitoria-Gasteiz, PS Zabaleko LHI in Amurrio, and PS San Lorenzo LHI in Ermua— The Luminous Interval and Painterly Abstraction. 24 education 25
On December 19, the museum opened exclusively for Individual Members. Families and children between ages 4 and 12 were able to enjoy the show Tales of an Ancient Tree, an allegory of respect and love for nature. Also, starting on December 20, children’s workshops were offered that analyzed the symbols of Christmas, and guessing and drawing games were scheduled for the winter vacation. Over the holidays, the family show The Lunnis Visit Bilbao was produced on December 27 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of UNICEF’s Spanish Committee.
Finally, a very interesting technological development was introduced this year with An Adventure at the Museum, a novel virtual tour designed for children and families that is available on the museum website.
social programs and accessibility Social outreach and responsility is also part of the educational mission of the museum, which has continued to organize activities for children at the hospitals of Cruces and Basurto in collaboration Artists Panel organized to mark the exhibition The Luminous Interval with artist Mertxe Périz.
Other social initiatives include the Volunteers general public Program—talks and workshops given and led The activities organized for the general public touched upon a wide range of themes and disciplines, with the presence and by museum volunteers at senior citizens’ and participation of influential people from different fields and areas of expertise. women’s associations, recreational clubs, and drug rehabilitation centers—and tours for senior citizens Talks with Artists and Curators and persons at risk of social exclusion. Special - January 27 and February 22: Talks by artists Sarah Charlesworth and Carlos Garaicoa about their respective creative tours designed specifically for children and adults processes, in connection with the exhibition Haunted. with disabilities are also offered. - April 9: Talks with artists Paul Chan, Kendell Geers, Thomas Hirschhorn, Nate Lowman, Paul Pfeiffer, and Alexandros Psychoulis, about their work and creative processes in connection with the exhibition The Luminous Interval. - April 10: Curators Panel to mark the exhibition The Luminous Interval, with the participation of Achim Borchardt- Hume, Chief Curator, Whitechapel Gallery; Richard Flood, Director of Special Projects and Curator at Large, New top: Educational space complementing the exhibition The Luminous Interval Museum; Douglas Fogle, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs, Hammer Museum; bottom: Tales of an Ancient Tree, a show for families organized for the exclusive Frances Morris, Head of Collections (International Art), Tate; Dimitris Paleocrassas, consultant for the D.Daskalopoulos Members Day, 2011 Collection; and Nancy Spector, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. 26 education 27
Oliver Wick, curator of the exhibition Brancusi-Serra, during the Sculpture Network International Sculpture Forum A Day of Art, Math, and Magic
Multidisciplinary Tours and Lectures A Day of Art, Math, and Magic − January 18: Lecture by Patxi Cobo, photographer and professor of photography at the University of the Basque Country, On November 19, A Day of Art, Math, and Magic was held in connection with the Brancusi-Serra exhibition. Organized to entitled Camera Obscura, in connection with the exhibition The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting from the Städel mark the centennial of the Spanish Royal Mathematics Society, coinciding with Universal Children’s Day and the meeting of Museum. the European Mathematical Society in Bilbao, this program comprised children’s workshops, activities, tours for adults, a math − May 3, 9, 17, and 25: Thematic tours of the exhibition The Luminous Interval given by sociologist Iñaki Martínez de and magic show, and a conversation with artist José María Yturralde. Albéniz, art critic Xabier Sáenz de Gorbea, and artists Mabi Revuelta and Txuspo Poyo. Audiovisual Cycles Sculpture Network International Sculpture Forum This year’s audiovisual programs included, from March 29 to 31, the series entitled An Educative Revolution: The Pedagogical On November 10 and 11, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao hosted the 10th Sculpture Network International Sculpture Forum Missions of the Second Republic (1931–1936) in connection with the exhibition Chaos and Classicism. Filmmaker Gonzalo on the occasion of the Brancusi-Serra exhibition, with the participation of artists Jaume Plensa and Susan Phillipsz, and Tapia; video historian and filmmaker Eugeni Bonet; and Aitor Larrabide, a member of the Miguel Hernández Cultural curators and art experts Brigitte Franzen, Friedrich Teja Bach, and Oliver Wick. Foundation, gave presentations about the pedagogical missions and the involvement of Val del Omar and Miguel Hernández in that historic initiative. 28 education 29
Performances, Creative Processes, Concerts − March 10: Kratimosha, performance by artist Amalia Fernández, organized in association with La FuNdicIOn during the 12th Dantzaldia Festival.
