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Interview

	Jordi Bonet President of the Sant Jordi Academy of Fine Arts, chief architect of the Sagrada Familia
“The most important thing is to educate people so that they have and take responsibility for the tasks that need to be done”	Jordi Bonet does not hesitate for a moment to recognise the common sense of the people who have driven the mNACTEC project forward. His kind, calm words, full of experience, show the balance of a life filled with memories that take him from his childhood and military service up to the opinions merited by subjects such as climate change and healthcare in France . Bonet was born surrounded by “heritage” and each one of his words, imbued with his own personality, communicates this idea.
As general director of Cultural Heritage for the Generalitat, Jordi Bonet, was responsible for, amongst others, the restoration of the Aymerich, Amat i Jover factory. His affection for mNACTEC and the preservation of industrial heritage shines through in his every word. Currently, he continues to develop this passion, morning and afternoon, as the chief architect of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.	How did you end up in the cultural heritage world? Ever since I was little I've found myself surrounded by heritage and, at home, I was taught how to love it. My grandmother was a cousin of Puig i Cadafalch, and my father was born in a house built by him in Argentona. One summer, out walking, my father discovered the Iberian settlement at Cabrera. Later, during my military service, I was posted to build bunkers in the Ribes valley, at Ripoll, and there, by chance, I discovered the paintings in the apse of Sant Cristòfol de Toses that are currently on display at MNAC. Today the adventure continues with the Sagrada Familia and I still clamber up its wall ladders each morning and afternoon. What would you highlight from your time as general director of Cultural Heritage? I have always carried a love of heritage inside me. When I became general director of Heritage for the Generalitat I contributed to the purchase and restoration, amongst others, of the Palau Moja, the Sant Francesc church in Montblanc and the Aymerich, Amat i Jover factory, nowadays the headquarters of mNACTEC. I myself proposed Eusebi Casanelles as museum director and I still remember when they gave us the first collections of steam engines and the model of the magic fountain on Montjuïc. I took advantage of my first term to save singular buildings from disappearing. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to get everyone to have respect for our heritage. Has society's knowledge and understanding of heritage developed? Society has changed a lot and no longer values culture the way it did before, and often civil society is heavily influenced by economic factors. I don't mean by this that it has not advanced; simply that it is very difficult to harmonise economic and heritage interests. So it is pleasing to have come across people like those working at mNACTEC, who dedicate time and effort to safeguarding and explaining Catalonia 's industrial heritage. What does the future hold for cultural facilities dealing with industrial heritage? As a member of the Museums Committee, I can see that there's still a lot of work to do. One thing is the will and another is the law, and usually, applying changes to the law is not easy. I hope that the new Cultural Facilities Project – will drive advances in the heritage field. There's no doubt that at the moment there's plenty of good will, which needs to be brought together with sufficient funding so that the projects can move forward and consolidate their work.