Curating Contemporary Art & Design (Online Summer School)

Entry requirements

See the webpage for theis course on the RCA website for entry requirements.

Months of entry

June

Course content

Course overview

Discover contemporary art and design curatorial thinking and practice, with sector leading curators, researchers and writers, live online with a multi-disciplinary staff team of the Curating MA at the RCA.

The online course offers an intensive two-week/10 session programme of seminars, curatorial workshops, presentations, behind-the-scenes encounters, collaborative project work, and critical debate.

Considering factors such as identity, geopolitics, social economics, environmental concerns, digital developments and creative economies, participants will be encouraged to consider critically the role of art and design curating in the expanded field.

The summer school emphasises critical thinking around curatorial theory and practice in a contemporary context. Through in-depth discussions with pioneering curators, participants are introduced to collections and displays of leading galleries and museums, nationally and internationally. In addition, the sessions consider wider forms of practice such as commissioning, programming, publishing and online curating.

Course Team

This course is convened by academic leader Rosie Ram, a Visiting Lecturer in the School of Arts and Humanities at the Royal College of Art and overseen by Professor Victoria Walsh, Head of Programme for MA Curating Contemporary Art.

The course team is composed of curators, critics, researchers, historians and writers from the RCA’s Curating Contemporary Art MA and V&A/RCA History of Design MA, and including:

• Ben Cranfield, Senior Tutor, RCA
• Grant Watson, Tutor (Research), RCA
• Rebecca Heald, Tutor, RCA
• Sarah Cheang, Head of Programme, (History of Design), RCA
• Marianne Mulvey, Tutor, RCA
• Amanprit Sandhu, Tutor, RCA
• Lucia Pietroiusti, Curator of General Ecology at the Serpentine (alumni of the RCA Curating Contemporary Art MA)
• Jessica Vaughan, Senior Curator at Art on the Underground (alumni of the RCA Curating Contemporary Art MA)
• Polly Brannan, Artistic Director of Open School East
• Sumitra Upham. Senior Curator at the Design Museum
• Dr Mark Sealy MBE, Director of Autograph ABP
• Matt Williams, Public Programme Curator at Camden Art Centre
• Amelia Hawk, artist, activist, EOP and Public Programmer at Eastside Projects

Who should attend?

The Curating Contemporary Art and Design course is designed for early-career professionals in the arts, as well as graduates considering vocations in curatorial practices and related critical contexts. It is also suitable for those considering a change of career or a means to develop their own personal and professional practice and experience through curating or research. Previous students have gone on to deliver work together that originated in the summer school via collaborative projects and new networks established during the summer school.

Who is this course suitable for:

• art and design graduates
• early- and mid-career professionals from the cultural sector
• curators and arts programmers
• artists and designers
• writers
• researchers
• prospective students for the Curating Contemporary Art MA who wish to trial the RCA experience