MA Curating with Professional Placement

Program Overview

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Our MA Curating offers a practical and theoretical training in devising and curating exhibitions, as you work towards the preparation of an exhibition at our on-site Art Exchange gallery. Our course combines practice, theory and histories of curating in equal measure. You will develop an essential base skills for a successful exhibition – from object handling to managing exhibition budgets – through visiting lectures by active museum professionals; practical workshops using our on-site collection and galleries; and competitive placements at leading institutions. Previous students have worked at the V&A, Royal Academy of Arts, Hayward Gallery and Firstsite Gallery. You will build your own confident grasp of the history and theory of exhibition-making, studying with academics who besides being active curators are producing new key texts on the curatorial history and theory. You study topics including:

• How an exhibition can be used as a means of social or political critique
• The historical role that museums have played in society
• Participation and social engagement between spectators, artists and curators
• A choice of history of art options

We're 3rd in the UK for research outputs in art history (Grade Point Average, Research Excellence Framework 2021). Discover Curatorial Studies at the University of Essex video Why we're great.

• Prepare for your career by completing a professional placement
• We give you the opportunity to curate an exhibition at our on-campus Art Exchange Gallery
• We're 3rd in the UK for research outputs in art history (Grade Point Average, Research Excellence Framework 2021)

Placement year

MA Curating with Professional Placement offers a unique opportunity for you to gain relevant work experience within an external business or organisation, giving you a competitive edge in the job market and providing you with key contacts within the industry. The placement is undertaken between the taught part of the course and the individual project. Its aim is to allow you to acquire industry experience and, especially, develop an appreciation of how the skills acquired in the taught part of the course can be applied to real world work. You’ll be responsible for securing your own work placement, but if you change your mind and decide not to do your placement, or if you are not able to secure a placement, you can start your dissertation earlier and complete your Masters in the first year.

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Our expert staff

We are a dynamic group of art historians who investigate the production and reception of images and built environment, across cultures and media, from the late medieval period to the present day. Our staff’s research interests include activist art, modernist art and totalitarianism, the relationship between art and science, the artistic status of body modification, art and the environment, critical heritage, and the visual culture of social problems. We also have significant experience in curation and public engagement. Recent projects include:

Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco’s UKRI Future Leaders-funded research project, REPLACE

Matt Lodder’s Painted People: Humanity in 21 Tattoos (HarperCollins, 2022)

Diana Bullen Presciutti’s Saints, Miracles, and Social Problems in Italian Renaissance Art (Cambridge, 2023)

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Specialist facilities

At Essex, you have the best of both worlds: on the one hand, you are part of a tight-knit, campus community with close ties to several small but excellent museums in the nearby town of Colchester; on the other hand, you can travel from campus to London in an hour, which puts the world’s best museums and galleries at your fingertips. Our facilities enable you to gain curatorial experience and engage in object-based learning, a cornerstone of our approach when teaching the history of art and its modes of display:

• Our Essex Collection of Art from Latin America (ESCALA) is the most comprehensive Latin American art research resource in the UK and has a state-of-the-art teaching and research space . Many of our students gain work and research experience through our collection
• Our onsite gallery Art Exchange runs an ongoing programme of contemporary art exhibitions, talks and workshops by curators and artists, as well as exhibitions organised by our postgraduate curatorial students
• Colchester’s iconic Firstsite gallery features an exciting programme of contemporary art exhibitions, film screenings and talks, and exhibitions organised by our curatorial students
• Our Centre for Curatorial Studies is home to staff who specialise in the history of exhibition design and curate high-profile exhibitions

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Your future

The visual arts and culture industries have become an increasingly significant part of the national and international economy, and our art history graduates leave Essex with the skills to take advantage of this growing opportunity. Graduates from our programmes are ideally prepared for roles in the media, in advertising, in museums and galleries, in education (in schools, universities, and cultural institutions), as conservators, as auctioneers, dealers and antiques specialists, in charities, in publishing, as specialist arts lawyers, as PR agents, in fashion, or to run their own galleries. Our recent graduates have gone on to work for a wide range of high-profile companies including:

• National Portrait Gallery
• Victoria and Albert Museum
• Sotheby’s New York
• Momart Ltd
• John Lewis

We also offer research supervision for PhD and MPhil for those who want to continue with research. We cover the major areas of European art and architecture from 1300 to the present, as well as the art and architecture of Latin America and the United States. We also work with the university’s Careers Services to help you find out about further work experience, internships, placements, and voluntary opportunities.

Program Outline

Course structure

Our research-led teaching is continually evolving to address the latest challenges and breakthroughs in the field. The following modules are based on the current course structure and may change in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. We understand that deciding where and what to study is a very important decision for you. We’ll make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the courses, services and facilities as described on our website. However, if we need to make material changes, for example due to significant disruption, or in response to COVID-19, we’ll let our applicants and students know as soon as possible.

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Components

Components are the blocks of study that make up your course. A component may have a set module which you must study, or a number of modules from which you can choose. Each component has a status and carries a certain number of credits towards your qualification.

