The Spanish Committee of Art Historians criticizes the controversial syllabus for the position of heritage technician at the Consell de Mallorca

PalmAnother voice has joined the chorus of criticism regarding the changes to the syllabus for the call for applications for a position as an Artistic Heritage Technician at the Consell de Mallorca (Island Council of Mallorca). After The letter addressed to the island institution, signed by the rector of the UIB, Jaume CarotAfter demanding that specific training in art history be a requirement for the position, the Spanish Committee of Art Historians (CEHA) has now questioned the changes made to the syllabus for this post compared to previous calls for applications. "We wish to publicly express our deep concern and firm disagreement with the approach taken in this call for applications," stated sources from the organization, founded in 1977, adding, regarding the approved syllabus: "It has almost entirely relegated the content specific to our discipline and replaced it with a predominantly focused program." In the same statement, CEHA sources emphasized that "it is especially serious that a position intended to oversee the protection of movable property, painting and sculpture collections, and cultural assets of an artistic nature should disregard the knowledge necessary for their correct identification, interpretation, and historical assessment." Among others, topics such as 'Pre-Talayotic Culture in Mallorca through Archaeological Remains' and 'Mallorcan Gothic Painting' have disappeared, replaced by legal and administrative issues such as 'The Role of UNESCO and Advisory Bodies' and 'Unique Aspects of the Awarding Process'.

When asked about this in an interview with ARA Baleares, the island's vice-president and Minister of Culture, Antònia Roca, stated that the current syllabus had been proposed by the Heritage technicians – "who know the day-to-day operations and understand the department's needs," she affirmed – and claimed to be unaware of its origin. "Neither we nor anyone in the department knows where that other syllabus they say was used before came from," Roca stated. According to documentation accessed by ARA Baleares, the requirements and syllabus used in the previous call for applications were published in the BOIB (Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands) on April 26, 2007. This document included both general and specific topics, the latter being the ones that have undergone the most significant modifications. "Historically, we had demanded that the position be restricted to experts in Art History, and we hadn't succeeded. However, at least the syllabus served as a filter, ensuring that only those with both general and specific knowledge of Mallorcan historical and artistic heritage could apply. Instead of being open to people with an administrative profile, the position is open to others," sources from the Department of Historical Sciences and Theory of the Arts at the UIB (University of the Balearic Islands) stated. Changes to the selection panel

Where there have been changes is in the composition of the selection panel for the position, which initially did not include any art history professionals. In a letter issued by the Spanish Committee of Art Historians, the organization expressed its concern about this absence, which "seriously compromises the suitability of the selection process and raises legitimate doubts about the panel's ability to fully assess the specific skills required for the position." Finally, sources from the Consell de Mallorca have added an expert in the field to the selection panel, a measure that art historians, in any case, consider "wholly insufficient." Regarding the review of the syllabus and the requirements for the position, Antònia Roca stated in the aforementioned interview with ARA Baleares that "we would like to have dedicated art history specialists, and we need them, but this will have to be through future calls for applications for new positions."