On March 17, the director general of Radiotelevisión de Andalucía (RTVA), Juande Mellado, and the artistic director of the Museo Picasso de Málaga (MPM), José Lebrero, together with its manager, Guillermo Peiró, acting on behalf of Fundación Museo Picasso Málaga Legado Paul, Christine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, signed a new collaboration agreement. The aim of the agreement is to further disseminate Pablo Picasso and his oeuvre through the study, research, and conservation of the Málaga-born painter’s work and the publicising of the Museo Picasso Málaga’s activities, taking into account the major events of 2023: the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death and the museum’s own 20th anniversary.

According to the agreement, RTVA undertakes to give preferential coverage to the most significant cultural actions and activities of the MPM, such as its Jazz, Flamenco, Poetry, and Accessibility Week cycles, broadcasting them in its programmes and on the RTVA’s various media (television, radio, and Canal Sur Media).

Juande Mellado, director of RTVA, pointed out that ‘this agreement is particularly important, especially in view of the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death and the Museum’s 20th anniversary’. He concluded that ‘with this agreement, we are strengthening and extending our bonds of collaboration’. For his part, José Lebrero, artistic director of the MPM, said that ‘this agreement is very important at a time when we are turning 20 because museums are nothing without visitors and Canal Sur has been not just a companion but an ally, and I hope that it will continue to be’.

Canal Sur will collaborate particularly in disseminating activities revolving around the Permanent Collection, the museum’s own 20th anniversary, and the 50th anniversary of Picasso’s death. Along these same lines, Canal Sur Radio will broadcast one or more programmes from its studios or from the MPM to coincide with the activities related to the above cycle and anniversaries, as well as throughout the season of temporary exhibitions. In addition, Canal Sur Televisión will produce a feature on the celebration of the museum’s 20th anniversary to be broadcast at prime time.

The MPM, for its part, undertakes to make the necessary spaces available to RTVA, as well as to grant Canal Sur’s professionals and equipment access and a preferential location to enable them to make the aforementioned recordings and broadcasts, and to support the drafting of news reports and the dissemination of the museum’s cultural activities. The museum will also encourage experts associated with the events and exhibitions to participate in the various programs broadcast by the Andalusian radio and television station.

Close collaboration
Ever since the Museo Picasso Málaga started out, Canal Sur has collaborated closely on promoting it and, by extension, raising awareness of Picasso and his legacy, providing news coverage of the various milestones that have marked the museum’s successful track record. Indeed, thanks to the successive collaboration agreements entered into, the Andalusian radio and television station has broadcast hundreds of news reports and dedicated numerous features and special reports to iconic exhibitions such as Picasso. Object and Image, Woman. Picasso’s Late Sculpture, Eye Games, Bacon, Freud, and the School of London, and Face to Face Picasso and the Old Masters, among others.

Canal Sur has also covered news such as the enlargement of the museum’s collection, the launching of initiatives such as ‘Guest Museum’, and activities marking the museum’s various anniversaries. During this time, it has also broadcast features and special reports on Picasso and German art, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso, Miquel Barceló at the Museo Picasso, and, recently, on the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death in the programme ‘Los Reporteros’.