MA Curation programme

The new MA Curation programme at the University of Exeter is now welcoming applications for September 2023 entry. This twelve-month, intensive Masters is part of an emerging cluster of creative industries postgraduate taught courses at Exeter, combining academic rigour and critical debate with professional training and practical experience within the field of contemporary art.

Teaching on the MA Curation is split between Exeter and London, with the course based at a leading contemporary arts institution in Term II. In 2022, for the first six weeks of the second semester, the MA was taught in residence at Camden Art Centre, in North London, where students had the opportunity to meet the Director, Martin Clark, and many of the senior staff team, along with a series of visiting lecturers, as well as making regular visits to the capital’s museums and galleries. For the 2022/23 cohort, the MA will again be in residence at Camden Art Centre, coinciding with Mohammed Sami’s (b.1984, Baghdad, Iraq) first institutional solo show in the UK, and Atiéna R. Kilfa’s (b.1990, Paris, France) new moving-image commission presented within a site-specific architectural structure for her first UK institutional solo exhibition. 

MA Curation students also attend field trips to international biennials, exhibitions and institutions as well as undertaking a six-week professional placement, tailored to their curatorial interests. Host institutions for the internships have included Sharjah Art Foundation in the UAE; Frieze Art Fair, Whitechapel Gallery, Sketch and the Government Art Collection in London; along with regional museums and galleries in the South West, such as KARST and The Box in Plymouth, and RAMM in Exeter. In the past two years, the Turing Scheme has also supported an internship with the British Council at the Venice Biennale. An MA Curation Blog Series, written by the students, reflecting on their internship experiences, can be viewed on the University’s Arts and Culture platform.

The MA Curation programme at the University of Exeter is transnational in focus and encourages an understanding of the social, cultural and economic issues that surround the contemporary art world. We think critically about the relationship between the local and international in different regions of the world, the art market and non-profit spaces, and the decolonisation of exhibition programmes and art fairs. As well as exploring the critical context and theoretical approaches associated with contemporary arts practices, there is a professional practice strand of the course that focuses on production skills and administration. Modules include “Arts of the Contemporary World”, “Institutions and Agencies: the business of contemporary art” and “Art Writing”, amongst others.

In the final term, students have the option to either organise a curatorial project or write a research dissertation. In our inaugural year, the theme for the 2021 practice-based projects chosen by the MA students was “Antibodies: Art During the Pandemic”, while in 2022 the theme was “Now’s the Time: Art Year Zero”.

The course is led by Programme Director, Professor Tom Trevor and draws on additional expertise from the University’s Art History and Visual Culture team and across the world. Lectures and seminars are framed around conversations with internationally recognised curators, artists, researchers and writers. Recent guest lecturers have included: Yvette Mutumba, Billy Tang, Shwetal Patel, Omar Kholeif, Dulcie Abrahams Altass, Raluca Voinea, Jessica Taylor, Sally O’Reilly, Melissa Gronlund, Ben Eastham, Tamsin Dillon and Anthony Huberman, amongst others.

The University of Exeter in the South West of England is a Russell Group university, in the top 150 of universities worldwide in the Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings 2022. We combine world-class teaching with world-class research, with over 22,000 students and 4,600 staff from 180 different countries.

Camden Art Centre is a place for world-class contemporary art exhibitions and education. Situated in Hampstead, North London (charity number 1065829) Camden Art Centre is a place for art and artists; a place for the curious, the novice and the expert alike. It’s a place to see, to make, to learn and to talk about contemporary art, whether in our building, attending off-site projects or via our digital forums. Founded by artists in 1965, the Centre continues to be a space for the most vital and diverse mix of practices and ideas and is dedicated to supporting artists at every stage of their careers.

How to apply
For more information on the programme, available scholarships and how to apply online, please visit the course page on our website or enquire online. Keep up to date with all programme activities by following us on Instagram.