20190514_MUN_MiguelZuzgazaGraduacionMCS

The 24 students of the first graduating class of the Master in Curatorial Studies of the University of Navarra Museum graduated on May 10. At the ceremony, in which they were accompanied by academic staff and family members, Miguel Zugaza, director of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, gave the master lecture entitled Museografías. Curatorial Minims. Other speakers included Jaime García del Barrio, director general director of the Museo Universidad de Navarra; Nieves Acedo, director of Master's Degree; and Constanza Huerta de Soto, delegate of the promotion.

Zugaza, who dedicated his speech to the late art historians and critics Ángel González García and Francisco Calvo Serraller, defended that "museography is not a question of arithmetic, but of geometry. It is not the issue of visitors that enter a museum, but the critical place that each one occupies in relation to the space". He also pointed out that "art is projected in as many directions as the number of viewpoints it claims, and the multiplication of viewpoints is produced in our time thanks to the invention of the museum.

The director of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum also stressed that "for museography to exist we must find, along with the pleasure of possessing, the mission statement of teaching, a need to show that which is beautiful, rare or that which fits some of the categories by which we establish the value of art". He also stressed that there is a "public responsibility to put art in relation with the viewer without intervening or hindering the individual, exciting and memorable experience, which should be the mission statement of the museum".

Prior to the diploma ceremony submission , the delegate of the students wanted to thank the "tremendous learning" acquired during the course, under the guidance of great professionals of the sector such as Gerardo Mosquera, Vicente Todolí and Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro. He also valued having been able to develop their programs of study in "a museum with a unique collection of contemporary art and photography, and with the possibility of participating in all its Departments". In this sense, he pointed out that they have received training "in different fields, such as history, conservation, law or finance, which have provided a very rich vision of what it means to be a curator".

After graduation, students face the last two challenges of the postgraduate program: the delivery of their Master's thesiswork , consisting of a exhibition, and the completion of an internship.

This first edition will be held in Spanish museums and art centers such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), the Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo (Madrid), the Bombas Gens center (Valencia), Fundación BilbaoArte (Bilbao) and IVAM (Valencia), among others; and also international ones such as the Bronx Museum (New York), Colección Coppel México (Mexico City), The Bass (Miami), The Barber Institute of Fine Arts (Birmingham) and high school Cervantes de Orán (Algeria), among others.

Currently, deadline is still open for enrollment for the second edition of this postgraduate program. In the next course, which will begin in October, the faculty professor will be joined by professionals from the art world such as Anna María Guasch, Daniel Canogar and Pablo Berástegui.