Art and Innovation at Museu Carmen Thyssen Andorra
Improving the visitor experience at Museu Carmen Thyssen Andorra. This is the goal behind the collaboration between the Andorra Museum Foundation (MUSEAND), which manages the Museum, and Andorra Telecom. We, at Andorra Telecom, have taken on the funding for the four interactive screens that contextualise the works of art and artists from the temporary exhibitions that are held there.
Three of these screens are 46 inches and located in the hall. At any point, visitors can use them both to obtain complementary information or to enlarge works and focus on the artist's strokes in detail. The remaining 52-inch screen is located in the EduCarmen Thyssen space, a separate room where educational activities and workshops that complement the exhibits are held. Technology plays an essential role in this space, as it allows the users of the EduCarmen Thyssen space to interact with the art and the contents of the works.
This educational space is to play an important part in the programmes and activities of Andorra’s different school systems, as well as those of the University of Andorra. The Museum also aims to incorporate dynamic visits and workshops for groups of children.
The Museum
The Museu Carmen Thyssen opened its doors on 16 March 2017, on the ground floor of the former Hotel Valira in Escaldes-Engordany. This Museum, one of Andorra’s stellar cultural spaces, offers annual temporary exhibits with works from the Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection.
It encompasses 250 square meters, and houses small exhibits of between twenty and thirty works. The space is designed to allow visitors to spend more time enjoying each piece. The different areas of the Museum are versatile and can be used for all sorts of activities, such as cultural presentations.
The Artistic Director of the institution, Guillermo Cervera, describes the concept behind the space: “We have managed to create a museum that’s different from others; a living museum with dynamic surroundings, since we believe that art needs to renew the way it interacts with the public. On the one hand, we offer a new selection every year, allowing visitors to interact freely with the works in a much more participative manner, thanks to technology. On the other, we have multi-purpose spaces within the museum itself, which can be used for different activities.”
The Exhibits
Visitors to the museum can enjoy a collection with different works and formats every year, thanks to the Carmen Thyssen Collection, one of the most important private collections in the world.
For the opening of the Museu Carmen Thyssen Andorra, the exhibit “Escenaris. De Monet a Estes. De Trouville a Nova York” (Scenarios: From Monet to Estes. From Trouville to New York) was chosen. This exhibit features a selection of works by the great masters of Catalan modernism, American impressionism, German expressionism, social realism, cubism, fauvism, landscape painting, and American hyperrealism. The pieces presented show the painters’ vision in total freedom of expression, through everyday scenes and different panoramas.
