Primera página: Un comienzo de temporada más triste que alegre / Page one: Some Sad Notes at the Start of the New Season

Other developments in the past few months included changes in the management of a number of Spanish museums and institutions. José Lebrero left his post as director of the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (CAAC), in Seville, to assume his new duties as director of the Museo Picasso, in Malaga. Agustín Pérez Rubio was named head of the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (MUSAC), in León, a promotion from his previous post as deputy director. At the Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporáneo (CGAC), in Santiago de Compostela, the Portuguese curator Miguel Von Haffe was appointed director, becoming the first foreigner to take on this role at a Spanish museum. Lastly, Alicia Fernández was designated as the new director of the Sala Rekalde, in Bilbao. While the earlier appointments were made through public competitions, in Rekalde this procedure was dispensed with. It has drawn much criticism, not of the person named, but because it represents a break with a practice of transparency which has been adhered to in most Spanish regions. Those who contend that the Good Practices Document is not an effective instrument, on the grounds that any democratic procedure can be manipulated, should be reminded that the procedure might just as well be perfected and broadened; for instance, the criteria on which the judges base their decisions -the merits that in their view justify the choice of a particular candidate- could be made public, and, above all, the proposals for the museum that each candidate puts forward.

Lastly, we would like to congratulate two of ARTECONTEXTO's closest contributors: Agnaldo Farias, who has been named guest curator at the upcoming São Paulo Biennial, directed by Moacir Dos Anjos, and, in our own country, Santiago B. Olmo, who has been appointed as curator of the next edition of the Pontevedra Biennial.