Nebrija Arts and Humanities Institute has gathered a team of professionals with wide experience in the educational field. Artists, Art Historians, University Teachers and Professionals, all based in Madrid but coming from different parts of the world, and for whom Art is essential to create a richer and more inclusive society.
A passion for Art and the firm conviction that arts education principles and practices do contribute to resolve the social and cultural challenges our world faces today, have driven all my career choices and professional decisions.
My journey began when, after finishing an MFA at Yale, I settled in Spain to develop a career as a painter. However, a growing interest in Art Education inspired me to begin teaching, initially decorative arts workshops for minority groups. The awareness that innovation is fundamental for Education led me into designing and implementing original academic structures and curricula, such as the first Art MBA in Spain (2005) where I still teach today or building from scratch as Vice Dean and currently as Arts Department Director, a new University Arts Faculty in Madrid which offered in 2010, the first BA´s in the Spanish University system in Arts Management, Scenic Arts, Interior Design and Fine Arts & Technology.
My main concern as an Academic Leader is to keep promoting relentlessly the teaching of Art as a fundamental tool to help create a better and more just society.
What I bring with enthusiasm to Nebrija Arts and Humanities Institute is more than 18 years of experience leading Art Programs and helping students finding their own voice through perseverance, hard work and, of course, reminding them of the importance of what the great Art of the Past can teach us!
I look forward, along with Nebrija Arts and Humanities Institute Artists, Scholars and professionals to welcome you in Madrid for a unique Artistic and lifelong learning experience.
Cecilia de la Puente Allott is the coordinator of the Nebrija Institute of Arts and Humanities.
She is an art historian specializing in contemporary art from the Complutense University of Madrid and holds a Master’s degree in Art Market and Business Management from Nebrija University, where she received an honorary distinction for her outstanding research on the intersection of art, science, and technology in Madrid.
Cecilia has extensive experience in cultural management within the art market, having collaborated with renowned institutions and companies such as the ABC Museum, García|galería, The Ryder Projects, Art Madrid | Contemporary Art Fair, and Arts Exclusive, where she also served as a corporate guide at ARCOmadrid.
Additionally, she is an independent researcher with a particular focus on the intersections between art and technology.
Ignacio Serrano is an illustrator and comic artist who lives between New York and Madrid.
In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Fulbright scholarship, which allowed him to complete an MFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts, graduating two years later.
Since the summer of 2017, he has worked as a graphic designer and assistant to the legendary Milton Glaser. In addition, he works as a freelance illustrator and as a professor of Fine Arts and Design at the School of Visual Arts (New York). In Madrid, he teaches at various universities.
His talent has been recognized by renowned publications and competitions such as American Illustration, Creative Quarterly, Latin American Illustration, Communication Arts y 3x3 Magazine, among others, establishing him as a prominent figure in the world of illustration and design.
Born in 1990, he completed his primary and secondary education between Madrid (Spain) and Reading, Berkshire (United Kingdom). He holds a degree in Law and a diploma in Economics from the University of Navarra - IESE (Navarra, Spain). He also completed a course in Common Law at Fordham University (New York, USA) and a Master’s in Financial Markets and Banking at CUNEF (Madrid, Spain).
His professional experience has focused on the financial sector (investment banking, IPOs, and private equity operations), where he has worked for eight years in both Spain and the United States. He is involved in various technology, hospitality, and real estate companies. He serves as the director of the foundational project of the Aldebarán Collection, an ambitious initiative aimed at promoting socio-cultural initiatives on both a national and international scale. The project is built on two fundamental pillars expected of a professional art collection: responsible and committed patronage that supports and endorses emerging artists, enabling them to develop their work while studying, researching, and creating; and a long-lasting approach to art collecting, always aligned with the contemporary artists of our time.
The project collaborates with prestigious organizations such as Herbert & Smith Freehills (United Kingdom), Abadía Retuerta, ArtNexus (Colombia), Pinta (USA), Estampa, and Fundación ProArte (Ecuador), among others. Notably, through Aldebarán, an artist residency project in Ecuador is in development, awaiting an improvement in the country’s conditions before its launch.
Victorino is a member of the advisory board and trustee of various art organizations and institutions both nationally and internationally. He is also a partner and co-founder of The Roamer Project.
Claudia Rodriguez-Ponga Linares is currently an Associate Professor at IE University and SUR Escuela (UC3M) and a guest professor at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Universitat Oberta de Catalunya of Catalonia (UOC).
She is currently curating a site specific solo project with Eva Lootz which will take place in 2024 (Sala Alcalá 31). Her curatorial practice includes other solo exhibitions with Valeria Maculan (OTR Espacio de Arte), Sara Ramo (Sala Alcalá 31) and Debora Bolsoni (Athena Contemporanea, Drawing Lab Paris), as well as group exhibitions and projects of a collaborative nature such as “Nudo-Nido”, curated alongside Isabella Lenzi and selected by a jury of experts for the Sala de Arte Joven de la Comunidad de Madrid.
