The Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya is launching the public programme entitled MNAC in Transformation, a forum for collective reflection and debate designed to share and shed light on the process of expanding the Museum, which will enable it to improve its facilities, strengthen its public role and forge new ways of engaging with the public.

The programme features industry professionals, artists and creators, the educational community and a diverse audience, with the aim of actively engaging society as a whole. It will be rolled out across Catalonia in a range of face-to-face and digital formats, in collaboration with community organisations and networks, as well as through trade publications.

MNAC in Transformation kicks off with the series of talks entitled “Thinking about the museum, imagining futures”. From October 2026 to November 2027, we will be rethinking the role of museums in the face of the social, cultural, technological, economic and environmental changes that define our century.

This series will feature some of the most influential museum directors and architects on the contemporary cultural scene who are engaged in major cultural and architectural projects and have direct experience with transformation processes comparable to those currently facing the MNAC.

Building on its firm commitment to public service, this series will take a critical look at new museum models, the role of national museums in a globalised world, architecture as a driver of institutional transformation, governance and accountability, innovation in cultural management, new technologies, emerging audiences, sustainability and the contribution of culture to contemporary urban and social challenges.

The programme combines domestic and international perspectives with a clear commitment to the public good and community engagement. It aims to help people understand why the MNAC is undergoing a transformation, what impact this process will have, and what opportunities it opens up. It also aims to foster understanding, trust and engagement concerning a strategic project for Barcelona and also for Catalonia.

“Thinking about the museum, imagining futures” invites us to reflect collectively on what the museums of the future should look like as the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya moves forward with its expansion and transformation.

24 October 2026 at 10.30 am

Conversations with Directors and Curators of European Museums

• Marc-Olivier Wahler, director of the Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva
• Francesca Cappelletti, director of the Galleria Borghese, Rome
• Caroline Campbell, director of the National Gallery of Ireland
• Adriano Pedrosa, artistic director of the MASP, Museu de Arte de São Paulo
• Pepe Serra, director of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya

• Moderator for the sessions: András Szántó, cultural strategy adviser

24 October 2026 at 4 pm

Conversations with Internationally Renowned Architects

• Elizabeth Diller, architect, Diller Scofidio + Renfro
• Kulapat Yantrasast, architect, WHY Architecture
• Stephan Schütz, architect, Executive Partner of gmp · Architekten von Gerkan, Marg und Partner
• Shohei Shigematsu, architect, OMA
• Moderator for the sessions: András Szántó, cultural strategy adviser

19 November 2026

• Sir Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Londres

→ “Thinking about the museum, imagining futures” will continue throughout 2027 with new voices and perspectives from the worlds of museums, architecture, the arts and intellectual discourse. Among those confirmed to attend are Marion Ackermann, president of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin; Eduard Bech, director of the Museu de l’Empordà; Miguel Falomir, director of the Museo Nacional del Prado; Gabriele Finaldi, director of the National Gallery, London; Laurent Le Bon, president of the Centre Pompidou; and Jesús Navarro, director of the Museu Morera. Museu d’Art Modern i Contemporani de Lleida; Orhan Pamuk, writer, and Mireia Rosich, director of the Biblioteca Museu Víctor Balaguer in Vilanova i la Geltrú.

With the collaboration of: