Attributes, outcomes and skills: Master of Art Curatorship (038AB)

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Intended learning outcomes

Students who complete the Master of Art Curatorship should have a good understanding of:

The role of the visual arts in Australia as reflected by professional networks, funding bodies, and government departments/agencies at national, state and local level
The changing role of art museums/galleries in society and the history of collecting
The current discourse associated with issues of access, education and funding within art museums and cultural institutions
The organisational structure of a collecting institution and the various responsibilities and tasks of its personnel
Art conservation theory and practice and its role in storage, transportation, display and interpretation of art objects
The theory and practice of cataloguing and presenting art objects in an art museum
Advanced skills in researching and writing on art objects

Students who successfully complete the Masters should be able to:

Demonstrate an advanced development of research skills
Define areas of inquiry and create relevant methods of research in the preparation of essays
Conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and presentations;
Demonstrate highly developed skills in presentations
Communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through essay writing and seminar discussion
Participate productively in team work through involvement in syndicate groups and group discussions

Academically excellent

The program will be taught by leading industry practitioners;
It will introduce students to key concepts in art curatorship in the context of the most recent scholarship in the field; students will, above all, acquire the skills to research, conserve and display art.
Students will gain a deep understanding of the changing contexts in which the profession operates, such as globalisation, new curatorial innovations, shifts in art and art museums, and the impact of new technologies on art museums, art galleries and professional practice.

Knowledgeable across the range of specialisations that now comprise art curatorship

Art curatorship is by nature an interdisciplinary profession requiring deep knowledge across a variety of specialised fields such as collection management, writing on art, and exhibition management and the course is designed to reflect this. Through the diverse curriculum of the course students will have the opportunity to gain an understanding of major ideas and recent developments in fields such as collection registration, art theory, globalisation, art museum management, biennials, cultural policy, funding changes, and art world ecologies.

Leaders in their communities

As art curatorship is by nature a public-facing profession concerned with questions of civic culture and public innovation and engagement, students will gain a theoretical and practical grounding in issues such as public engagement, cultural governance, the communication of complex and fraught social and cultural issues, and ethical leadership.

Attuned to cultural diversity:

The course places a major emphasis on issues of cultural diversity in its content, with its emphasis on issues of global culture and cultural difference, and is at the same time expected to attract a diverse local and international cohort.

Active global citizens:

Art curatorship is by nature a profession oriented around notions of active public engagement on the parts of its curators, their artists and the consumers of art, and this is demonstrated by the blurring of lines between the three through an ever-increasing emphasis on public interaction with art and artists that is mediated by curators; fostering a public, shared ownership of culture across all parts of the community.

Last updated: 26 January 2025