On November 19, Valencian culture received news through the media that a meeting of the General Council of the Consortium of Museums of the Valencian Community had been called to discuss the dismissal of the director of the Carmen Center for Contemporary Culture (CCCC). Cultural manager and partner of Gesció Culture, José Luis Pérez Pont.
Valencian Association of Cultural Professionals With this statement, we want to condemn the bad practices of the Ministry of Culture, which the minister heads. Vicente Barrera, in this halt. We will not dwell on the consequences of Jose Luis Pérez Pont’s rule, there are too many and those who will probably make the decision to dismiss him do not know a single one of the countless proposals he has made. carried out. Surrounded by an effective team close to the cultural initiatives of a community that demands contemporariness and wants to live and remain in accordance with the conditions demanded by Valencian creatives, this manager has turned the Center del Carme into one of the greatest cultural disseminators. Situation.
The fact that the Valencian Community is at the forefront of creativity and cultural innovation is due to the fact that management professionals such as José Luis Pérez Pont are behind many projects and institutions. A cultural management expert who, like others in other areas of the Ministry of Culture, participates with merit and capacity in the direction of the CCCC; This evaluation was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Valencian Code of Good Practice in Culture. in force.
Like the deputy directors of Performing Arts, Audiovisual and Cinematography and the IVC, we do not know what other ethical rules the current government of the Generalitat Valenciana followed for his dismissal and replacement – because this has not been made public. Music and Valencian Popular Culture, whose contracts will also be canceled soon. They all have contracts in place, so not only are they failing to comply with the provisions of the Code of Good Practice, but they are committing an unfair dismissal for political expediency.
The Cultural Management, which brings together a significant part of public and private cultural management professionals in the Valencian Community, shows its complete opposition to the initiative launched by the Ministry of Culture, as it does not even take into account the opinions of different associations. This situation regarding the Valencian cultural sector leads us to ask Mr. Barrera the following question. If Valencian cultural professionals are not taken into account when making such important decisions, who does Mr. Barrera trust to manage the Community’s culture?
This leads us to demand a response from the esteemed president of the Generalitat Valenciana. Sir MazonHow does the Valencian government plan to maintain a dialogue on cultural issues if the opinions of professionals who have defended the culture of our Community for decades are ignored?
We cannot accept that the selection method, based on good practices and carried out with the participation of industry professionals by the regional administration of the previous legislature, has been questioned, and even less so, as it implies. The work of cultural management professionals such as Jose Luis Pérez is being questioned.
The Valencian Association of Cultural Experts calls on the Ministry of Culture to make public the reasons for the dismissal, which must go beyond “normal political change”. We also cannot accept financial compensation as termination compensation, because no compensation is possible when a project is capriciously terminated. And – please forgive us for the expression of Mr. Mazón and Barrera – the dismissal of the director of the CCCC and other deputy directors of the Valencian Cultural Institute with an employment contract in force is capricious and unresponsive. Any strategy to improve the culture of the community.
We therefore ask Gesció Culture, the Association of Cultural Professionals of Valencia, to remove the point touching on the dismissal of José Luis from the agenda of the meeting of the General Council of the Consortium of Museums of the Valencian Community, scheduled for next Tuesday. Pérez appointed Pont as director of the CCCC; There was no known objective reason to do this. We also demand the same for all cultural management professionals who reach the position through good practice or any other method where it is possible to compare the capacities and merits of individuals. I reached these positions.
Finally, Mr. Vice-President of the Generalitat – and by extension Mr. President – we ask you to publicly state the reasons that prompted you to terminate the employment contracts in force – if you do not resign, it is your attitude to cancel them – and to send these professionals to unemployment and hire others (about their merits and what it would mean for the Valencians’ coffers (about whose capacities we have no knowledge), which allows us to evaluate and question the appropriateness of their decisions.