The 18 students of the second promotion of the Master in Curatorial Studies of the Museo Universidad de Navarrafrom 12 countries, celebrated their graduation online this Friday. The event, broadcast through a private YouTube live stream, was made possible thanks to the commitment of students, professors and the University of Navarra.

Manuel Fontán, director of Museums and Exhibitions of the Juan March Foundation, who gave the keynote lecture; Jaime García del Barrio, general director of Museo Universidad de Navarra; Nieves Acedo, director of the master's program; and María Carabias, delegate of the promotion. 

In addition, the students were accompanied by teachers, family and friends who attended the graduation ceremony from their homes. In total, more than 160 people followed the ceremony. During the ceremony, the virtual presentation of diplomas took place.

In his speech, entitled What if our children want to be curators?Fontan addressed the new generation of curators and, above all, their parents, and stressed that "a good curator is a great curator". In this line, he vindicated the curator's profession as "one of the most beautiful professions in the world, necessary, magical, which is dedicated to curating works of art". 

Thus, he advised recent graduates that, if they want to be good curators, they should "look for ideas embodied in works of art, ideas that embody meaning and are settled in life, without limits". For this reason, he also encouraged them, being "participants in a historical and unprecedented period", not to stop reading and looking: "A curator who does not read is a curator without ideas. I would not so much look at the images, but at the works themselves. The works must be cured because they are sick, in the sense that everything that lives can be wounded and die". 

Also alluding to the current paradigm, García del Barrio invited them to discover "new opportunities in an uncertain and complex environment. The director of the Museum stressed the importance of strengthening the capacity for research, development and innovation, as well as constantly looking to the future: "The artist anticipates what society is going to be debating, and often even creates it. In this sense, he valued the role of art, capable of "seeking consensus and peace in the face of tension". 

For her part, Nieves Acedo "praised imagination" because only with it will we know how to build the right thing" and stressed that one of the current challenges is "to look at a different world and seek a lucid view that allows us to get our understanding right". He also urged the students to walk "with courage, united, in a network, collaborating, innovating and giving the best of oneself".

In her speech, the delegate of the promotion thanked the teachers for these months of learning and accompaniment that began "with enthusiasm and high expectations, a spirit that has been maintained throughout the course despite the situation". Carabias also praised the opportunity to "learn every day how we can make a better world through culture and art". And he has valued that in the face of this challenge they have a "valuable variety of tools to face the future without fear". 

Due to the coronavirus, the students have completed the face-to-face phase of the master's degree in an exceptional distance model that has included, along with classes and exams, a workshop with the artist Daniel Canogar. After graduation, they face two new challenges: the presentation of their Master's Thesis and the completion of professional internships. The registration period for the third edition of the master's degree, the only official postgraduate course in Spain in curatorial studies, is still open.