Curating Today

This accelerated, interactive, remote-learning course is designed for active students and will equip them with the contextual knowledge as well as the entrepreneurial skills to plan, develop and carry out a curatorial project, and to situate it in a rapidly changing global landscape. Students who undertake this course are awarded credits from The University of Manchester upon completing the course successfully.

The course unpacks the range of contexts in which curating now takes place – institutional, independent, commercial and digital – with emphasis on new opportunities afforded by the growth of curatorial activity in the digital realm. This allows students to build an emerging network of contacts around the globe and to gain insight into emergent employment trends.

Topics explored include the curator as caretaker, auteur, facilitator, and mediator; locality and the global in the post-2020 landscape; decolonization and diversity in curating; and contemporary curatorial approaches and research methodology. Project-based learning throughout the unit will examine: initiating and defining curatorial projects and frameworks; sourcing artworks in collections for object-based exhibitions; building connections and relationships with contemporary artists; the virtual and in-person studio visit; expanded exhibition formats and sites for curating; writing curatorial statements, proposals, and press releases; sustainability and accessibility in curating; fundraising, development and budgeting; marketing and publicity; and working with digital networks and platforms. Students will experience a synergy between the online delivery of this unit and its examination of the digital landscapes for curating art.