Course Description
Designed to complement Graduate Exit Studio, this course is devoted to the planning and execution of the M.F.A. exhibition and catalogue.
Athena Title
Graduate Exit Seminar
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
S/U (Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory)
Course Objectives
Designed to complement Graduate Exit Studio, this course is devoted to the planning and execution of the M.F.A. exhibition and catalogue. Enrolled students will meet regularly to discuss progress made toward the exhibition, often in conjunction with the exhibition’s curators and editorial team. Class time will be used to familiarize students with key curatorial concepts and strategies. Class time will also be devoted to refining the concepts behind student work and thinking through the complexities of its installation within the space of the galleries. In this way, the course introduces students to key aspects of exhibition planning and provides them with skills they will need in order to develop careers as exhibiting artists: exhibition design, self-curating, editing, and promotion.
Topical Outline
This course will work toward realizing two overlapping objectives: 1. Selecting, editing, and arranging works for inclusion in the exhibition. 2. Describing, explaining, and contextualizing the work chosen for inclusion in the M.F.A. exhibition. Weekly Outline 1. Introduction 2. A brief history of the museums and galleries 3. Overview of contemporary curatorial concepts and strategies 4. Meeting with the exhibition curator and preparator and visiting exhibition venue 5. Catalogue as curatorial act: revisiting previous M.F.A. catalogues. What worked, what didn’t. 6. Strategies for writing about art: description, analysis, and context 7. Writing and refining artist statement, part 1 8. Studio visits with curator 9. Studio visits with curator 10. Studio visits with editorial team 11. Studio visits with editorial team 12. Writing and refining artist statement, part 2 13. Exhibition proposals, part 1 14. Exhibition proposals, part 2 15. Looking forward: exhibition promotion
Syllabus
Public CV