Contemporary Curating
Contemporary Curating
MA Contemporary Curating explores the notion of curatorial practice in contemporary culture by addressing a number of inter-related fields of creative practice and theoretical approaches and situating them in a historical and critical context. The course explores different kinds of curatorial issues in addressing exhibition-forms and exhibition-making processes and how we conceive of spaces of production and curating as subjects with our integrated research and practice-led approach.
The shifting relationship between artist-institution-curator-critic/writer forms a central element to the course with a special focus on the meaning the culture of curating, in which our perception of creativity has been transformed by curating and the discourses surrounding it. The course also explores the potential of seeing curating as something that can be applied to various forms of knowledge: publications, symposia, events and interventions.
This course is available to study full-time over one year, or part-time over two years.
Features
- —MA Contemporary Curating is a dynamic programme for students who wish to develop the essential practical and critical thinking skills that are needed by contemporary curatorial practice. The course also enables you to experiment and study in a diverse range of the wider field and provides access to our dedicated Curating Base Room. This allows you to explore and plan collaborative ideas on an interdisciplinary basis and facilitates a sense of community.
- —You will be supported to develop student-led projects and encouraged to engage in creative and critical dialogue, collaborative mind-mapping and ideas exchange processes.
- —We endeavour to provide you with external experiences that will support your practice. Past students have had the opportunity to take part in the British Council's Venice Fellowships, a programme that encourages students to utilise their trans-disciplinary skills and explore how to work internationally, and the Curators of Tomorrow, an initiative that offered students the opportunity to live and work for the period of one month in one of the Q21 studios at Museums Quartier Wien in Vienna.
- —You will benefit from a programme of events and Curator talks from organisations across the North West, including Liverpool Biennial, Manchester Art Gallery, Open Eye, Tate Liverpool, The Whitworth Gallery and more.
Course Content
In this course you will establish key theories and issues relating to Contemporary Curating, Design Cultures and Contemporary Visual Culture and then develop these into more complex approaches.
You will also be encouraged and supported to extend your experience in the professional sphere either through a practical project, research context, exchange, work experience, or other negotiated professional set of interactions with an external partner, groups of students and creative industry.
Towards the end of the programme you will undertake a major project to consolidate your past research and practice into fully realised collections, pieces, proposals, business plans, or exhibitions (whatever means is appropriate to the work). You will also have developed a strategy for the continuation of your practice located and contextualised to the profession or discipline.
The Programme Leader for MA Contemporary Curating is Dr Gulsen Bal.
Year 1 (MA Full-Time)
The MA Contemporary Curating is made up of five units totalling 180 credits.
Option Units (Subject to Change)
- Art and Design: Culture and Context (30 credits)
- Contemporary Magazine Publishing
- Literature in Translation
- Writing, Illustrating and Publishing Children's Books
Major Project
In this unit, you will pursue artistic and theoretical research questions through the generation of a significant new public facing piece of performance practice, either individually or collaboratively. The work is staff-supervised and involves several sharings with the wider staff and student team.
In addition, students will produce a further appropriate professional trajectory for the project; this might take the form of a work demonstration unpacking the praxis from a laboratory theatre perspective, or a seminar identifying innovative strategies for public engagement and meeting the strategic priorities of relevant funding bodies.
Practice 1: Curating Spaces
The focus of the module is on the framework of curatorial practice through the diverse spaces in which work is exhibited. There is a consideration of the institutional as a condition of influence on exhibition practices and the subsequent relationship to audience. This is further extended through the exploration of the diversity and difference within international contemporary art and curatorial practice.
Practice 2: Curatorial Process
The module considers the nature of the ‘curatorial’ in terms of the processes associated with a contemporary exhibition programme, as well as related activities. In effect, it offers a more applied understanding of exhibition practices. The module considers a range of approaches which might be useful in establishing an individual methodology. It also serves as preparation for the professional practice and the start of the development of an individual voice that is thoroughly grounded in research skills.