− May 15: Concert-Tribute to the Bilbao Choral Society on its 125th Anniversary, offered by the Jesús Guridi Orchestra from the Bilbao Choral Society Conservatory, directed by Radu Hamzea.
− June 24: Presentation of the interactive installation LTNSM (La tierra no se mueve/ The Earth Doesn’t Move) by Argentine artists Adriana Barenstein, Mariana Bellotto, Sergio Pletikosic, and Juan Pablo Amato, with Mariana Bellotto and Sergio Pletikosic as the performers, in the context of the 7th Lekuz Leku Festival of Dance in Urban Landscapes and Video Dance.
− August 2: Creative process featuring renowned dancers from the New York City Ballet as part of the program Works & Process at the Guggenheim.
− September 24: Concert by clarinet soloist Luis Alberto Requejo, a member of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (BOS), accompanied by Miriam Alonso on the piano, in the context of the 18th Contemporary Music Festival organized by Kuraia.
− November 24: King Kong Truna, a performance by artist Andrés Blanco organized for MEM, the International Experimental Art Festival.
top: Performance Kratimosha bottom: Lekuz Leku Festival, 2011 opposite: Stars from the New York City Ballet 30 31
The Guggenheim Bilbao Nights, 2011
In 2011 the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao received a total of 962,358 Other 2011 Selected Highlights visitors, which represents a slight increase from the previous year but 2010 higher than expected given the dire situation of the global economy. Japan In order to improve the quality of the visitor experience, in 2011 a number of actions were carried out primarily related to
Seasonality remained a constant, with spikes in visitor numbers during USA improving signage and orienting visitors from the moment they enter the museum. The system of online ticket sales has also the summer months, long weekends, and other holiday periods. With been modernized so that visitors can now bypass the ticket window and head straight for the galleries. Portugal regard to place of origin, 38% of visitors came from Spain and the remaining 62% were foreigners. This trend is consistent with previous Italy New collaboration agreements were signed with public institutions and organizations to offer different types of visitors a
years, although a slight increase was registered in the percentage of Germany variety of special admission deals, such as the Basque Government (Culture Pass), the Provincial Council of Biscay (Barrutik visitors from the Basque Country, primarily owing to the popularity of Museum Program), Iberdrola, BBVA, and Renfe. In addition, the museum continued to participate in tourism fairs like FITUR France the exhibitions Chaos and Classicism and The Golden Age of Dutch and offer package deals through major travel and tourism agencies. and Flemish Painting from the Städel Museum. United Kingdom
Rest of Spain Finally, in addition to the now classic Guggenheim Bilbao Nights, the museum can boast other established initiatives like the night program Art After Dark, an activity designed for young people held one Friday each month that combines the Basque Country museum’s exhibitions with music sessions led by international DJs. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% VISITORS 32 33
left: Guggenheim Bilbao Individual Members visit Venice. right: Presentation of the new gastronomic offer of the museum
Selected Highlights
In 2011, the activities organized to complement the exhibitions took on a playful tone with the Carnaval Party held at the museum, a celebration set in the historical period examined in the show Chaos and Classicism. Recreating the spirit of the Members visiting the exhibition The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting from the Städel Museum Roaring Twenties that witnessed the birth of the works in this exhibit, the event enjoyed a great turnout, a high level of satisfaction among those in attendance, and significant media coverage.
