00:00The removal of approximately 30 pieces from the National Museum of Colombia, by order of the president
00:05Abelardo de la Espriella sparked a controversy that goes beyond the missing works.
00:10of its galleries. Amid this controversy, a protest was organized in front of the National Museum.
00:15for this Saturday, October 17th at 12:30 pm, on Carrera Séptima
00:21with Calle 28. Under the slogan For Our Arts, Cultures and Memories, the call invites
00:26to organize collectively in response to what its promoters describe as censorship.
00:31What happened during the dismantling and what consequences does this have for the story told by the museum?
00:36On October 15, posters, artworks and objects related to the
00:42LGBTIQ+ population, feminist struggles, armed conflict, the 1991 Constitution
00:49and the 2016 Peace Agreement. That same day, the president asserted that he had ordered
00:55The Minister of Culture called for the removal from public spaces of what she called an ode to terrorism.
01:01But how did the deforestation happen? Sources consulted by El Espectador assured
01:05that the Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Julián Sterling, and the Director in charge
01:09Constanza Toquica, from the museum, closed the rooms while pointing out the pieces that would be
01:14withdrawals. Andrés Góngora, former curator of the National Museum, warned that it was not
01:19not temporary exhibitions, but permanent galleries built through years of research,
01:25Public investment and academic review processes. As he explained, removing a piece
01:30Without considering the exhibition as a whole, it affects the story it seeks to tell.
01:35According to Góngora, the procedure was contrary to established museological criteria.
01:40The rooms designated as society, strength, faith and substance, and memory and nation were inaugurated
01:46in 2018 and 2014, respectively, as part of a museum renovation process that
01:52It's been going on for more than two decades. A source who participated in that process recalled
01:56how, shortly after the opening of Hacer Sociedad, a male couple recognized each other
02:01in the pieces dedicated to the LGBTIQ+ community, and kissed them in front of them. According to this source,
02:07That episode reflected the importance of different communities finding a place in
02:13national history. Former congresswoman María José Pizarro, daughter of Carlos Pizarro, also
02:18He questioned the decision. In his opinion, it seeks to impose a single version of history and
02:23Excluding narratives that are part of Colombia's past. Meanwhile, in front of the museum
02:28There were mixed reactions. Some visitors complained of a restriction on freedom of expression.
02:33expression, while Jorge Barón Jr. tore up an M-19 flag and defended the withdrawal of the
02:39pieces. The viewer visited the museum and noted that some marks left by the dismantling had
02:45had been covered up and other pieces had been redistributed. According to the sources consulted,
02:50The removed works remain in the institution's reserves. The discussion, then,
02:55It's not limited to which objects should be displayed. It also raises questions about who decides what.
03:00Stories are told about how those decisions are made and what happens to the years of research that
03:05They support a permanent exhibition. What is being debated is not only the content of three rooms,
03:11but the way in which the National Museum represents the diversity, conflicts and memory of Colombia.
