Stocker Rd
Exeter EX4 4PY
United Kingdom
The new MA Curation programme at the University of Exeter is now welcoming applications for September 2022 entry.
This twelve-month, intensive Masters is part of an emerging cluster of creative industries postgraduate taught courses at Exeter, combining academic rigour and critical debate with professional training and practical experience within the field of contemporary art. Teaching on the MA Curation is split between Exeter and London, with the course based at a leading contemporary arts institution in Term 2. Students also attend field trips to international biennials, exhibitions and institutions as well as undertaking a six-week professional placement, tailored to their curatorial interests.
The programme is transnational in focus and encourages an understanding of the social, cultural and economic issues that surround the contemporary art world. We think critically about the relationship between the local and international in different regions of the world, the art market and non-profit spaces, and the decolonisation of exhibition programmes and art fairs. As well as exploring the critical context and theoretical approaches associated with contemporary arts practices, there is a professional practice strand of the course that focuses on production skills and administration. Modules include “Arts of the Contemporary World,” “Institutions and Agencies: the business of contemporary art” and “Art Writing,” amongst others.
In the final term, students have the option to either organise a curatorial project or write a research dissertation. In our inaugural year, the theme for the 2021 practice-based projects chosen by the MA students was “Antibodies: Art During the Pandemic.” Students undertook placements at Frieze Art Fair, Whitechapel Gallery, Sharjah Art Foundation, Government Art Collection, KARST and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, amongst other institutions.
The course is led by Programme Director, Professor Tom Trevor and lecturer, Josie Cockram. Drawing on additional expertise from the university’s Art History and Visual Culture team and across the world, lectures and seminars are framed around conversations with internationally recognised curators, artists, researchers and writers. Recent guest lecturers in 2021 included: Sean Lynch, Billy Tang, Shwetal Patel, Omar Kholeif, Irina Stepanova, Keiko Yamamato, Dulcie Abrahams Altass, Raluca Voinea, Jessica Taylor, Sally O’Reilly, Melissa Gronlund, Ben Eastham, Tamsin Dillon and Anthony Huberman.
This programme will help students develop subject specific, academic and transferrable skills, including high order conceptual and visual literacy and communication skills, leading to curatorial careers in public galleries and museums, the commercial sector or arts consultancy.
The University of Exeter in the South West of England is a Russell Group university, in the top 150 of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings 2022. We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, with over 27,000 students and 4600 staff from 150 different countries.
How to apply
For more information on the programme, available scholarships and how to apply online, please visit the course page on our website or enquire online. Keep up to date with all programme activities by following us on Instagram.
