This module provides an introduction to the principles of contemporary curation, offering you a critical, practical and technical framework for exhibition and event management. You will be introduced to the practices of display, collecting and exhibiting, and encouraged to consider how meaning and message are created through exhibitions. A series of workshops will introduce key vocational tools including branding, social, marketing, and audience development. You will devise their own curatorial projects, and in the process be introduced to conceptualisation and visualisation, the creation of visual narratives and storyboarding, and the commission and evaluation of work. Project management skills will be applied to individual projects, enabling you to manage budgets and schedules. You will also be tasked with curating a small digital and physical exhibition, learning the technical and conceptual skills required to achieve this.
On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:
The module is practice-based and experiential, delivered through practical group workshops and project surgeries. Students are encouraged to conceive and develop their own exhibition or event, guided by the module leader and industry guest speakers. Key aspects of exhibition and event management will be explored in some depth through case studies of exhibitions, curators, spaces and institutions. Specialised classes will be held in the Digital Media workshops to equip students with the technical skills to develop their own online exhibitions. Students are empowered to direct their own learning and research interests towards the delivery of the module assessments.
The module will make use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Canvas for communication and dissemination of information between students and staff as well as making online learning materials available to all.
All courses based in the Kingston School of Art offer students free access to the online video tutorial platform Lynda.com. This provides a wide range of subjects to choose from, many with downloadable exercise files, including software tutorials covering photography, graphics, web design, audio and music, CAD and Microsoft Office software, as well as courses on business and management skills. Some of these are embedded in the curriculum and offer additional self-paced learning, others may be taken at will by students wishing to broaden their employability skills in other areas.
| Definitive UNISTATS Category | Indicative Description | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching | Tutor led sessions and workshops | 48 |
| Guided independent study | Preparation for workshops Reading and project work | 252 |
| Total (number of credits x 10) | 300 | |
The module is assessed through creative, practice-based assessment within the academic and professional context of the field. Summative assessment is through a portfolio of coursework made up of two deliverables: a curatorial project and a digital or physical exhibition, both based on a brief set by the module leader. For the Curatorial Project students are tasked with selecting and interpreting objects within a particular physical and institutional environment. For the Digital Exhibition students work in pairs to conceive and create their own online exhibition. An external panel of experts will select one of these to become the basis of a physical exhibition developed by the entire cohort at level 6. Summative assessment will also include a reflective multimedia blog. Formative assessment will be based primarily on group workshop activities building towards each assignment.
| Learning Outcome | Assessment Strategy |
|---|---|
| 1) Demonstrate a contextualised understanding of the skills and knowledge required to work as an exhibition and events manager in the creative sector | Reflective multimedia blog |
| 2) Demonstrate oral, visual and written presentation skills to a high level | Reflective multimedia blog and digital / physical exhibition |
| 3) Understand the principles and practices of digital curation | Digital / physical exhibition |
| 4) Demonstrate an ability to critically reflect on their professional ambitions | Curatorial project and digital / physical exhibition |
| Description of Assessment | Definitive UNISTATS Categories | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Multimedia reflective blog (2,000 words and media content) | Coursework | 50% |
| Curatorial project and Digital / Physical Exhibition | Coursework | 50% |
| Total (to equal 100%) | 100% | |
It IS NOT a requirement that any element of assessment is passed separately in order to achieve an overall pass for the module.
Dean, D. (1997). Museum Exhibition, Theory and Practice, Routledge.
Hoffman, J. (2012). Ten Fundamental Questions of Curating, Milan, Mousse Publishing
Obrist, H. O. (2014). Ways of Curating, London, Allen Lane
O'Neill, P. (2012). The Culture of Curating and The Curating of Culture(s), Mass., MIT
Candlin, F., and Guins, R. (eds.) (2009). Object Lessons, in, The Object Reader. London,
Routledge, pp. 443â€535.
Howson, J. (2013). The Creative Economy: How People Make Money From Ideas, London, Penguin
Lorenc, J. (2007). What is Exhibition Design?, Hove, Rotovision
Obrist, H. O. (2008). A Brief History of Curating. Zurich, JRP Ringier
Pearce, S (1994). Objects as Meaning; or Narrating the Past, in Pearce, S (ed) (1994) Interpreting Objects and Collections. London, Routledge, pp. 19-294
Proctor, N (2010). Digital: Museum as Platform, Curator as Champion, in the Age of Social Media, Curator: The Museum Journal, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 35-43
Storr, R (2006). Show and Tell in Marincola, P (2006) What Makes a Great Exhibition? Philadelphia, Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative, pp. 14-31