The cultural trips and getaways offered Museum Members a number of extraordinary experiences. This year they traveled to In yet another successful year, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has received the backing and invaluable support of 16,239 destinations such as the Ruhr River Valley in Germany, in connection with the loan of Joseph Beuys’s work Lightning with Stag Individual Members, divided among six different categories, who enjoy and participate in the activities that the museum in Its Glare from the Bilbao collection; the ARCO Fair in Madrid; the Balenciaga Museum in Getaria; the Venice Biennale; offers. For example, approximately one thousand people participated in the guided tours offered at the opening of each and the most important cultural centers of Brazil. temporary exhibition, or took part in the annual Members’ Day organized exclusively for them, held on December 19. Members also benefited from agreements and partnerships that the museum established with local institutions, such as the New in 2011 Arriaga Theater, the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (BOS), the Leisure Studies Institute at Deusto University, La Fundición, the 35th International Getxo Jazz Festival, the Bilbao Choral Society, Getxophoto 2011, and the Emerging Arts Festival Acting on suggestions made by Museum Members, the program Lagunartean—an initiative that allows Members to visit the Getxoarte, which were joined this year by FNAC Bilbao. Moreover, the new restaurant facilities with two distinctive venues shows and enjoy a meal at the Museum Restaurant during their lunch break—has been reformulated. Now, besides midday, allowed the museum to devise interesting promotional offers so that Members can discover these new culinary experiences. the program is available in the evenings as well, providing a new and interesting experience. Finally, over 800 Members participated in the open-house day organized on December 19, with special Christmas activities, In an effort to enrich the Members’ experience in a new way, a program was designed where they can meet some of the guided tours, a “yard sale” of products from the Store/Bookstore, the family show Tales of an Ancient Tree, the traditional artists featured in the exhibitions. In 2011, Individual Members were given the opportunity to visit and chat with Bilbao-born contest, and a concert by the San Antón Chorale. As usual, this day was integrated in the larger program of Christmas artist Aitor Ortiz in his studio and gain first-hand insight into his motivations and creative process. activities that the museum organizes each year with families in mind. INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS 34 35
Exhibitions and Activities Sponsors Collaborators The Matter of Time ArcelorMittal The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting Fundación BBVA from the Städel Museum Caos Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Italy, Germany Fundación BBVA and Spain, 1918–1936 The Luminous Interval: The D. Daskalopoulos Collection Fundación Iberdrola Actividades educativas BBK Fundación Vizcaína Aguirre Volunteers Program BBK WikiEducators BBK Guggenheim Bilbao Nights BBK Corporate Film Forum Adecco Ysios (Domecq Bodegas) Ferroser Deusto Business School Visitor Services Prosegur Carnaval Party Seguros Bilbao Cadena SER Vodka Absolut IBERIA Viajes Aguirre Transhotel Barullo Painterly Abstraction, 1949–1969: Bodegas de los Herederos de Marqués de Riscal Selections from the Guggenheim Collections Señorío de Olivenza Stars of the New York City Ballet Meliá Bilbao Change of flowers on Puppy Hugo Boss Annual Dinner Grupo IXO Norbega–Fundación Coca-Cola España Grupo G.H. Mumm Ysios (Domecq Bodegas) top left:Title wall of Chaos and Classicism; top right: Curators Panel during The Luminous Interval; bottom:Guggenheim Bilbao Nights Chivas 18 Exclusive Individual Members Day Norbega–Fundación Coca-Cola España illycaffè Cacao Sampaka At the close of 2011, a total of 123 participating companies were signed up in the different categories of the Corporate Iberia Members Program: Strategic Trustees, Trustees, Corporate Benefactors, Media Benefactors, and Associate Members. NH Hoteles Despite the complicated global economic situation, the support received from Corporate Members has remained constant Bistró Guggenheim Bilbao at levels similar to those registered in previous years. Equipment for the Nerua Restaurant Fagor Industrial VIP Lounge Global Specific sponsorships were arranged for a wide variety of projects in 2011, ranging from major sponsorship agreements with Samsung the museum’s Strategic Trustees BBK, BBVA, Iberdrola, and ArcelorMittal to collaborations and contributions, some of which illycaffè were made in kind, which have allowed the museum to organize a significant number of activities and events. Children’s Christmas activities Bizkaiko Foru Aldundia/Diputación Foral Bizkaia Art after Dark BBK Fever CORPORATE MEMBERS 36 37
top: Exhibition banners outside the museum opposite: Annual Dinner 2011
Over the course of 2011, the museum has hosted more than 80 special events of various types: social events, such as receptions, dinners, award ceremonies, and product launches, mostly held in the Atrium or the Vestibule; professional gatherings, shareholders’ meetings, press conferences, and musical performances, most of which took place in the Auditorium; and various business meetings conducted in other areas of the museum, such as the Education Room, Zero Espazioa, and the Library.
