The artist Daniel Canogar gives a workshop to the students of the Master in Curatorial Studies

From April 19 to 22, the artist Daniel Canogar (Madrid, 1964) gave a workshop to the 19 students of the 3rd promotion of the Master in Curatorial Studies. For four days, they reflected on the creative process and presented their own proposals in teams.

In the words of Canogar, who has already taught a workshop in 2020, the objective is "to put the students in the artists' shoes, to let them experience the creative process from the inside. We tend to think of the art world as something very classified and divided between artists, curators, critics... And I think it is much more dynamic and fluid. In that sense, it is important that they understand and live the artistic experience from the making of art".

At the beginning of the workshop, the artist made a theoretical approach from themes such as ruin, excess and phantasmagoria. An audiovisual presentation led the group to a subsequent discussion. The class was divided into different teams that worked for an hour on the conception and execution of an artistic project. They then showed and explained the proposals to the class as a whole. "They have made extremely interesting artistic projects," says the artist, who emphasizes "the complexity of the projects made with very little time. They have come up with very interesting and current topics, such as the pandemic, isolation, the digitalization of our social habits...".

He also stresses the importance of teamwork, collaboration among the different members and the need to make quick decisionsand carry them out: "In the artistic process we always have limits oftime, money and means, and you have to use your ingenuity and agility to solve them. When you build, you see things and accidents happen and you have to know how to take advantage of them". Canogar also highlighted the "enormous ability" of the students to present their projects. Afterwards, the entire class debated what worked or didn't work for each piece. "Part of the bet of the workshop was to think by doing. And I think that's what they enjoyed the most," a philosophy that ties in directly with the vocation of learning by doing that underpins this postgraduate course.

"Doing a master's degree in curatorial studies in a museum is a unique experience. It means experiencing learning by doing. I think there are few masters in the world that have such a direct opportunity and it is excellent," says the artist.