Before arriving in the UK, I imagined that doing a MA degree would mainly involve attending lectures, studying a great deal and submitting assignments. (Of course, that is the main part.) But it didn’t take me long to discover that British university life extends far beyond the lecture theatre.

Studying for a MA in Art History and Curating at the University of Birmingham meant (fortunately) that the museum literally became our classroom. We went on group trips to various museums, such as the Courtauld Gallery and the Birmingham Museum of Art and Gallery, and had lessons right in front of the very artworks we were studying. After so many years of learning art history through books and photographs, being able to discuss and analyse a piece that was right in front of us was one of my favourite moments.

I attended talks where lecturers shared the results of their research and took part in activities organised by our own department. I even took part in a Christmas quiz organised by the Department of Art History, Curatorial Studies and Visual Studies. My team came second! The prize? A box of Oreo biscuits and a giant chocolate bar!

I also discovered that the UoB was the perfect place to try things I’d never done before. I signed up for climbing classes, took part in activities organised by the Japan Club and learnt how to make mochi, went to events where I learnt things like making Christmas decorations, painting, making bracelets or decorating plant pots, and attended the Student Union’s FAB parties. Some activities allowed me to discover new interests, whilst others simply gave me the chance to meet loads of people.

Even my student accommodation had its own exclusive events. At Shackleton, they organised several fairs with fairground rides, doughnuts, ice cream and burgers. I also visited the university’s Christmas market and discovered that the campus can be completely transformed depending on the time of year.

Before I came, I was really worried about what the structure of the classes would be like and whether I’d be able to keep up with the academic pace. I wish I’d known that studying at a British university doesn’t mean spending all your time between a lecture theatre and the library. Some of my fondest memories are of standing in front of a work of art, hanging like a monkey from a climbing wall, trying to make mochi, or discussing absurdly important answers with my team during a Christmas quiz.

The master’s degree taught me a great deal about Art History and Curating, but the university also gave me something I hadn’t expected: a space where I could continue learning even when I wasn’t in class.

- Fernanda Lorena
 

As a student at the University of Birmingham, students are encouraged to go out into the real world and put what they have learnt into practice. As a student on the MA programme in Art History and Curating, I came across opportunities I could never have imagined.

I worked as a volunteer for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, assisting visitors at the house where William Shakespeare was born and grew up, and explaining the cultural significance of the site to people from all over the world. It was particularly rewarding to meet people who spoke my own language and to be able to explain everything to them in it. I realised that my Spanish was not a weakness, but a strength. I also discovered how a love of knowledge can bring together a huge group of volunteers from very different backgrounds, all willing to go the extra mile every day to offer visitors a memorable experience.

Similarly, over the summer I collaborated with Nook Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in Birmingham, on an exhibition to mark its third anniversary, the central theme of which revolved around how we think about nature. In this exhibition, not only was I able to put into practice what I had learnt about writing curatorial texts and engaging with different audiences, but I also got stuck in to help set up the exhibition. Both experiences have enabled me to meet people from different cultural backgrounds and to gain a much better understanding of the place I now call home.

Both experiences made me realise that working with diverse audiences requires us to be more understanding, open-minded and inclusive. I also discovered that my language and my own cultural background were not obstacles I had to overcome, but rather tools I could contribute.

- Fernanda Lorena
 

The incredible collections in London’s museums have been a great source of inspiration to me for as long as I can remember. When I finally finished my degree in history, I knew exactly where I wanted to go to do my master’s degree.

I applied to several universities in the UK, and after researching the cultural institutions they had to offer, I decided to accept a place to study for a MA in Art History and Curating at the University of Birmingham, in the very year it was celebrating its 125th anniversary. One of the main reasons I chose it – apart from the undeniable value of the research carried out by its lecturers in the Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies – is the opportunity it offers its students to work with the collections held by the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

It is a magnificent institution founded by Lady Barber, who was driven by a desire to share the most significant works of art and music with the university community and the wider region. As a student, I had the opportunity to study in its magnificent library and its extensive archives, and to engage with the works that make up its collections.

As a student, I was able to enjoy one of my favourite experiences to date: taking part in the online exhibition ‘Pocket-Size Power: A Feminist History of Portrait Miniatures’. The project involved working with staff from the Barber Institute alongside those from the Victoria and Albert Museum, visiting their collections and learning directly from specialists and from the objects themselves. After so many years of gazing at the pieces from behind the display cases, being able to engage with them from the archives – whilst wearing the appropriate protective gear, of course – was extraordinary.

