The course theme for 2023 will be announced soon.

The course theme for 2022 was Ecologies of Curating: Networks, Systems and Interactions.

What are the ecologies of contemporary curating? The 2022 Curating Contemporary Art and Design programme will investigate the networks and systems that curatorial practices inhabit on a local, national, and global level. We will explore how these ecologies of curating maintain the production and presentation of contemporary art and design. In the broader context of the climate crisis, we will ask how curatorial ecologies engage with questions of sustainability and care. And in an age of migration, we will question how the circulation of art and design objects operate in relation to the circulation of people. Exploring online and offline environments, we will investigate the materialities of contemporary curating in a hybrid context, one in which bodies, experiences, data, and forms of knowledge are both connected and dispersed. Throughout the course, we will consider whether we need new curatorial ecosystems in order to adapt to a changing world.

Week 1: Curatorial encounters

Taking the course theme as a central provocation, participants will investigate the ecologies of curating contemporary art and design in the present moment. In the first week, you will engage in workshops, seminars, presentations and discussions with leading curators and cultural practitioners working at the forefront of the field. Through these dynamic online sessions, we will explore urgent questions concerning climate, sustainability, and conservation; migration and translation; hybrid environments and materialities across online and offline worlds. By experiencing the latest developments in contemporary art and design curating, you will be encouraged to consider how curatorial ecosystems might adapt to a changing world.

Week 2: Curatorial practice

In the second week, you work collaboratively in small groups learning to think collectively, while independently developing your own curatorial positions. Additional seminars, workshops and ‘crit’ sessions are delivered by leading cultural practitioners and researchers in order to provide tailored support and stimulation for this active curatorial work. At the end of week two, each group presents a project, which can be in the form of an exhibition proposal, publication, event, digital initiative, online performance, or another medium that responds to the specific question selected by that group in relation to our theme of Ecologies of Curating.

Benefits include:

• Exploring a range of fine art and design disciplines in international contexts
• Access to curators, critics, researchers, historians and writers
• One-to-one support and advice from the RCA's faculty of experts and visiting speakers
• Learning in a collaborative, highly dynamic atmosphere through an interdisciplinary approach
• Interaction and networking with international peers from different backgrounds
• Certificate of online attendance

Since 2016, we have welcomed participants from Singapore's Asian Civilisations Museum, Budapest's Museum of Applied Arts, the Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Sharjah Art Foundation, the Warwick Arts Centre and the Design Trust, Gabriel Caruana Foundation, Daiwa Foundation, Arusha Gallery to name a few.

• You will learn about current debates in art and design by engaging with professionals working at the forefront of the field
• You will learn about the latest developments in contemporary critical and curatorial practice by encountering a range of institutions, exhibitions and curated programmes
• You will learn how curatorial projects are conceived, researched and delivered
• You will learn how to develop and pitch curatorial project ideas
• You will learn how to work collaboratively

Learning takes place through a dynamic 10-day programme, delivered over two weeks. Each day features at least two sessions, comprising three-and-a-half hours of live interaction.

In these sessions, participants are taught as a group and work in smaller teams.

The sessions are delivered by RCA tutors and invited experts, including curators, artists and cultural practitioners.

These sessions feature:

• Seminars
• Presentations
• Workshops
• Encounters with exhibitions and institutions
• One-to-one remote support and advice from subject experts
• Collaborative group work and group discussion
• In-depth feedback through ‘crits’
• Project development and presentations

The course is convened by Course Leader Dr Rosie Ram, Visiting Lecturer in the School of Arts & Humanities at the Royal College of Art and overseen by Professor Victoria Walsh, Head of Programme for MA Curating Contemporary Art.

The course contributors for the 2023 programme will be announced soon.

