Curating as Critical Practice

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 7
• Convenor: to be confirmed
• Assessment: a 5000-word critical essay (100%)
  

In this module you will develop a critical understanding and approach to contemporary curating. We will introduce you to histories, theories and critiques of curating, with a strong focus on a critical approach to curating and contemporary visual art. Emphasis will be placed on learning about different models and experiments from different parts of the world in an attempt to gain a better understanding of what constitutes curating as critical practice in an expanding field of exhibition organising, event management and social practice.

The module offers you an opportunity to gain confidence in discussing contemporary art and identify what constitutes a critical practice in relation to your own experiences. This module is ideal if you want to develop a more critical approach to your practice, investigate alternative approaches to working with contemporary visual art, and reinvigorate your knowledge and understanding of histories and theories of curating in relation to visual art.

Indicative syllabus

• Mapping curatorial encounters
• Histories and legacies of curatorial projects (multiple sessions)
• Curator as… Different models and approaches in contemporary curating (multiple sessions)
• Institutional frameworks
• The politics and ethics of curating