I worked on this project from scratch, alongside colleagues from both the UK and other countries such as Korea and China. We pooled the topics we were most passionate about to bring to life an exhibition comprising miniature portraits, exploring the role of women as artists and as patrons, as well as their experiences within the colonial context. (I actually held a portrait of Elizabeth I in my hands!) Our visits to both archives allowed us to see and handle items that rarely see the light of day, to discuss and research new topics, and to get involved in aspects we hadn’t previously considered. One example of this was promoting the exhibition, for which we produced videos and various social media posts.

The project allowed me to discover that an exhibition begins long before the public can see it: in the archives, in the questions we ask of the objects, in the discussions within a team, and in the decisions about which stories we want to tell. Having gone through that whole process, I feel much better prepared to apply what I’ve learnt in the professional world.

- Fernanda Lorena
 

Once I’d managed to secure my offer to study for a MA in Art History and Curating at the University of Birmingham, I thought the lectures would be the toughest challenge I’d face. And whilst it’s true that all my skills and experiences up to that point really put me to the test academically, I discovered that living on the other side of the world involves so much more than just learning the language.

Once you get past the first few days of adjusting to the accent and start to understand the cultural differences (I realised that ‘you alright’ isn’t a question inviting you to pour your heart out, but simply a ‘hello’), you begin to realise that, somehow, you fit in there: amongst your classmates, the people you live with, and the new friends you’re making.

Other challenges I face may seem minor from the outside, but they are not. I learnt that British politeness has its own codes and that sometimes you have to learn to read between the lines; that football is a sport experienced with a spirit very similar to that of Mexico; that the sea off Wales is freezing, but still enjoyable; that eating fish and chips in a pub is quite a ritual; and that day and night cannot be gauged simply by looking out of the window.

I didn’t just learn about UK culture. Some of my friends come from places as diverse as India, China, Kazakhstan, Korea, Thailand and Japan. I’ve had the chance to celebrate important occasions with them, try their traditional recipes and ask them every question imaginable about their lives and their countries. Comparing their experiences with mine has been one of the most enriching experiences of this year. I’ve learnt a great deal from them, but also about myself, and I’ve learnt to appreciate my own heritage in new ways.

There are many things I wish I’d known before arriving in Birmingham: that the rain isn’t torrential like it is in Aguascalientes, but falls almost imperceptibly, so that it feels as though you’re breathing it in whilst walking through the mist; that even though it gets dark at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, life doesn’t come to a standstill; and that in summer, an eye mask saves you from waking up at 4 in the morning; or that the secret to surviving the winter isn’t to wear the thickest jumper in the world, but to learn to dress in (multiple) layers and have a good waterproof jacket.

However, I realised that there are some things nobody can fully prepare you for. You have to discover them for yourself. I’ve struggled, I’m still learning and I’m still picking up new things, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I packed rather poorly for the British weather; I had no waterproof clothing, nor any shoes that wouldn’t get soaked, and to my surprise, I discovered that the British heat is so humid that 26 degrees can feel as intense as 36 degrees in Mexico (to the point where all the trains stop running!), but, fortunately, I came much better prepared for everything else than I’d imagined.

I arrived thinking mainly about everything I wanted to learn about art and museums; almost a year on, I realise that I’ve also learnt to live on my own in another country, to get by in cultures different from my own, and to trust much more in the education I’d brought with me from Mexico.

- Fernanda Lorena
 

When I was 19, I visited London with my favourite aunt. I’ve always loved history and art, but touring the city’s museums made me realise, for the first time, that one day I wanted to be a historian. When I finally finished my degree, I decided it was time to return to the place where it all began.

I chose to study for a MA in Art History and Curatorship at the University of Birmingham, a programme that is quite rare even within the UK. One of the main reasons was the opportunity to work directly with such an important cultural institution as the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, which forms part of the university, and to learn through collections of international significance. (They have works by artists such as Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo!)

At first, I was daunted by the thought of studying at a university ranked amongst the top 100 in the world. Just securing a place felt like a huge achievement, and I arrived wondering whether I would be up to the challenge. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was indeed prepared. My education in Mexico gave me solid tools to tackle the demands of the master’s programme, and I soon realised that I wasn’t just there to learn from an internationally renowned institution, but that I also had my own knowledge, experiences and perspectives to contribute.

Almost a year after my arrival, I look back and think of that visit when I was 19. I remember spending the whole day wandering through the galleries of museums such as the British Museum, Tate Britain and the National Gallery, and weeping with emotion at the magnificence of what I saw. Years later, I returned to the UK and had the opportunity to conduct research directly from the collections of the V&A and the Barber Institute, to talk to specialists and to get up close to objects I’d never imagined existed behind the scenes, waiting to be researched and to uncover new narratives of which they might form part.

At the age of 19, I gazed at those collections, wondering what it would be like to devote my life to art and history. Returning years later allowed me to discover not only that I could learn from them, but also that I had something of my own to contribute.

- Fernanda Lorena