Visual Arts Management and Curating (MA)

What you will study

Our programme combines theory and practical skills, beginning in the first semester with an exploration of the history of art and a comparative exploration of art around the world. This is combined with an investigation of research methods, developing skills which are invaluable to a future employer.

The second semester focuses on contemporary art, using London as the backdrop to bring this alive in a vivid way. You will study visual cultures, as you develop the skills needed to curate a range of art and design objects for both public and private collections while you learn about the fascinatingly diverse international art market.

You’ll have the choice in the final semester of doing either an internship with a dissertation or an extended research project, both great opportunities to provide hands-on experience to increase your employability.

London will be your inspiration. World class art and creative institutions, internationally renowned auction houses, dealers and critics, all combine to make up the unique London art scene. Added together with our small classes which are taught by highly qualified Professors, it’s an unparalleled opportunity.

Programme Specification Fall Semester AVC 7100 Research Methods Introduces students to the process of research, including the ability to work from libraries, exhibitions and institutional archives, and developing skills in visual literacy and academic writing. Students are encouraged to develop independence of thought by discovering, evaluating and making appropriate use of a wide range of approaches to research and writing. Complementing the courses on theory, this course assists students with the identification of their own interests as they move towards choosing a thesis or professional research project. AVC 7102 Art & its Histories Explores a range of theories and methods which situate art in its historical context, from the more traditional methods associated with formal analysis and connoisseurship (formalist, biographical, and iconographic) to more recent theoretical approaches (such as semiotics, feminism, psychoanalysis, deconstruction, Foucault). Students examine a variety of texts as strategies for determining and analyzing different theories and methods, and their application to visual examples with a focus on the twentieth century: situating the modern and postmodern precursors to art of the twenty-first century. AVC 7111 World & Global Arts The course addresses issues that relate to the interpretation, perception and representation of the visual arts cross culturally with a focus on indigenous, peripheral, diasporic, and minoritarian expressions gathered under the definition ‘World Arts’. Students are encouraged to investigate issues that relate to engaging with art from different backgrounds, and consider critically colonial/neo- colonial and decolonial contexts and the dynamic changes that these engender. A range of case studies will be examined, which may include the representations and interventions of artists and craftspeople from the Americas, Africa, Oceania in dialogue with art cultures and canons developed along the North-Atlantic axis. Spring Semester AVC 7104 Contemporary Art Engages students with the diversity of contemporary artistic practice in an international setting, situating this historically, conceptually and theoretically. Students will consider critically the diversity of and interface between contemporary visual practices on a global scale, situating these within current theoretical concerns, and examining a wide range of case studies and the social, cultural and political issues emerging from these. Extensive use will be made of London’s galleries and thriving multicultural contemporary art scene, with examples drawn from such case studies as the Middle East, Africa, India, China, Russia, Europe and the USA. AVC 7105 Visual Cultures This interdisciplinary course enables students to develop a conceptual framework within which to evaluate the role of the visual in contemporary society and its use as a strategy for socio-political negotiation. We examine the production and consumption of imagery in order to understand the role they play in producing meaning, specific to global contexts. Throughout the course students will examine a range of examples and case studies circulated through digital media, as well as images generated via art-making, advertising, graphic design and comics, design history, film studies, television and streaming services, public art and other contemporary visually-engaged practices. AVC 7106 Professional Practices in the Visual Arts This interdisciplinary course provides students with the concepts, knowledge, skills and experience required for successful placements in professional positions in a range of international arts and cultural industries. Students will develop their own professional concept/knowledge portfolio based on case study topics and workplace scenarios that may include: engagement with current discourses related to curatorial and gallery practices, management skills, ethical working practices, as well as the social and regenerative potential of the arts. Making use of London as a second classroom, the course will involve analyses of and trips to a number of arts organizations; these include not-for-profit arts institutions as well as commercial galleries, auction houses, and art fairs. The course will also integrate a number of guest lectures from leaders who represent the diversity of the art world in London today. Summer Semester plus EITHER AVC 7902 Internship A part-time work placement of approximately three months (depending on the requirements of the organization in question; a minimum of 9 weeks) within an organization to enable students to participate in graduate level experiential learning and so develop hands-on skills and professional experience which will prepare them for work in a range of arts and creative cultural industries. Placements are supervised, career-related work experiences combined with reflective, academic study that help students ‘learn by doing’. During the internship, the staff of the Internship Office and a faculty supervisor work closely with each student and the organization to ensure that the placement is a successful one. AVC 7500 Thesis For students working independently on their Masters thesis. The dissertation encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. The course is comprised of independent research and writing, overseen by a thesis supervisor, resulting in production of a 10-12,000 word thesis. Collaborative and supportive dialogue with the supervisor and fellow ‘junior research colleagues’ will involve advice on the research and writing process, suggestions for resources and research directions, and comments on draft chapters of the thesis. OR AVC 7550 Extended Thesis Research For students working independently on their Masters thesis. An extended thesis of 15,000-20,000 words is offered as an alternative to the mandatory internship. The dissertation encourages students to study intensively a topic agreed with a supervisor, and so develop skills and experience which can be applied in work placements or further graduate work. The course is comprised of independent research and writing, overseen by a thesis supervisor, resulting in production of a 15,000-20,000 word thesis. Collaborative and supportive dialogue with the supervisor and fellow ‘junior research colleagues’ will involve advice on the research and writing process, suggestions for resources and research directions, and comments on draft chapters of the thesis.

Art History and Visual Culture, (MA) 2024-25 Specification Document (PDF)

The information above is intended as an example only, featuring course details for the current year of study. In addition to the courses outlined above, there may be open electives. Course content and delivery can be subject to change. For more detailed information on the programme specification, please find more details here .