The Patronato of the National Museum and Research Center of Altamira decided this Wednesday to assume the recommendations of the Monitoring Commission of the Plan of Preventive Conservation of the cave and continue with the established conservation protocols, and with the system of access of visits to the cave, which will continue with the waiting list formed between 1999 and 2002.
The results of the scientific studies carried out in recent years show that, according to the conditions and protocols of access followed in public visits, the human presence does not have a negative impact on the conservation of the paintings.
With these data, the Board of Trustees has decided to ratify the current visiting system in force since access by waiting list was established in 2020 due to the Covid 19 pandemic. A system that, in the words of the general director of Cultural Heritage and Fine Arts, Isaac Sastre, is proving very successful among those visitors who signed up and who now have the opportunity to visit the cave after more than 20 years.
The conservation of the cave is subject to a strict monitoring and control system established in the Preventive Conservation Plan. The environmental conditions of the cave are continuously monitored through state-of-the-art technology. To this is added the effort of the multidisciplinary team in which both technicians from the Museum itself, as well as from other institutions such as the University of Cantabria, intervene and must work in compliance with the access protocols.
The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Culture and Sport, Miquel Iceta, and was attended by the President of the Government of Cantabria, Miguel Ángel Revilla. In it, the director of the Museum, Pilar Fatás, reported on the activity developed by the Museum of Altamira in the last five years.
Over 1.3 million views
During this period, more than 1,300.00 people have visited the institution. Especially noteworthy is the last year 2022 in which the Museum has recovered its activity prior to the health crisis, reaching up to 250,000 visitors, and positioning itself as the second most visited state museum.
Throughout these five years, the Museum of Altamira has made 25 temporary exhibitions, both of its own production and in collaboration, which value a very diverse heritage. And the Museum has disseminated exhibitions on current artists, or rock art from the five continents. External collaborations include exhibitions such as the one presented by the rock art decals of the National Museum of Natural Sciences in 2017 and those guarded by the National Archaeological Museum in 2022.
The cultural program has been full of activities that combine classic formats with innovative ones such as experimental archaeology and workshops that address art, theatrical tours, circus, or activities in the natural environment of the Museum. Proposals that have been enjoyed by both the general public (more than 46,400 people) and the school (more than 151,000 students).
In its virtual aspect, the institution continues to increase its presence reaching more than 64,500 followers, 12.5% of the previous year. In addition, the cave and Museum of Altamira is present in applications such as GVAM and Second Canvas or in virtual exhibitions of Google Art Project.
The collection of the Museum has increased over the years with various acquisitions that show how contemporary creators are inspired by the art of Altamira.
In recent years the Museum has been promoting archaeological and cave art research in the cave of Altamira. On the one hand, the identification, registration and cataloguing of the artistic representations inside the cave is being carried out. On the other hand, the project Altamira prospecta aims to identify the human occupations of the lower and middle Paleolithic in the external environment of the cave.
New projects for 2023
The institution has presented the projects that will be developed this 2023, with a programming that, once again, is committed to diversity and collaboration.
The public will be able to enjoy temporary exhibitions such as ‘Elogio del Antropoceno’, by Juan Martínez Moro, Professor of Drawing at the University of Cantabria, or the project ‘With Hands Signs Grow’, which will arrive in Altamira after its passage through the Venice Biennale.
The Museum, together with the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Government of Cantabria, will work throughout this year on the launch of the UNESCO Cave Art Center, which will be located in Santillana del Mar.