Cultures of the Curatorial

The background to the study program Cultures of the Curatorial is the observation that in the course of the 20th century in the arts and sciences specific modes of practices, formats and aesthetics have developed, which can be subsumed by the term "curatorial". Accordingly theory and practice are treated as mutually intertwined in the program: In seminars, workshops, lectures and field trips staff and participants address the historical and current relations, conditions and potentials the curatorial has developed as an independent cultural practice. In addition in two curatorial projects the participants will develop their own statements in relation to the current challenges and possibilities of the curatorial.
 
What is the relevance of the curatorial within the cultural field under the conditions of globalisation? How do processes, strategies and effects of the curatorial relate to those of art and science? Where could common grounds or perspectives of reciprocal exchange be located? What kind of specificities does the curatorial adopt in the different arts and which forms does it assume in different cultures? Which functions does the curatorial take on in the respective aesthetic, social or economic contexts?
 
Questions such as these are at the centre of the program Cultures of the Curatorial. The four semester program involves a team of staff members of the Academy of Fine Arts (HGB) and international guests from the fields of art, academic disciplines and curatorial practice. Cultures of the Curatorial is a part-time MA program.

Up to ten international guests annually contribute to the program’s offerings in the form of workshops, lectures, conversations and colloquiums. These guests include artists, especially those who work in an especially curatorial way; scholars from a broad range of disciplines relevant to the curatorial; and of course both freelance and staff curators. There are also guests from fields immediately connected to the curatorial, such as publishing and art criticism.The master program Cultures of the Curatorial works with a number of international guests from the fields of the arts, curatorial practice and different scientific fields. They are an integral part of the seminars as well as contributors to the various discursive formats - panels, talks, symposia - which address key topics in order to further develop the research on and with the curatorial.

Guests have been Jennifer Allen, Pierre Bal-Blanc, Bassam el Baroni, Tulga Beyerle, Daniel Birnbaum, Claire Bishop, Gabriele Brandstetter, Sabine Breitwieser, Sabeth Buchmann, Nanne Buurman, Binna Choi, Hans D. Christ, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Barbara Clausen, Alice Creischer, Dieter Daniels, Pip Day, Clémentine Deliss, Atul Dodiya, Helmut Draxler, Iris Dressler, Antke Engel, Loretta Fahrenholz, Fehras Publishing Practices, Veza Maria Fernandez Ramos, Rike Frank, Anselm Franke, Lorenzo Fusi, Sigrid Gareis, Heike Gfrereis, Liam Gillick, Greater Form (Philipp Rödel, Lina Ruske), Wiebke Gronemeyer, Erik Hagoort, Angela Harutyunyan, Adrian Heathfield, Anna Lena von Helldorf, Nikolaus Hirsch, Hannah Hurtzig, Kino in Bewegung, Jutta Koether, Christian Kravagna, Kulturbahnhof e.V. (Yvonne Anders und Mandy Gehrt), Vera Lauf, André Lepecki, Maria Lind, Florian Malzacher, MdbK mobil (Manu Washaus), Ari Benjamin Meyers, Matthias Michalka, Maureen Mooren, Maria Muhle, Matthias Mühling, Vanessa Joan Müller, Christian Philipp Müller, Monica Narula, Susanne Neubauer, Marion von Osten, Philipp Oswalt, Sarah Pierce, Raqs Media Collective, Marcelo Rezende, Dorothee Richter, Michael Riedel, Irit Rogoff, Stefan Römer, Willem de Rooij, Hartmut Rosa, ruangrupa, Eran Schaerf, Yorgos Sapountzi, Jörn Schafaff, Kerstin Schankweiler, Peter Schneemann, Jana Scholze, Mario Schulze, Maya Schweizer, Shuddhabrata Sengupta, Avinoam Shalem, Payam Sharifi, Simon Sheikh, Andreas Siekmann, Bennett Simpson, Gayatri Sinha, Nanette Snoep, Lucy Steeds, Barbara Steiner, Gregor Stemmrich, Nora Sternfeld, Hito Steyerl, Leire Vergara, Anton Vidokle, Dan Voh, Hortensia Völckers, Hilke Wagner, Jenny Walden, Victoria Walsh, Katharina Weinstock, Eyal Weizman, Victoria-Luise Welsh, Thomas Weski, Karin Wieckhorst, Ulf Wuggenig, Jun Yang, Benjamin Zachariah, Beti Žerovc, Tirdad Zolghadr, et al.

Cultures of the Curatorial cooperates with international partners. The exchange contributes to a wide practical and theoretical footing of the teaching and research. Our partners include:

• Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden/ Dresden State Art Collections
• American University Beirut, M.A. Program „Art History and Curating“
• Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin
• Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig / Museum of Contemporary Art Leipzig
• Goethe Institutes Rio de Janeiro
• Goethe Institutes Max Mueller Bhavan New Delhi
• Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig

• Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles

Cultures of the Curatorial is a postgraduate master´s degree program. The curriculum is divided into the following modules:

1. History and theory of curating / History of exhibitions
   Central to the module is the format of the exhibition from a historical perspective with its aesthetic, cultural, social, political and economic relations conditions. It deals with the history and development of the public manifestations of art and culture as well as with the different research approaches developed to deal with them. Particular importance is placed on the relation of the curatorial to artistic practice on the one hand and theoretical practice on the other.
2. Art history and theory of modern and contemporary art.
   The module provides an overview of the essential artistic positions and art movements from 1800 to the present that are of relevance to the curatorial. It deals with historical and contemporary artistic works and positions, art discourse and theories, which are fundamental for the understanding of art and culture since modernity. Key terms are Gesamtkunstwerk, installation, context orientation, self-organisation and teamwork, the concept of artistic labor, artistic mediation and the dematerialisation of the art object.
3. Research practice I: Curatorial project
   The focus is on key curatorial competences in practice. In small groups the aim is to complete all steps of the curatorial work from conception to implementation and at the same time to reflect on its conditions and potentials. The group project gets realized in relation to a specific institution.
4. History and theory of curating / Transdisciplinarity
   The focus is on forms of presentation and mediation of visual art in relation to those of other artistic and academic disciplines – such as dance, theatre, film, music, literature, architecture, anthropology and natural sciences. They are contextualized  within the academic discourses and methods which determine the study and research of these various disciplines.
5. History and theory of curating / Transculturality
   The module deals with curatorial practices in different cultures. The focus is on the processes, strategies and perspectives which shape curatorial actions in a globalised cultural field. Relevant are the conditions of the mobilisation of people, objects and information, along with the aesthetic, economic, political and social implications and effects for the respective contexts.
6. Research practice II: Master project/Conception
   The module is aimed towards the independent conception and development of a comprehensive project with reference to theoretical and practical curatorial methods as well as to relevant forms of knowledge. With a contentual conception chosen by the student, the aim is to develop one’s own curatorial techniques and methods, which will ultimately lead to the final curatorial project and the written thesis.
7. Research practice III: Master project
   The focus is on the independent realisation of the master project, consisting of the final curatorial project and the written thesis. The task is to implement a curatorial project with a contentual concept chosen by the student and interconnected with academic-theoretical research. The module marks the completion of the study.