"It would be weird to be out"

You are interested in talking about numbers. They would be used to graphically represent the sustained growth of the Gabriela Mistral Cultural Center since its opening in September 2010 and to this day, said the cultural director and a graduate in architecture from the U. Andrés Bello, Felipe Mella (46), two and a half years to badume executive direction. In one of the underground offices of the former UNCTAD III building, Mella continually looks at the paralyzed works of the second stage, which will house the large hall with 1,853 seats to be filled.

who will have to face the new director after the departure of Alejandra Wood (in September 2015), but still being clear that the construction does not correspond to us but comes from the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) and including his Architecture Management, "he says." My role was to oversee the work, but as I also have an understanding of architecture, I quickly learned that the project was not progressing and we informed the board of directors and its counterpart, the MOP then the Council of Culture "with the former minister Alberto Undurraga and, after the change of command of March 11, with Juan Andrés Fountain. "We suggest at the time that we hope to cut contracts with the construction company ECISA – requested in 2015 – due to non-compliance with the established dates, and resume with another society. And a few days ago, Minister Fontaine confirmed that by the end of the year, the project will be put back for sale, but there is still no date for it. opening.

In the best scenarios, With a state investment of $ 41 billion, it could only be inaugurated in 2020. What is confirmed, is that we will open with the exodus of Manuela Infante, but other shows had to be postponed also.

He also had to review the strategic plan entrusted to him by the former Minister Ottone when he took over the reins of GAM in March 2016: "It was designed with some flexibility because we have badumed that there could be delays. Usually there is. But apart from that, we worked on an internal and participatory project that also integrated the artists, something that had never been done before. "

Traffic was one of its central axes." We went from a little over 20 of our productions rotating in the regions and abroad, to 33 and with 152 functions outside of GAM. This is thanks to the different agreements we have signed with the municipalities of the Metropolitan Region (including Quilicura, Renca and Independencia), as well as with the regions. The new cultural centers of Arica and Punta Arenas, for example, opened with our production, Radiotanda, and on November 9 and for the first time in those years, another work produced by GAM, Hedda Gabler (by Henrik Ibsen, who will be directed by Claudia Di Girolamo and with Amparo Noguera), will debut at the Teatro del Biobío before its season in our hall ", reveals

New Steps and Challenges

9 million people visited the GAM in 8 years, and the posters of "sold tickets" in their wickets have become more common. "Today we have 75% occupancy of rooms, which is very good: in the street Corrientes de Buenos Aires they are between 30% and 40%, and in London 70% and 75%. This has been very satisfying because it means that our programming, which is becoming more and more important in the country, is in the public interest.

"When I arrived, there was not only a $ 100 million deficit. An additional $ 120 million in 2017, but what was more curious was that the GAM audience was mainly from the ABC1 segment, "he adds. Today, and even though tickets can reach about $ 8,000, "a prize that is not popular but that ensures a high artistic level, segments C1 and C2 are 60% of our audience.

Yesterday, at 16:30 and in the east wing of Building B, a new interactive zone, permanent and free was inaugurated, focused on the smaller ones. In partnership with the Mustakis Foundation and the production company Pi, four modules have been installed behind the information counter so that children can learn more about theater, dance, music and literature, with a cabinet additional dedicated to Gabriela Mistral. and the whole family, in fact, was part of the big debts as a cultural center, and we took advantage of the addition of these audiences and strengthening our line of innovation and technology, as well as the establishment of an alliance with the private sector. , admits the director, who after having badumed the contracts with the store Puma Lab, has entered into force since its inauguration. Instead, E.N.D. (National Design Space)

"I've always considered that it was not an ideal space for a cultural center like this, not after the concept of Puma Lab which, in addition to the workshops, went bankrupt".

"You have to understand it in a very respectful way, but there are places for shops like that in the malls." Alameda, should promote something more, like design. "

In March, Mella was the first director of a cultural center to meet Minister Alejandra Pérez. "With that, we are well aligned with what they expect from GAM and what we have built over the years, which is a popular access space and one that does not neglect the present," says he, and ensures good relations with the Directory headed by Ramón López: "They have never put one but against everything that has been said, I found a much more focused and dialoguing repertoire. contract is here for 8 years, and our numbers are positive and continue to increase.It would be weird that they have us out. "

He also saw the departures of Alejandra Serrano from the Center of La Moneda, in addition to those of the directors of the National Historical Museum and Fine Arts. "Serrano is the most similar to my case, because the others are public positions. She has been for nearly 11 years at the CCPLM, and I think she had already completed a cycle by positioning a space like this. But of course it depends a lot on the relationship you have with the department and your board of directors. Trusts can always be broken and you have to be ready to change. "