The course contributors for the 2022 programme were:

• Melanie Keen, Director, Wellcome Collection
• Yung Ma, Curator, Hayward Gallery
• Jane Scarth, Curator: Public Programmes, Whitechapel Gallery
• Ellen Greig, Director, PEER 
• Hammad Nasar, Co-curator, British Art Show 9 and Curator, Turner Prize 2021

RCA tutors from previous years have included:

• Dr Ben Cranfield, Senior Tutor, Curating Contemporary Art, School of Arts & Humanities, RCA
• Dr Grant Watson, Tutor (Research), Curating Contemporary Art, School of Arts & Humanities,RCA
• Rebecca Heald, Tutor, Curating Contemporary Art, School of Arts & Humanities, RCA
• Dr Sarah Cheang, Head of Programme, V&A/RCA History of Design, School of Arts & Humanities, RCA
• Dr Marianne Mulvey, Tutor, Curatorial Practice, School of Arts & Humanities, RCA
• Amanprit Sandhu, Tutor, Curatorial Practice, School of Arts & Humanities, RCA

Disclaimer: The list of contributors is subject to change depending on availability.

The course is organised in synchronous sessions in a live virtual environment that combines various digital platforms and tools.

Zoom
Using the videoconferencing service Zoom, RCA tutors and invited experts deliver a mix of:

• Seminars
• Presentations
• Workshops
• Collaborative group work and group discussion
• In-depth feedback through ‘crits’
• Project development and presentations
• Participants interact with the faculty and peers in breakout rooms in real time

Miro

Participants engage in cross-functional team work with the use of visual collaboration tools.

Through the online whiteboard platform Miro, participants get to:

• interact with various formats and templates
• plan and brainstorm ideas
• create processes and workshop activities in the digital workspace.

Moodle

The College's learning platform Moodle is personalised according to the course's requirements to provide participants with a secure integrated system where they can access the course content.

The hub hosts a plethora of useful resources to enable the learning experience, including comprehensive timetables, pre-reading materials, course slides, curated videos, tutorials and session recordings.

Slack

Participants stay connected and communicate via the channel-based messaging platform Slack throughout the whole duration of the course.

In this space, the academics, facilitators and delegates get to network, plan the course activities, share documents and files during the live sessions or offline.

Participants will learn to:

• Engage with current debates in art and design
• Explore contemporary critical and curatorial practice
• Understand how curatorial projects are conceived, researched and delivered
• Learn how to develop and pitch project ideas
• Learn how to work collaboratively

• Art and design graduates
• Early- and mid-career professionals from the cultural sector
• Curators and arts programmers
• Artists and designers
• Writers
• Researchers

Participants must:

• Have a successful application
• Have an undergraduate degree
• Have a good level of English language
• Be 21 years or over

How do I apply?

To apply you need to complete the online application form.

The online form requires you to submit a:

• 300-word statement explaining relevant professional and/or academic experience and outlining your interest in the course.
• CV

Application notes

• Please name the CV file before uploading using the following naming convention: Full Name_CV_2023 Curating Application
• Once you submit your application you will not be able to make changes.
• Only applications submitted via the online form will be accepted.
• Applications that are not complete or exceed the maximum file size will not be considered.

If your application is accepted you will be emailed with a booking link. A deadline for accepting and paying for your place will be provided in the email. The place will be held until this deadline, if you do not make payment by this date then your place will be released and offered to another participant.

Application deadlines 2023

• Participants are advised to apply early to avoid disappointment as places are strictly limited.
• We will start accepting applications from December 2022.
• First round of applications will be assessed from mid January 2023.
• Applications will be assessed by the RCA course team every 2 weeks from January 2023 until June 2023 or until the course is fully booked. We will inform all applicants by email within two weeks after they submit an application about whether or not they have been successful.
• Unfortunately we do not provide further feedback information.
• If the course is fully booked and your application is successful we will add your name to a waiting list.

How will I know that my place is confirmed?

The offer of a place will only be secured and confirmed when the RCA receives 100 per cent of the course fee payment. Places are secured on a first-come basis on receipt of appropriate payment.

How can I pay for the course?

The course needs to be paid in full by one instalment and via the online payment system using a debit or credit card. Once you are offered a place on the course you will receive a secure online booking link. Please complete the registration and booking process to make the booking. Please ensure that you are using the most up to date version of your internet browser. We regret that it is not possible to pay the course fee by instalments.