Status	What this means
Core	You must take the set module for this component and you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Core with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component but you must pass. No failure can be permitted.
Compulsory	You must take the set module for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Compulsory with Options	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.
Optional	You can choose which module to study from the available options for this component. There may be limited opportunities to continue on the course/be eligible for the qualification if you fail.

The modules that are available for you to choose for each component will depend on several factors, including which modules you have chosen for other components, which modules you have completed in previous years of your course, and which term the module is taught in.

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Modules

Modules are the individual units of study for your course. Each module has its own set of learning outcomes and assessment criteria and also carries a certain number of credits. In most cases you will study one module per component, but in some cases you may need to study more than one module. For example, a 30-credit component may comprise of either one 30-credit module, or two 15-credit modules, depending on the options available. Modules may be taught at different times of the year and by a different department or school to the one your course is primarily based in. You can find this information from the module code . For example, the module code HR100-4-FY means:

HR	100	4	FY
The department or school the module will be taught by. In this example, the module would be taught by the Department of History.	The module number.	The UK academic level of the module. A standard undergraduate course will comprise of level 4, 5 and 6 modules - increasing as you progress through the course. A standard postgraduate taught course will comprise of level 7 modules. A postgraduate research degree is a level 8 qualification.	The term the module will be taught in. AU : Autumn term SP : Spring term SU : Summer term FY : Full year AP : Autumn and Spring terms PS: Spring and Summer terms AS: Autumn and Summer terms

Year 1 Final Year Want to do more than hang pretty pictures on a pleasantly coloured wall? Then take this module to learn how curators and designers from the 1920s onward have turned exhibition spaces into site of social and political critique -- a practice now often subsumed under the concept of ‘critical curating’. Organised chronologically, the module gives you the chance to hone your understanding of the complex relationship between critique and curating, generally by situating major exhibitions and paradigmatic curatorial concept in relation to key texts of critical theory. View Critique and Curating on our Module Directory What is the relationship between activist art and art galleries? Is the museum really a public sphere, or even a progressive cultural space? How is this space shaped by policy, the market, protest? How much power do curators have to shape culture? Is everyone with an Instagram account a curator now? Each week we will study the changing role of museums and galleries in the twentieth century at the macro- and micro-level: by placing critical theories of the ‘public sphere’ alongside key historical cultural policy documents and case studies of both exhibitions and particular display rhetorics used by exhibitions, from taxidermy to projection-mapping. We will also take a broad view on curatorial work and its social context. We will ask: What is curatorial labour?; how has it changed?; did it exist before or outside of the specific workplace of the museum?; and how has it shaped the museum and society? What is the role and responsibility of a curator today? We will explore how these changing spaces and forms of work, inside and outside the museum, are able to direct, shape or contribute to political and social issues. View Museum Activism: Art, Politics, Cultural Work and Policy on our Module Directory This series of lectures and workshops teaches key real-world practical skills required for curatorial work in exhibitions and galleries, including object handling; condition reports; loan forms and database systems; artist relations; and the facilitation of group pedagogy and public workshops. You will be walked through the practical processes and skills which structure the organising and production cycle for galleries and museums, in a way that coincides with your own work towards the MA Curating group exhibition. View Practical Skills for Curatorial Work on our Module Directory COMPONENT 04: CORE WITH OPTIONS AR953-7-FY or Art History option (20 CREDITS) COMPONENT 05: OPTIOL Art History option(s) (20 CREDITS) COMPONENT 06: OPTIOL Art History option(s) (40 CREDITS) This module enables you to undertake a placement with an external Placement Provider. You will acquire effective work-based skills specific to your chosen field, and gain a detailed understanding of work processes. It’s an opportunity to put taught skills into practise and develop a network of industry professionals. Your placement is a sought-after contribution to your employability, giving you the tools employers look for in skilled graduates. View Professional Placement on our Module Directory This full-year module prepares students who will undertake a professional placement towards the end of their first year. It is compulsory for those students undertaking a placement View Preparing for your Professional Placement (Provisional) on our Module Directory COMPONENT 01: CORE WITH OPTIONS AR952-7-FY or AR981-7-FY (80 CREDITS) This module enables you to undertake a placement with an external Placement Provider. You will acquire effective work-based skills specific to your chosen field, and gain a detailed understanding of work processes. It’s an opportunity to put taught skills into practise and develop a network of industry professionals. Your placement is a sought-after contribution to your employability, giving you the tools employers look for in skilled graduates. View Professional Placement on our Module Directory

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Placement

You will complete a professional placement between the taught part of the course and the individual project. This professional placement allows you to gain work experience during your postgraduate studies.

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Teaching

• Two-hour seminars with discussion based on a programme of reading
• Gain practical experience in curating, such as handling and installing artworks
• Frequent museum and gallery trips, and classes with active museum professionals
• We run a number of mini-courses, research seminars and conferences that our postgraduates are encouraged to attend

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Assessment

• Assessment for our courses is normally on the basis of coursework and your supervised dissertation

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Dissertation

• In place of a dissertation, you work towards the preparation of an exhibition at our on-site Art Exchange gallery