Professional Practices
This module extends your understanding of the professional context of Contemporary Curating, contemporary Fine Art, and Painting practices. Through an examination of artworld institutions and structures you will be guided to consider a range of possible positions that the contemporary artist or curator can occupy in the professional domain. The module will extend your experience into the professional sphere, either through a practical project, research context, exchange, work experience, or other negotiated professional set of interactions with an external partner and/or peer group of students.
Art and Design: Culture and Context (30 credits)
This module offers the focused opportunity for you to extend and enhance your practice by working in the wider art and design research community. The study of the cultural and critical contexts of art and design practice is vital to any student of the creative disciplines. This module will develop your ability to contextualise your practice through a series of themes, addressing contemporary issues in art and design.
Contemporary Magazine Publishing
This module will examine contemporary magazine publishing as a creative process, from idea to distribution. You will work in teams to create a pilot issue of a magazine title, considering legal and ethical, as well as creative aspects of magazine publishing.
Literature in Translation
This module will examine the creative, ethical and business aspects of publishing literature in translation. You will work collaboratively in small teams to develop an idea for a new translated book project and produce a number of publishing materials to form a small portfolio of work.
Writing, Illustrating and Publishing Children's Books
You will work collaboratively in small teams to develop an idea for a new children’s book and produce a number of publishing materials to form a small portfolio of work. The module will explore the creative, editorial and business aspects of writing, illustrating and publishing for children.
The module will start with the background in children’s books including a short historical and critical survey of children’s writing and publishing to the present. The module will then focus on the current state of children’s publishing including contexts such as educational structures, age ranges, series fiction, crossover fiction, niche markets, gatekeepers and the importance of ‘pester power.’ You will take on a range of roles including that of illustrator and writer in order to experience all aspects of the creative process.
Postgraduate Curating Platform
Our online Postgraduate Curating Platform is designed to encourage exchange and joint projects that facilitate an engagement in creative and critical dialogue and collaborative mind-mapping processes between students from different institutions worldwide.
MA Contemporary Curating student Mila Januszova awarded prestigious British Council Venice Fellowships by British Council...
"Borders Unveiled: Navigating the Self" exhibition is curated by current MA Contemporary Curating students: Aoife Elston, Victoria Fox, Holly Hare, Grace Hill and Mila Januszova
For each open call, an international panel jurors participate in a crowd-sourced voting process...
Opportunities
Graduates
Our graduates have gone on to work at a wide range of institutions. The programme would be of interest to those planning to pursue a career in the museum and gallery sector, as well as those interested in related cultural work, such as arts administration, publishing and events organisation.
The programme also provides a suitable grounding for further study at doctorate level. Additionally, postgraduates are central to the work of our careers service. Our extensive careers website includes specialist sections for postgraduates and international students.
Making an Application
Entry Requirements
You will normally have an undergraduate UK honours degree, or international equivalent or equivalent UK qualification from an arts or humanities background in a subject that includes some coverage of art history, fine art, or cultural studies at honours degree standard. Alternatively, if your undergraduate degree is not arts or humanities-based you should be able to adequately demonstrate its pertinence or articulate its relevance in your personal statement and how it informs your aspiration to study masters programme in the field of curating.
Overseas applicants will require IELTS with an overall score of 6.5 with no less than 5.5 in any category, or an equivalent accepted English qualification. Accepted English qualifications can be viewed here.
How to Apply
Please apply online using the link below.
Fees 2025 Entry
UK and Channel Island students
Full-time fee: £2000 per 30 credits per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Part-time fee: £2000 per 30 credits studied. The fee per credit will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (eg no repeat years or breaks in study). The total amount you pay each year may differ based on the number of credits studied.
EU and Non-EU International students
Full-time fee: £3667 per 30 credits per year. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Part-time fee: £3667 per 30 credits studied. The fee per credit will remain the same for each year of your course providing you complete it in the normal timeframe (eg no repeat years or breaks in study). The total amount you pay each year may differ based on the number of credits studied.
Additional information
A masters qualification typically comprises 180 credits, a PGDip 120 credits, a PGCert 60 credits, and an MFA 300 credits. Tuition fees will remain the same for each year of study provided the course is completed in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
Eligible alumni receive a 20% discount on their postgraduate tuition fees. Find out more about our Alumni Loyalty Discount.