We have to look for new museum models to turn the crisis around and transform it into an opportunity to attract people

It basically consists in making CosmoCaixa an engaging place and in trying to attract as many visitors as possible to the museum. That means having a very good grasp of who our audience is, which we achieve through the evaluations conducted by the La Caixa Foundation. We also need to have a thorough understanding of our environment, our price and non-price policies, etc. And we need to communicate that. So, my job has a communication dimension, a dimension of understanding our environment, and, finally, a planning dimension. We work with the content team from the Culture Area to create the CosmoCaixa programming. 

Humanities have always been my passion. I started the degree in Audiovisual Communication, but I had this feeling that I was missing out on the university as a place to explore who you are, to get to know yourself, to grow as a person. Then, a teacher told me, ‘You’re someone who has to read more and write more before you begin these studies.’ I had always liked UPF a lot as a university and as a concept, and I decided to study Humanities, because it is so cross-disciplinary and global. I had a lot of interests, and I couldn’t choose to study just history, art, literature or philosophy. 

I had this feeling that I was missing out on the university as a place to explore who you are, to get to know yourself, to grow as a person.

Knowing how to read and knowing how to write, and to do it well, knowing how to communicate. I think that’s very important. Also, knowing how to find information, choose it, check sources, etc., opened a big window for me. And constant curiosity to learn new things. Those are a great starting point for a lot of future developments. For example, my team often goes back to the classics, philosophy, historical events, etc.

I think fine arts degrees have always been looked down upon, but I advocate showcasing their value. They can be a very good basis for everyday activities and play an important role in contemporary society. Maybe the problem isn’t so much the humanities, but our local and national context, how they’re organized. It would be great if the degree included another year to familiarize students with more prospective careers, which are numerous and quite diverse. We need to open our minds more, not pigeonhole ourselves. Humanities graduates can even go on to lead companies. Today, many great women executives have a background in humanities.

The humanities can provide a very good basis for everyday activities and play an important role in contemporary society. 

Museums need to be transformative, i.e. play a social role. To be open to all

Social media play a very important role in creating a community, in generating interest, questions and curiosity, all of which makes people come to the museum later. They have to generate debate that helps strengthen the role of the museum without replacing it. In our case, we use social media to pique curiosity in ways that can ultimately be satisfied here, at CosmoCaixa. We use them to reach a more specific audience and, therefore, to reach more people. Also, to give information that the museum does not provide. With regard to apps, I’m critical of any that cause us to miss out on the museum experience, that make us pay more attention to our phones than, say, to a work of art. However, we created clues for a Museum Night treasure hunt. People used technology for support in discovering the museum and it added to the experience.

Having visitors is always a major concern for museums. Jesús Pedro Lorente, one of the greats of museum studies, said that museums are always viewed as ancient cathedrals, to which people make pilgrimages, but which they do not explore or have interest in. There is an age at which people do not want to come to museums. We try to get our audience to participate in the programming, to make CosmoCaixa an attractive place. There is a lot of work to do and we need to strengthen the strategy and familiarize ourselves with the environment. Museums with similar themes could even partner to create itineraries, routes, more engaging activities... Maybe we should rethink our hours or how museums are used. 

In addition to training you, universities are for helping you on your inner journey