Lucía González and Sofía López, MCS students, commissioned the renovation of the Ortiz Echagüe Space.

From January 18 you can visit the Ortiz Echagüe Space renewed, a work curated by Lucia Gonzalez and Sofia Lopez, graduates of the third promotion of the Master's Degree in Curatorial Studies currently pursuing a curatorial fellowship. The new exhibition features 21 pieces by the artist from the Museum's Collection that have never been shown before. Among them, Basque Rowers, Mallorquina, Mora del Rif and Velero.

"Each year the public has the opportunity to see more works from Ortiz Echagüe's vast collection. I think that, although the space is small, the annual renewal of his works allows us to delve into the different series that the artist made throughout his life," explains Lopez. In this sense, Gonzalez points out that the artist "worked for years on different series, such as North Africa, Types and Costumes of Spain, Castles and Alcazars and Mystical Spain. His meticulous work must be well represented so that visitors can take away with them a fairly complete vision. This is one of the main objectives of this space and it is important to take it into consideration when selecting the images. On the other hand, formal issues of the images come into play and must be taken into account so that there is a harmonious and attractive visual story".

The curator explains that the work of renovating the space has been "a very interesting experience, as it involves researching not only the life and work of an author, but also carrying out an exhaustive visual and formal investigation around a body of images. At the same time, we have been able to carry out all the necessary steps for an exhibition of works: from the selection of images and their respective justification, to the final assembly with all the details involved". 

For her part, her partner says that "the challenge was to be able to offer a broad view of the artist while at the same time ensuring that the images were in harmony with each other, that is to say, that there was a dialogue between them, either at a formal or thematic level. We were also in charge of the framing of the pieces and we were present at the assembly, verifying that everything we had projected would be translated into reality. It was a very gratifying and enriching experience that allowed us to know and manage 100%, from theory and practice, the projection and mounting of an exhibition within an institutional space, allowing us certain freedoms by adapting to certain rules or ways of working".

The training they received during the Master's Degree in Curatorial Studies has been of great help to them when facing this task. López explains that "much of the knowledge we received in the LAB Museum course was more than useful to us when it came to working and making decisions. In the course we learned about the workings of the Collection and Exhibitions department, where we now perform our tasks".

Likewise, González highlights that her experience in the curatorial area "is very enriching, since we have the opportunity to get involved in all relevant aspects within the department. We perform tasks such as digitizing photographs and cataloguing in a database, coordinating the mounting and dismounting of exhibitions, receiving and lending works from the collection... This diversity promotes a multifaceted profile and helps us develop decision-making skills in unexpected situations, as well as adapting and effectively resolving different issues that may arise in real time".