The Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid is due to file for bankruptcy after it failed to resolve its spiralling debts. The factory’s accumulated losses stood at nearly €6m in 2013, while a lack of funds means its 52 employees have not been paid for four months. Its electricity supply is also on the verge of being cut off, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Monica Oriole, the president of the foundation that runs the factory, resigned following a board meeting on 13 July, in which it was agreed the company would begin the process of applying for bankruptcy. It is now up to a judge to appoint a judicial administrator to try and save or close the company.
The factory could not be reached for comment, although, according to El Pais, its board members have said they will do all they can to keep the factory open. The foundation is jointly run by the City of Madrid, regional authorities, the culture ministry and the Caja Madrid Foundation.
The Royal Tapestry Factory, known in Spanish as Real Fábrica de Tapices, was founded in 1721 by King Phillip V. The workshop is where Francisco Goya started out, producing 63 oil-painted cartoons, many of which now hang in the Prado Museum. Despite the missing payments, weavers are currently working on 28 pieces for the Royal Palace of Dresden in Germany. The factory also includes a state-of-the-art conservation and cleaning department.
“One of the great achievements of the Royal Tapestry Factory was to install a new cleaning system based on the Hampton Court system in 2003-4,” says the artist Adam Lowe, who runs Factum Arte, a Madrid-based studio that creates tapestries for artists including Grayson Perry and Marc Quinn. “If the Royal Tapestry Factory can sort out its management crisis and debt, we are confident it can once again become a centre nurturing the skills and knowledge that are essential in the production of great tapestries.”
Update: On 16 July, it was announced that the culture ministry will contribute an extra €300,000 to pay the factory's employees. The ministry's 2015 budget for the company previously stood at €180,000.
