Venezuela's museums are struggling to stay open and to maintain the works in their care. Spiralling hyperinflation and constant power outages mean hard choices about the buildings and the treasures within them.
Mary Triny Mena reports from Caracas.
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VO #1: The grand museums of central Caracas --- once a focal point for tourists and residents. It's where art lovers could see up close the works of masters as diverse as Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon and Henry Moore….
VO #2: And where Venezuela proudly presented the works of home-grown artists like master of light Armando Reverón and kinetic artist Carlos Cruz-Diez.
VO #3: Now, these museums are suffering from the country-wide economic downturn. Constant power outages make the temperature and humidity impossible to control. Air conditioners break down and spare parts can't be found.
Art Conservator Miguel Angel Garcia explains:
SOT: Miguel Angel Garcia, Art Restorer
"In Venezuela, the first thing you feel when entering a museum is heat. The lights are not the most suitable. People can touch the art pieces and there is no one who stops them. Thousands of art pieces in Venezuelan museums are dying."
VO #4: Taking care of artwork so it can be seen by generations to come is often the work of highly-skilled professionals. And millions of skilled Venezuelan workers have left the country.
Museologist Luis Chacin says the Caracas museums feel their absence.
SOT: Luis Chacín, Museologist
"Most of the personnel at the museums have left. Some pieces have already been destroyed due to poor care, and without qualified art professionals, many more are at risk."
VO #5: Four major art museums line one square in central Caracas. Many local visitors say they can't be concerned about art when they are worried about putting food on the table every day.
Pensioner Maria Cols says art is one thing she's had to give up.
SOT: Maria Cols, Pensioner
"Our lives are destroyed by the economic crisis. I'm no longer eager to visit museums, because I have to line up to buy food. It is what it is."
VO #6: For others like Luis Vendarien, the art in these museums represents an escape from harsh reality.
SOT: Luis Vendarien, Pensioner
"Museums are wonderful places to be. I'll continue visiting them for years to come."
VO #7: These museums charge no entry fee, and there are no plans to change that.
More than 25-thousand pieces of art are kept in Caracas' museums ---- and most of them are under government administration. Because of hyperinflation a year's operating budget lasts just a few weeks.
VO #8: Many exhibition rooms are now closed, and many pieces have been taken off display, and put in storage, where it's less expensive to control temperature and humidity….
VO #9: And they're out of sight for now, as Venezuela makes difficult decisions about safeguarding its cultural heritage. Mary Triny Mena, Caracas.