Collection: Policies

CONSERVATION OF THE COLLECTION

The conservation plan follows general guidelines for all the works, including controlled, monitored and stable temperature and RH conditions, smoke detection, fire prevention measures, and regular weekly reviews of the exhibited works by the Museum's conservation team.

These measures are accompanied by a 24-hour physical and video surveillance plan.

The paintings and sculptures are described morphologically after inspection one by one, which allows to establish a report of the condition of the work when it enters the collection. The works are registered in the collection's database where the state of conservation of each piece is recorded.

In the case of photography and depending on the characteristics of the process, type of paper, type of emulsion and state of conservation, the pieces are subjected to physical cleaning and stored in individual Mylar envelopes. Each photograph is entered with a registration number andpreserved in fire-enameled trays or acid-free containers.

When the pieces are catalogued, the conservation conditions of the piece are indicated in a specific field (good, fair or poor). When a work is loaned for an exhibition before it leaves the Museum, a complete condition report is made in which the condition of the work is referenced and it is photographed at high resolution so that its condition is recorded. 

CRITERIA AND HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF COLLECTION GROWTH

This photography collection is a living collection, still growing. 

The strategic lines of development of the collection are focused on the one hand on completing research on the development of the photographic technique from its origins to the present day, and on the other hand on promoting contemporary art and creation. 

1. Through the program called "Tender puentes"inherited from the Photographic Fund and initiated in 2002, visual artists are invited to develop their own project with the support of those responsible for the collection and the exhibition area. The project is included in the editorial line of the same name. 

Since 2016, the performative artists have also had a program of Artistic Residencies inspired by the collection and collected in the collection "Cuadernos de Creación". 

The purpose of both programs is to produce contemporary work taking as a starting point the historical pieces preserved in the Museum. Several contemporary authors of national and international prestige have been invited to carry out a personal reflection, a project of their own in dialogue with the key pieces of universal photography contained in the Museum's collection.

International photographers such as Roland Fischer, Lynne Cohen, Gabriele Basilico or Luis González Palma, and national photographers such as Manuel Brazuelo, Jorge Ribalta, María Bleda and José María Rosa, Joan Fontcuberta or Javier Vallhonrat, or Navarrese photographers such as Ángel Fuentes, Carlos Cánovas and Carlos Irijalba, among others, have participated in this program. A total of 35 visual artists and thirteen performative arts artists have participated in these programs to date, enriching the Museum's collection.

In addition to these programs, there are the traditional ways of adding works to the collection by  acquiring them on the market, either directly from the artists or from galleries or auction houses. The Museum does not have a fixed annual budget for the purchase of works, but decides on its acquisitions according to the collection's development strategy.

3. The Museum carries out crowdfunding or micro-sponsorship campaigns that allow the acquisition of new pieces.

4. The rest of the artistic incorporations come to the Museum through donations from people linked to art who wish to contribute to the work of research, teaching and dissemination carried out by the institution. 

LOAN OF COLLECTIONS

The Museo Universidad de Navarra is an open museum in constant relationship with other national and international art centers.

Since its opening in 2015 it has collaborated by lending its collections to exhibition projects produced by other Museums and Institutions among which we highlight: IVAM, ARTIUM, Museo Esteban Vicente, Museo Bellas Artes de Bilbao, MACBA, CAAM, MNCARS, MNAC, Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Maison de Patrimoine, Hôtel de Sully, Instituto Cervantes, Saint LouisArt Museum , Museo Balenciaga and The Israel Museum.

The requesting institution is asked to submit its facility report and to verify that it meets the environmental, physical and security criteria for the exhibition of the requested pieces. If it does not meet these criteria, the loan is denied. If what has been requested to exhibit are photographs, facsimile reproductions are offered. These reproductions are made under the supervision of the team responsible for the collection and are returned to the Museum after the exhibition.

In turn, the Museum has its own facility report that is provided to institutions that are requested to loan works of art.

The work loans made in each year are included in the corresponding annual report.