Curating

Why study BA Curating at Goldsmiths

This degree will advance your knowledge of contemporary art and nurture your skills for a career in curating and curatorial practice.

• The degree will support you in developing a wide set of curatorial skills. Over three years you will work on a variety of assignments, closely mentored by course staff and practising curators. This will encourage you to become a more critical thinker and confident researcher, able to shape your curatorial projects successfully and communicate your work to a wide variety of audiences.

• Alongside compulsory modules on the history, theory and practice of curating, you will be able to choose from option modules in areas such art history, fashion, technology and performance, allowing you to focus your interests and get the most out of your degree. You will gain a good understanding of both the history of art and the history of exhibitions, learning how curatorial work shapes our understanding of visual culture.

• You'll become familiar with the dynamics of different professional settings – from large museums to volunteer-run organisations and digital spaces – through visits and on-site project experience.

• A core component of the course is a placement within an arts organisation during the second year. In the past, students have worked with the Wellcome Collection, Whitechapel Gallery, Sir John Soane’s Museum, Cubitt Artists, Women’s Art Library, Bethlem Gallery, The Showroom, Gasworks, Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Queens Museum (NY) and Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art.

• In your third year, you'll work collaboratively with peers to organise a public exhibition with partner institutions, which will further develop your skills in planning, programming and publicising exhibitions and events.

Year 1
You'll take the following compulsory modules:
Modernities
Curating and the Public Sphere
Seeing and Showing
Space and Time

Year 2
You'll take the following compulsory modules:
Curating, Education, and Research
Museums, Galleries, Exhibitions: Unpacking the Field
The Goldsmiths Elective

Optional modules
You will then choose one optional module of 15 credits. This can either be the Goldsmiths Project Module or a 15-credit module from a list provided annually by the Department of Visual Cultures.

Year 3
You will study the following compulsory module:
Expanded Practices in Visual Cultures

Optional modules
You'll also choose 60 credits worth of optional modules from a list made available annually by the department.

Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.

You’ll be assessed mostly through coursework. Normally this consists of essays, sometimes accompanied by creative projects, group projects, multi-media projects, presentations, symposia, reviews, and studio work.