Less public events, such as the private tours of temporary exhibitions or the special privileges extended to corporate sponsors were among the primary reasons why many firms chose to hold their corporate events at the museum.
SPECIAL EVENTS 38 39
Nr. of references 2011 Reinforcing the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s brand, consolidating its Images of museum’s publicity campaigns status as an innovative institution that offers visitors a unique cultural International press 4,573 and educational experience, and achieving as much media coverage Spanish Press 5,719 and publicity for its activities as possible were the primary focuses of the museum’s communications and marketing strategy in 2011. Spanish TV 350 Chaos and Classicism, The Luminous Interval: The D. Daskalopoulos Collection, and Brancusi-Serra were the shows that obtained the Spanish Radio 413 The institution has been a news item on nearly 19,000 occasions, widest coverage in both the Spanish and international media in 2011, and the media impact of this year’s exhibitions and activities was Internet 7,692 garnering praise from critics and audiences alike. Thanks to the public greater than last year’s at both the national and international levels. relations initiatives launched in Germany, France, the US, Italy, and the Website Hits 1,356,026 This media coverage, valued at nearly 26 million euros, testifies to UK, the exhibitions appeared in major publications such as Die Welt, the museum’s ability to turn the international spotlight on Bilbao and Pages Viewed 5,011,319 Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal, La Stampa, and The Times. The the Basque Country, and confirms the museum’s status as one of new works acquired for the Bilbao Collection, described in a previous Press Visits 626 Europe’s leading cultural institutions. section of this report, also attracted widespread media interest. PRESS 40 press 41
In addition, other museum initiatives in 2011 made international headlines: the opening of the new high-end restaurant Nerua and the awarding of its first Michelin star six months later; the launch of a mobile phone application about the museum; the aforementioned DJ sessions at the nocturnal art and music program Art After Dark; the screening of Matthew Barney’s Cremaster cycle; and the art and jazz program Guggenheim Bilbao Nights.
Designed to complement the museum’s communications strategy, the image campaign “It’s not what you see, it’s what you feel” conducted in Spain and France, as well as the three marketing campaigns launched to publicize the most important exhibitions of 2011 through the press, radio, digital media, and outdoor advertising, attracted a greater This year, the museum Store/Bookstore has focused on optimizing product inventory and the available spaces, both physical number of visitors during vacation periods, yielding a very positive and virtual, as well as on improving customer service and satisfaction. overall figure despite the adverse economic climate. In this respect, and with a view to increasing the number of customers and retail revenue, in 2011 a number of special offers Finally, the museum website received over 1.3 million hits in 2011, 24% were devised, such as discounts in the Store for Restaurant customers. Individual and Corporate Members were also offered more than in 2010, and thanks to the strategy adopted on networking exclusive articles, special discounts, Members-only opening hours, and the possibility of issuing complimentary or standard sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, and Vimeo, the institution has membership cards on the spot at the Store/Bookstore so that new Members could immediately start enjoying the perks of attracted increasingly more—and more active—followers in the social belonging to this club. media. top: Georg Baselitz at the presentation of his series Mrs Lenin With regard to renewing stock, the highlights of this year included the addition of a wide range of ecological products, and The Nightingale in gallery 103 exclusive technological accessories for Smartphones, iPhones, iPads, and other devices, and special offers on catalogues from center: Press conference announcing the launch of the museum app past exhibitions. Moreover, anyone who spent over 50 euros on books received the gift of a reusable ecological bag with an bottom: Richard Serra during Brancusi-Serra exclusive design created by the museum. STORE/BOOKSTORE 42 43
The museum continues to produce high-quality publications to accompany the exhibitions in the Art Program. The following titles were released in 2011:
