Learning medicine, pharmacy, law or teaching through art

When we talk about teaching, we think of a classroom. In the case of art, in sculptures, paintings, performances. They are apparently separate worlds. However, art does connect with the activity professor and research, offering new possibilities for learning and finding, in any discipline or area of knowledge.

This was attested to by some twenty professors and researchers from the University of Navarra, at the workshop "Museums at the service of the teaching, Education and research ", which was held today around theInternational Museum Day and in which nearly 300 attendees participated, either in person or connected by streaming. available The recording of workshop will be available in its entirety on the University of Navarra Museum's YouTube channel in the coming days.

During their interventions, the speakers explained their experience of teaching or researching through the MUN's Collection or Artistic Programming. Some of the Museum's professionals who promote the artists' research also intervened, explaining their particular process of study and creation.

Marta Frago coordinates the program in Performing Arts Production that School of Communication offers together with the MUN. She emphasizes the value of the student program not only dealing with theory, but also being directly linked to the artistic internship : through the relationship with artists and professionals in the sector, or with professors who direct stage works as well as teach.

"Tàpies' briefcase" brought together students from the School of Architecturewith professionals and people with special needs. It consisted of the design and creation of mediation material of the work L'esperit català, by Tàpies (belonging to the MUN collection) to provide an artistic experience to people with visual impairments. María Angélica Martínez, teacher at the School, speaks of the "partnership continuous" between the students of Degree at design involved and the MUN team, of their participation in a "realproject ", which allowed them to be trained in inclusion, as well as to use methodologies and elements of teaching such as learning by doing, the research-action and the laboratories. The proposal, presented last February, was part of the SociARTE program, which puts the Museum at the service of social organizations in Navarre, and was supported by partnership of Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Fundación ONCE and Fundación "la Caixa".

He has also found the didactic sense of L'Esperit català Mercedes Galán, professor and dean of School of Law, "to illustrate to students the different ways of expressing political feelings", by analyzing the historical trajectory of the Autonomous Communities. "The experience enriches them and they can see that law, history and art reflect, in different ways, the same feelings and reality," she says.

Apolinar Varela, from the School of Education and Psychology, agrees on the value of theinterdisciplinary work . The subject Expresión corporal y su didáctica aims to bring students closer to museums and the performing arts in order to improve their artistic and expressive skills, through the attendance to workshops and shows at the MUN. "It's a first-rate didactic resource ," he says. And he points out the added value of being able to break with "the usual dynamics. It is motivating, it allows us to get to know new approaches and ideas. It also generates new synergies and connections that perhaps were not explored before.

Teachers find in the MUN the opportunity for their students to delve into the more human side of their profession. "Art allows us to connect with our feelings and, at the same time, to use our mind and connect with the patient. Initially, students might think only of the scientific aspect, but medicine is much bigger than that: it includes reaching out to the other person. In places like this, we can bring both fields together and they can realize that this is all part of being a doctor," explains Dr. José Pereira, from the School of Medicine . Dr. Carlos Centeno, who runs a workshop on compassion and empathy, as part of the Medical Identity program at School, agrees with him, in front of plays such as Incendi d'Amor (Tàpies), from the MUN collection. "It combines reflection on works of art with real testimonies, creating a transformative learning experience. I chose these resources because art facilitates introspection and emotional connection, essential elements in the medical training ," she explains.

The contribution of the MUN, beyond the campus

The Museum's contribution at area professor and research transcends the University of Navarra. This is the case of the art therapy workshop for palliative care professionals explained by María Arantzamendi, a researcher at the ICS, carried out at with the Navarra Society for Palliative Care. Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), carried out at partnership with the Navarre Society of Palliative Care.

The rest of the projects unveiled at workshop belong to a wide range of areas and Schools: Medicine (science, literature and Artificial Intelligence), Science (from the Big Bang to the human brain, by way of beauty), Pharmacy and Nutrition (how colors are translated into musical notes), Architecture (the art of play; scenography and Service Design), Philosophy and Letters (knowledge dissemination in the MUN, performing arts in Literature and Creative Writing, experiences with the classics of literature in the Museum) and Institute language and Spanish Culture (learning a language through art).