MA CURATING AT SUNDERLAND

DESCRIPTION

Being a successful curator in the 21st Century can involve
organisation, management, display and production across a
wide range of fields - from contemporary art exhibitions to
musical events, from museum displays to practical workshops.
Like artists, curators develop their own practice at
individual and collaborative levels.

MA Curating at the University of Sunderland is the only
course in the UK to specialise in the concerns of curating
across the fields of Art, Design, Media & Culture. This
innovative and ground-breaking post-graduate programme
(incorporating Post-Graduate Certificate, Post-Graduate
Diploma and Masters levels) is also the only one of its
type internationally to combine the curation of artefacts
and objects from the worlds of Fine Art and Applied Art
and Design alongside the initiation and organisation of
projects, exhibitions and events by (and with) contemporary
artists and cultural practitioners.

This new programme will highlight the histories of how
people have collected and displayed culture whilst
investigating and testing the methods and skills needed to
be a curator today. It is designed to accommodate many
kinds of curator; from the arts administrator and events
co-ordinator to the artist-curator and curator-artist;
from the design exhibitor to the gallery education worker;
from the new media curator to those individuals who work
in alternative and ad hoc contexts of cultural organisation
and event programming.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE IN CONTEXT

MA Curating complements other initiatives at the University
of Sunderland such as the ongoing investigation into curating
new media art (www.crumbweb.org - an international resource
for curators). The University of Sunderland has become a
leading centre in academic and professional research on
exhibiting digital and new media contemporary art. MA Curating
draws on the wide range of professional curating experience
and expertise of staff from Glass to Fine Art, Design History
to Performance. The programme puts the expanding culture of
the North East of England in an international context. It
offers the student a dynamic learning environment close to
BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, The Sage and a host of
other galleries, projects and freelance initiatives across
the region. In addition, MA Curating offers the skills
necessary to impact upon practice via its international
networks.

AIM OF THE PROGRAMME

The Programme provides a breadth of knowledge and expertise
necessary to critically navigate the multifaceted and expanding
field of curating in the current climate. MA Curating focuses
on the practice of its participants via individual and
collaborative projects and offers a far reaching historical
and theoretical programme through writing and debate.

TEACHING STAFF

The course offers expertise from curators and academics at the
forefront of their discipline:

- Prof. Beryl Graham, Programme Leader (curator of 'Serious
Games', co-author of 'Rethinking Curating', co-editor of CRUMB).
- Dr. Tim Brennan, Head of Department, Arts & Design (artist
and curator).
- Mike Collier, Lecturer (curator, artist and consultant).
- Dr. Sarah Cook, post-doctoral research fellow, co-curator
of 'Database Imaginary',co-author of 'Rethinking Curating', and
co-editor of CRUMB).
- Dr. Carol McKay, Senior Lecturer, Photography, Video and
Digital Imaging (writer and academic).

Additional contributing staff include:

- Prof. Sylva Petrova, (specialism: glass)
- Jack Dawson, Senior Lecturer (specialism: Design History and
Theory)
- Neil Ewins, Lecturer (specialism: Design History and Theory)
- Prof. Peter Davies, (Art Consultant)

Visiting Speakers have included:

- Kathy Rae Huffman, formerly Curator at the Long Beach
Museum of Art, California, director of Hull Time Based Arts,
and Director of Visual Arts at Cornerhouse, Manchester.
- Caitlin Jones, formerly of Guggenheim Museum, New York,
and curator of Seeing Double, now director of Western Front,
Vancouver.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Description

This programme involves a practice-based approach to learning
whilst providing a thorough understanding of the theoretical
and historical underpinnings of curating. MA Curating is
structured through 5 modules (also incorporating postgraduate
certificate and postgraduate diploma levels of attainment).
The following is a brief description of the modules:

Modules

Genealogies of Curating(CURM01, Postgraduate Certificate)

This module studies a range of histories connected to the
development of contemporary curating. This initial seminar
and lecture based module establishes a substantial basis for
the practice of curating in all its forms and begins by
introducing contemporary curating as a multi-faceted and
historically deep-rooted concept.

Mechanics of Curating(CURM02, Postgraduate Certificate)

This module brings together the main procedures of exhibition
organizing as objects of study. It looks at a range of
practical aspects that form the professional basis of any
curator whether they are working or intend to work in the
public or private sectors. The module establishes this via a
combination of workshops led by professionals working in the
field, group visits to cultural organizations in the region
and keynote presentations by core staff.

Curating a Region(CURM03, Postgraduate Diploma)

This module builds on the practical concerns of Contemporary
Art & Design infrastructures in a region. It will examine
the relationship of local/regional production to an
international market and global culture. It takes as its
main object of study the environment of the North-East and
investigates the role artists have played in the growth of
arts provision. Curating a Regionis delivered via a
combination of field trips and lecture/seminars.

Visions of Curating(CURM04, Postgraduate Diploma)

This module interrogates models of curatorial practice both
in and out of the museum. It looks, in particular, at the
ways in which artists have adopted the ideas and practices of
curating into their work, the role of the collection, and
models of the distribution of art derived from media. The
module provides a platform for further enquiry into new
and emerging models of curatorial practice. It asks: What are
the possible future models of curating contemporary art? The
module is delivered via lecture/seminars including case
studies.

Curatorial Practice(CURM05, Masters level)

In this final module, students work either individually or
collaboratively on a project of their own, either in
association with a regional cultural institution or
independently in the region (or further a field if applicable).
Projects do not necessarily have to be realized as completed
cultural events/exhibitions but exist as 'display'
[presentation of advanced research]. The written aspects of
the module (Project Report) contextualise the practical
aspect with any topic covered previously in the programme.

Assessment

Each module involves a submission of an essay, written case
study (with visual material) or in the case of Curatorial
Practice (CURM05) a Project Report.

APPLICATION

Through application form and interview or in the case of
overseas candidates by written application, telephone interview
and or written correspondence. (For more detailed information
on applications please contact Tim Brennan (Programme Leader)
or the School of Art, Design, Media & Culture office,
University of Sunderland (contact details below)

COURSE DURATION

The duration of the course is: one year full-time, 2 years
part-time.

It is modular in structure offering Post-graduate Certificate,
Diploma, and Masters levels.

CONTACT

If you are interested in being part of this new and dynamic
research culture of curating at the University of Sunderland
please contact:

Beryl Graham
MA Curating Programme Leader
University of Sunderland
beryl.grahamsunderland.ac.uk
or Tim Brennan tim.brennansunderland.ac.uk
Further details:
url: http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/study/coursedetails/index.php?cid=611