• Exhibition catalogue of Chaos and Classicism: Art in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, 1918–1936, Spanish edition [192 pp.], with The corporate website, www.guggenheim-bilbao-corp.es, was a special supplement containing works by Spanish artists featured in launched this year to contain information about the museum of a the Bilbao show [64 pp.] more institutional nature. Organizational structure, governing bodies, the current Strategic Plan, matters related to individual and corporate • Exhibition catalogue of The Luminous Interval: support, and Corporate Social Responsibility are just some of the The D.Daskalopoulos Collection, Spanish and English editions contents found on this new portal. [208 pp. each] As an expression of the museum’s firm commitment to new • Exhibition catalogue of Brancusi–Serra, Spanish edition [238 pp.] technology, in 2011 an application for mobile phones was launched. Entitled Guggenheim Bilbao, co-produced with TF Editores and • The 2009-2010 Biennial Report, published in three languages sponsored by BBK, this app was created for the iPhone—also visible and posted for the first time on the museum’s corporate website: on iPad and iPod touch. Available in Spanish, English, and French, it www.guggenheim-bilbao-corp.es. includes a feature that allows visitors to plan their tours in advance, as well as information about the building, highlights of the Collection, and instant access to the museum’s social media. The next phase of this project will be the development of the app for Android mobile devices. PUBLICATIONS PROJECTS 44 45
Over the past year, the museum has maintained its active involvement in multidisciplinary forums which represent an opportunity to present its particular management model and work with other museum institutions to develop a mutually beneficial intellectual exchange. Some of the most relevant were:
Nerua Restaurant at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - The Culture Beyond Borders Symposia, New York, organized in September by the Blouin Creative Leadership Summit. - Lectures on Tourism: New Challenges for Europe after the Adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, Brussels, organized in October by the European Parliament. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao received the following awards, nominations and distinctions in 2011: The museum also participated in a number of professional forums: • Rated the “third most popular museum” in Spain, according to a survey conducted by the travel portal TripAdvisor among its users. - Organization of the meeting of the working group WG5: Conservation of Cultural Property—Packing and Transport of • 2011 Certificate of Excellence Award, also granted by Trip Advisor. Cultural Heritage within Technical Committee 346 on the Conservation of Cultural Property, organized by the CEN • Nominated by the Lonely Planet travel guide as the world’s most beautiful building. (European Committee for Standardization) as part of a project to standardize cultural heritage procedures in the • EFR (Family-Friendly Organization) certification in equality and work-family balance, Aenor/Fundación Másfamilia, 2011. European Union. This meeting, held at the museum from October 5 to 7, was attended by experts, museographers, and • 6th National Award for the Standardization of Spanish Working Hours. conservators/restorers from across Europe. - Meeting of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Artwork Registrars, ARMICE. In addition, the Nerua Restaurant, inaugurated in 2011 as part of the museum’s effort to revamp its dining options, was - Participation in the Museum Management graduate program at the Pompeu i Fabra University in Barcelona and the awarded one Michelin star and three Suns, the highest distinction offered by the Repsol Guide. master’s degree program in Contemporary Art Conservation and Exhibition at the University of the Basque Country.
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS FORUMS 46
VIP Visitors
In 2011, the museum received a total of 154 VIP visitors, including prominent figures from such diverse fields as art and architecture (Antonio López, Alfredo Jaar, and Pei Zhu), literature (Salman Rushdie, Lêdo Ivo, and Dominique Lapierre), science (Jean-Marie Lehn and Martin Chalfie, Nobel Laureates for Chemistry in 1987 and 2008, respectively), politics (Delphine Borione, Director of Cultural Policy for the French Foreign Ministry, and the ambassadors of Chile, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Italy), social sciences (Howard Gardner, winner of the 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, and Davidson Hepburn, President of the UNESCO General Conference), music (Herbie Hancock), and film (Antonio Banderas and Frances McDormand).
Antonio Banderas, Dominique Lapierre and his wife, Salman Rushdie, and Lêdo Ivo during their visits to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 2011 VIP VISITORS 48 49
The principal conclusions of the study with regard to economic impact are as follows: - The total demand generated by the museum’s activities in 2011 amounted to 311 million euros. - Through its activities, the museum has helped to generate 274.3 million euros in GDP, which works out to be 0.42% of the Basque Country’s regional GDP and 128.82 euros per Basque citizen. - The museum has helped to maintain 5,885 annual jobs, which account for 0.57% of the labor force. - The museum has generated an additional 42.2 million euros in revenue for the Basque treasury and tax authorities, 0.39% of the total amount collected by the provincial treasuries.
In addition to these quantitative figures, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has impacted the economy in other ways: as a driving force of transformation and revitalization of the city, as a major attraction that has triggered an increase in demand and improvements in the tourism industry, and as a highly visible landmark with a stellar international reputation that has placed Bilbao and the Basque Country at the vanguard of innovation.
