This is a really unique course, it blends
art history and curating and it’s a mixture
of both theoretical and practical teaching
so the students learn a broad range of skills.
One of the key features of the module, one
of the most exciting for me as a former curator,
is that the students get the chance to curate
a real exhibition in a public art gallery.
We have two incredible exhibition partners,
one is the Barber Institute of Fine Arts,
and the other is a contemporary art space
in Digbeth, in Birmingham, called Grand Union.
So students are co-taught as part of the programme,
but they also break into their individual
exhibition groups at Grand Union and at the
Barber.
Art History and Curating graduates tend to
move into the world of museums and galleries,
becoming curators, working in press and marketing,
working in a variety of areas within museums
and art galleries. But the beauty of the course
being a combination of art history and curating
means that with their 15,000-word dissertation
they’re also opening that door to a further
career in research as well.
The course is aimed at a variety of applicants;
some may have more curatorial expertise than
others. Some might be new to art history,
but have experience of curating in other fields.
Some might be coming at it from diverse disciplines.
So we have three core modules on the MA Art
History and Curating. The first one is Curatorial
Practices, which is the exhibition module.
The second is Research Training and Techniques,
which sets students up with all the skills
they need to be pursuing their dissertation
work, and work for their other assessments
and modules. And we also introduce them to
various methods in Art History. Students then
have two other modules they can choose from,
across the art history curriculum, so they’re
free to dip into a range of subjects – from
the body in Vienna in the early 19th and 20th
centuries, British art and empire… A variety
of topics that they can dip into. It’s worth
checking our online pages to check what modules
are available each year. And then another
core module that’s offered to our Art History
and Curating students is the placements option,
in which they get to work and have real life
experience in a museum or gallery in and around
Birmingham. Students have worked on a variety
of projects at a variety of institutions,
for example working with the archives at the
RBSA, developing an audio guide for the Herbert
Gallery and Museum, working with social media
at the new Art Gallery Walsall. So a real
spectrum of opportunities, from marketing
and press to learning with school groups,
through to curating their own exhibitions
at Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Museum.
So one of the key facilities that we have
here at Birmingham is the Barber Institute
of Fine Arts. Our students are taught within
this internationally renowned art gallery
and they’re taught within small seminar
groups in our lecture spaces and our seminar
room, and then we go up into the galleries
to further the students’ learning as well.
We can only accept up to a maximum of 20 students
on the course, so it’s a highly competitive
module. The students are co-taught by myself
and museum professionals in the Barber Institute
for their core modules, and also break into
their exhibition groups.
One of my favourite things is the exhibition
opening, obviously, and to see all the hard
work of the students come together in the
exhibition space and to see the pride that
they have in their own shows.
I would say come visit us on Open Days and
get a sense and a feel of the space in which
we teach. Have a look online at Grand Union
and the Barber Institute of Arts as our two
main exhibition partners. Get in contact with
myself, and visit as many museums and art
galleries as you can to get a sense of what
you want to be learning.
