RCA MA Curating Contemporary Art Announces 2019 Graduate Projects

Each project is curated by a group of MA students working in collaboration with the host gallery,  reflecting the partner organisation’s ethos as well as defining the future of curatorial practice as articulated by the next generation of CCA graduates. The curatorial outcomes include online and digital exhibitions, research projects, live events and new commissions.

‘The 2019 Graduate Projects demonstrate the skills, knowledge and understanding of curatorial practice that CCA students develop during the MA Programme within the context of public audiences, urbanisation and the digital,’ said Head of Programme Professor Victoria Walsh. ‘Each project exemplifies the Programme’s commitment to collaborative group work, and the ability of our students to embrace the opportunities that working on a partnership-based project with a professional arts organisation offers.’

‘The projects provide a unique opportunity for MA students to refine their individual curatorial practice within the real-world environment of a high-profile arts organisation,’ Walsh continued. ‘We value the commitment and encouragement this year’s partners Gasworks, Nottingham Contemporary, The Photographers’ Gallery and Pump House Gallery have given to the students to test and experiment curatorial ideas within their spaces and programming.’

The first project CAMPUS Fugitive: The Unexpected Beautiful Phrase takes place at Nottingham Contemporary on Saturday 4 May, 12–6pm. This one-day live event features existing and newly commissioned performance, readings, sound and video works, exploring modes of learning through ideas of fugivity and illegibility. It is part of a larger programme called ‘Campus’, Nottingham Contemporary’s new independent studies programme that explores how a gallery can offer alternative art school education. Since opening in 2009, Nottingham Contemporary has created free and accessible programmes of international art that are open to all. The exhibitions, events and research offers out-of-the-ordinary perspectives on today’s society, hosting and stimulating important discussions and debates.

For the Time Being at The Photographers’ Gallery is a series of new commissions made specifically for Snapchat  that explores the possibilities online networked space offers artists as well as curators. The project expands the gallery experience on to an intimate, fleeting mobile platform to explore the shifting position of the photographic medium in relation to online image sharing culture. Audiences can engage with the new commissions anywhere in the world on their portable devices or visit the gallery between 8–12 May to view the work alongside a programme of live events. An opening event on Thursday 9 May, 6–9pm will feature a special performance by Max Grau.

Fragmented Follies is a new outdoor commission by Sam Jacob Studio that will be presented on the Pump House Gallery terrace 15–19 May. The new sculptural installation draws upon the layered architectural and cultural histories of Battersea Park and its neighbourhood, combining site-specific elements which reference the park’s past. Part of Wandsworth Arts Festival, the commission explores the park as a microcosm for socio-economic barriers.

The final project Re: Over everything which exists under the sky takes the form of a temporary, collective research studio at Gasworks, an organisation that provides studios for London-based artists, and commissions emerging UK-based and international artists to present their first major exhibitions in the UK. Open to the public from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 May, the project will present research and a series of new commissions by artists that explore what it means to be a resident in both the nomadic global art world and the wider geopolitical context of restricted movement and borders.

Find out more about MA Curating Contemporary Art and how to apply.