She organizes or gets involved in workshops and experiences with the artists she collaborates with, with whom she shares a common interest for the shaping of communal experience, such as “Cuatro tardes tamo”, held alongside Eva Lootz in the Museo Reina Sofía, or her intervention in “La escuela perturbable II” in the context of the exhibition on Francesc Tosquelles (also in Museo Reina Sofia). Her recent academic publications include essays such as “Algo piensa”, in Revista Concreta, “Cuentos caníbales”, in a book edited by the Institute of Postnatural Studies, “El tarot de Eva”, in Accesos Magazine (UCM), “Sobre el arte como trabajo afectivo-reproductivo”, in Arte ConTexto Magazine, “¿Creen ustedes en lo que existe?”, in Re-visiones Magazine (UCM), or “Crítica en estado de rêverie”, in Revista de Occidente.
She has also published texts in catalogues of artists such as Sonia Navarro Peralta or Paulo Nimer Pjotta. She is author of the book Tentempié, a compilation of essays on painters and painting and her ”Brief Treatise on Art and Magic” is available in Portuguese here and partially available in Spanish here.
Carlos Urroz is the Director of the Institutional Office at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS).
He has also served as an Institutional Advisor for Cultural Foundations, where he develops innovative strategies and fosters connections between public institutions, donors, and audiences to help them achieve their goals and missions. Additionally, he focuses on building new bridges between continents and regions, particularly between Latin America and Europe. Among his notable projects for 2023-2024 are the Fondation Fiminco (France), Centro León (Dominican Republic), and the Fundación Amigos Museo Reina Sofía (Spain).
Previously, he was the Executive Director of TBA21 (Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary), a foundation established by Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza dedicated to producing, exhibiting, and collecting contemporary works focused on social and environmental issues, a position he held from 2019 to 2023.
From 2011 to early 2019, he directed ARCOmadrid, where he led its transformation during Europe’s economic crisis, strengthened relations with South America, created the Opening section for emerging galleries, and expanded ARCO's international presence with the launch of ARCOLisboa in 2016.
Between 2005 and 2011, he founded and directed UP (Urroz Proyectos), an organization dedicated to supporting private and public cultural projects in strategic and communication areas. Simultaneously, he served as a Visual Arts Advisor for various institutions in the Madrid region and was a member of the Fundación ICO committee. From 1998 to 2006, he directed the Helga de Alvear Gallery and, before that, served as Associate Director of ARCO for four years.
A trustee of the Fundación ARCO, his extensive expertise in the visual arts sector has led him to participate in juries such as the Princess of Asturias Awards and the Institut de France. He also collaborates with universities, publications, and nonprofit organizations.
José Luis Guijarro is the Director of the Master’s Dregree in Art Market and Management of Related Companies at Nebrija University.
Jose holds a PhD in Art History from Complutense University of Madrid, an MA in Art Business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art and a Master's Degree in Contemporary Art History and Visual Culture from Autónoma University of Madrid.
Prior to joining Nebrija University Jose has worked for the Department of Contemporary Art at Christie's and as Curatorial Director and Valuations at MutualArt in London. He is the founder of Programa Taide and 57 non-profit Organizations aimed at supporting contemporary art and artists. Between 1999 and 2009, José Luis worked as Financial Controller at Grupo Ferrovial.
Julia is founder and owner of JB & Associate AC Lab focused on conservation and restoration of contemporary and modern art. She holds a B.A. in Fine Arts with a specialty in painting conservation, a D.E.A. and a Ph.D. from the Complutense University of Madrid. She has worked as a conservator for more than two decades, leading a trans-disciplinary team of professionals where she employs scientific techniques, multi-spectral diagnosis, advanced technology, nano materials and state-of-the-art instrumentation, respecting the identity of the work, attending to the artist and under international standards of minimal intervention.
Professor of the Advanced Program of Art and Antiques Appraisal at Nebrija University, she is since 2018 head of conservation of the SOLO Collection, creating the first Lab in Spain of conservation of Time-Based Media Art in 2020.She is co-founder of fortheloveofart.org together with the SIT Spain group, and manages from preventive conservation important private art collections and contemporary galleries. Julia and her team are the preferred curators of the art fairs ARCO, UVNT Art Fair, among other international fairs such as Frieze, Art Basel, collaborating as an associate for art companies in Europe, England and the United States in different projects.
She has an internship at MNCARS and she is the first promotion of the Master of appraisal, valuation and expertise by the School of Art & Antiques of Madrid. She studied in Florence, London and Paris. She has worked for Patrimonio Nacional in the Royal Palace, Ministry of Culture, Community of Madrid, Community of Castilla y León and in the prestigious studio of Hamish Dewars LTD in London. He leads conservation projects for religious orders, churches and cathedrals, and especially for the Society of Jesus.
Regular speaker at art forums, he participates in seminars, congresses and international meetings. In 2018 she launched the podcast Por Amor al Arte, is an art ambassador for Cris Cancer Spain and is proud to be a Canarian and bring the Cibeles to Chicago and the Spanish adhesive "La gacha" to Yale University in 2019.
She is a Member of AIC, IIC, ICOM-CC, ARA, ApoyONLINE and for the last two terms she has been on the board of the Spanish Group of IIC.
