Voces del Prado

A Prado respected by all

Miguel Zugaza Miranda, Museum Director, 2002-2017

This is a museum which has both a cultural dimension, without a doubt, and a financial dimension. Some information that I was given at a particular moment and which made me feel extremely responsible was a study that we commissioned on the Museum’s financial impact; it said: “for every three thousand foreign visitors, a job is created in the Region of Madrid”, which gives you a sense of responsibility.
In other words, that flow of visits generates more job opportunities and more economic potential for the surrounding area.
In addition to the cultural and financial dimension there’s also a political one. What the Museo del Prado has achieved is that of being an institution that is politically respected by the country, by the different political parties who have held power in Spain, and by the major financial institutions and companies which have helped us through their sponsorship. In other words, who have helped us to develop our project. That gesture of respect from politics towards the Prado is something important that you have to know how to nurture. You also have to know how to make it grow and ensure its future. We have to be seen as an institution that deserves that respect. I remember that shortly after I became director, the King rang me as he was interested to hear my ideas about the Prado, which really surprised me; that gesture on the part of the King, Juan Carlos I, of wanting to know what the plans were and the ideas for modernising the Museum is another sign of the respect that the public sphere and politics have for the Museum. In my opinion all the government ministers with whom I’ve had the opportunity to work have shown great respect. The successive presidents of the government during those years enormously respected the Prado and that’s important.