Environmental Impact
When carrying out its activities, the museum is constantly mindful of the importance of such factors as the preservation of the ecosystem, nature conservation, and eco-efficient initiatives. Specific actions taken in this area include annual environmental audits and staff training and awareness-raising activities. Other impacts detected by the study in this area include: - Energy optimization and reduction of water (14.7%), electrical power (6.75%) and gas consumption (9%). In 2011, a new economic impact model was conducted to update the first one carried out in 1998 and revised in 2001 and - Selective disposal and reduction of waste, eliminating the equivalent of 500 bins of paper, 270 bins of plastic and 1,000 kg 2006. This analysis includes what is known as the “triple bottom line” (TBL or 3BL) concept, an accounting framework for of used oil. sustainable businesses that evaluates three different dimensions of a company’s performance: economic, environmental, - Creation of a space reserved for managing hazardous waste, which has been reduced by 40%. and social. Thus, in addition to estimating the impact of the museum’s activities in terms of the wealth they generate for the Basque Country, the study also examines how they affect the social, artistic, cultural, and environmental spheres, effectively reinventing the model used in past years. Social, Artistic, and Cultural Impact
Finally, in the social, artistic and cultural spheres, the study noted the following impacts achieved or facilitated by the Economic Impact Guggenheim Museum Bilbao: - Making art more accessible to the general populace through 117 exhibitions since the museum opened with This quantifies the direct, indirect, and induced effects of the museum’s activities and their impact on the Basque Country’s approximately 130,000 Basque visitors per year (6% of the Basque Country’s population). economy, measured in terms of regional GDP, jobs maintained, and revenue generated for the Basque treasury and tax - Contribution to heritage, with a collection containing 124 works of art. authorities. Economic impact is determined by calculating expenditure inside the museum (tickets, purchases made at the - Making art more accessible to special collectives: over 1,300 people belonging to disadvantaged social groups café, restaurant and Store/Bookstore) and outside its facilities (hotel and catering industry, shopping, transportation, and participated in the museum’s educational activities. leisure). A survey was done to determine visitor spending profiles by place of origin, though the analysis only considered - Creating new artistic spaces in the city, which is now home to more than 20 public artworks. those visitors who said that the museum was a determining factor in their decision to visit Bilbao (83% of the total). The - Promotion of Basque art, with 33 works by 23 Basque artists in the Bilbao collection. study estimated that the total average expenditure of visitors who come to the Basque Country because of the Guggenheim - Contribution to art education: approximately 600,000 people and over 30,000 schoolchildren participate in the Museum Bilbao was 352.68 euros. museum’s educational programs each year.
IMPACT 50 51
Images of the Atrium and gallery 104 at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
In line with the approved Strategic Plan for Human Resources, this year the museum has worked to improve several aspects approach of management, and the increasing level of employee satisfaction. Finally, certain work spaces were physically of this area. reorganized in order to achieve maximum efficiency and efficacy at every work station in the museum.
With regard to organization, the museum introduced a new project management system and methodology aimed primarily Finally, the President of the Basque Parliament, Arantza Quiroga, and the Chairman of the Council for the Standardization at exhibitions, which a significant number of employees helped to devise and implement. of Spanish Working Hours, Ignacio Buqueras, invited the museum to give a presentation to the regional parliament about its experience in the field of equality and work-life balance and the positive results it has achieved, including the 6th National In terms of working conditions, strides have been made to improve employee work-life balance by establishing policies that Award for the Standardization of Spanish Working Hours presented to the museum at Kursaal Palace in Donostia-San promote equal opportunities for men and women at the museum and are set out in an Equality Plan, which was drafted and Sebastián (see Awards section). introduced this year. The museum also implemented a protocol to prevent and combat psychological, sexual and gender- based harassment. The audit to renew its 1000-2 efr certification as a Family-Friendly Company was successfully passed, revealing that some of the most positive aspects of the museum’s human resources policy are its longstanding commitment to helping employees reconcile their personal and professional lives, its extensive support resources, the motivational
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Photo credits Of the works reproduced © the artists; © FMGB Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, Bilbao, 2012. Photographic archives of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao