During this course we initiated a programme of internships which responded, on the one hand, to the commitment of the museum towards collaborating in an active way in the training of future professionals, and on the other, aimed at promoting learning through experience in the professional fields that are carried out in the museum. The experience has been very fruitful for the staff of the museum and we believe that has also been so for our internship students! As follows we include some of their feedback they provided us with:
Inés Beascoa, carried out her stay in the Department of Exhibitions of the museum and she considered that “My internship experience in the Museu Picasso of Barcelona has been highly positive. First of all, I would like to highlight the conception of the programme of internships offered by the museum, focused on providing, as well as a specialised learning about the activities of the Department itself where they were sent, but also a global knowledge of the overall functioning of an institution of the characteristics. To do so, we have had the opportunity of meeting up each week with the people in charge of each of the Departments as well as from other museums, getting in this way a very complete idea of all the inner workings which are necessary for the effective functioning of a museum institution. […] All of this has helped me to acquire an experience in all these functions, something very necessary for all those of us who are aiming to develop a career in the museum world, and which it is impossible to obtain from the university classrooms.”
For his part, Ignacio Pérez-Chao, who had participated in the tasks of the Department of Preventive Conservation and Restoration, wanted to emphasise the fact that “The four months that my stay lasted […] were very profitable since I was able to put into practice the knowledge that I had acquired about preventive conservation during my postgraduate studies, and that in addition I had the opportunity to collaborate in the intervention of different pieces. One of the most enriching experiences was being able to collaborate in the installation and the dismantling of the exhibition “Picasso/Dalí. Dalí/Picasso”, in which we were able to get in contact with professionals from all over the world.”
Finally, Lucía Laborda, who carried out her activity in the Department of Educational Services and Cultura Events, highlighted the fact that “As well as the experience in itself, which has been very enjoyable and enriching, I am taking away with me, on the one hand, everything I have learnt (techniques, values, attitudes, and practical and theoretical knowledge) which I very much believe will be very useful for me in my professional future. And, on the other hand, the people I have got to know, with whom I have been in contact with thanks to this internship. Finally, I will also go away with a wider and more complete vision of what it means to work in a museum, as well as a new range of options in a field of work that I had not thought about before.”
Thank you very much to everyone for your evaluations and feedback, and we very much hope that next year’s internships will be similarly enriching for everyone!
Museu Picasso newsroom
July 16, 2015
Des del museu volem donar les gràcies als estudiants que han participat d’aquesta primera experiència per la seva dedicació i compromís amb el projecte i amb la formació que els hem ofert: ha estat un luxe comptar amb ells! També agraïm als representants dels diversos departaments del museu per dedicar-los temps per explicar els seus departaments, i molt especialment als col·legues d’altres museus que tan generosament ens van acollir i ens van presentar les seves institucions i projectes: Mireia Mayoles, del Museum Marítim de Barcelona, Quim Vicente, del Museu de Cultures del Món, Sílvia Noguer, del MACBA i Mario Corea, del CCCB.