Master of Arts in Performance Curation

ICPP offers a 2-year low-residency Master of Arts in Performance Curation featuring:

–The opportunity to pursue a MA degree alongside other professional responsibilities
–An innovative curriculum and an individualized learning environment with small-sized classes
–3 residencies on Wesleyan University’s campus each year (two weeks in the summer and two long weekends in fall and winter)
–A modular learning structure that allows participants to study and work with an extensive curatorial community
–Eligibility for financial aid and ICPP Leadership Fellowships

More information and application form here

About the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance
ICPP is the first institute of its kind, a center for the study of the presentation and contextualization of contemporary performance. Distinct from graduate programs in Curatorial Studies, Arts Administration, Performance Studies, and the Humanities, ICPP offers students a graduate-level education in curatorial approaches to developing and presenting dance, theater, performance and other time-based arts.

The Master of Arts in Performance Curation is a two-year, low-residency program designed to study and enrich curatorial practices through intellectually rigorous and artist-centered methods, dialogues, writing, and fieldwork. ICPP works with a core group of faculty composed of renowned curators, artists, and scholars. Students and faculty meet three times a year on Wesleyan University’s campus, alongside engaging with field-wide symposia and artists’ residencies, and with visits to art institutions in New York City and the area. In addition, students have opportunities to work with a range of advisors on off-site practicums and independent projects tailored around their professional needs and research interests. Through the low-residency model, students simultaneously put ideas into practice in their professional lives, developing responsive curatorial practices that address the interdisciplinary nature of performance work today.

Faculty 
ICPP’s core group of faculty is composed of members from Wesleyan University and other academic and art institutions including MoMA, the Whitney, and Danspace Project. Additionally, the program collaborates with a series of guest artists, curators, and scholars from a variety of contexts and expertise in the field of performance curation. Faculty includes: Paul Bonin-Rodriguez, Katie Brewer Ball, Eric Charry, Elijah Huge, Judy Hussie-Taylor, Thomas Lax, Joshua Lubin-Levy, Noémie Solomon, Nicole Stanton, Steven Taylor.

Visiting Artists
During each residency period at Wesleyan University, ICPP invites one or several artists-in-residence to campus. Across performances, talks, and movement workshops, emerging or mid-to-late career artists and industry professionals offer rich opportunities for students to learn and exchange in and out of the classroom. ICPP visiting artists have included: Becca Blackwell, Faye Driscoll, Brendan Fernandes, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Claudia La Rocco, Ralph Lemon, Liz Lerman, Okwui Okpokwasili, Eiko Otake, and Kaneza Schaal.

Curatorial Community
ICPP students have the opportunity to work with a range of advisors on off-site practicums, independent projects, and thesis work. These advisors range from artists, curators, cultural leaders, dramaturges, and scholars. The program is designed to develop a robust network of cultural agents who are invested in advanced, innovative curatorial practices with performance. ICPP hosts and advisors have included: Philip Bither, Kristy Edmunds, Cathy Edwards, Tim Griffin, Shannon Jackson, Ana Janevski, Colleen Jennings-Roggensack, Jackson Polys, Rebecca Schneider, Julie Tolentino, and Urban Bush Women.

Low-residency program 
The program’s flexible structure allows participants to continue their artistic and professional responsibilities while they study. Classes are held during three intensive sessions over each year, coupled with reading and writing, as well as long-distance course work in between meeting periods. Emerging curators, cultural workers, and artists from all backgrounds and countries are encouraged to apply. ICPP supports applications that diversify and expand perspectives in performance curation.

Application details
For more information about the program, including intensive dates and curriculum for 2019–20, click here.
For application details and financial aid information, click here.

To contact us, email ICPP Program Manager Rosemary Lennox: rlennox [​at​] wesleyan.edu.