Curating as Critical Practice

• Credit value: 15 credits at Level 7
• Assessment: a 5000-word written assignment (100%)

This module will help you develop a critical understanding and approach to contemporary curating. The module will introduce histories, theories and critiques of curating, enabling you to establish a critical approach to curating and contemporary visual art. Focus will be placed on learning about different models and experiments from different parts of the world in an attempt to grasp a better understanding of what constitutes curating as critical practice in an expanding field of exhibition organising, event management and audience development.

This module is structured around group discussions, readings and presentations by the tutor on the theoretical, historical and contextual issues of curating rather than on the practical elements of curating. You will gain confidence in discussing contemporary art and develop skills in presenting arguments for your selection and method of curating. This module is ideal for those wanting to develop a more critical approach to their practice, investigate alternative approaches to working with contemporary visual art and reinvigorate their knowledge and understanding of histories and theories of curating in relation to visual art. The module is based on set readings and case studies, which we will use for our discussions each week.

Indicative module syllabus

• What is curating to you?
• Histories and legacies of curatorial projects
• Models and approaches to contemporary curating
• Institutional frameworks
• The politics and ethics of curating

By the end of this module, you will have:

• a critical understanding of the histories and theories of curating in the twenty-first century
• confidence in discussing contemporary visual art
• practical experience in self-directed research
• further understanding of curating as critical practice in an expanding field of exhibition organising, event management and audience development.