Explore the interconnected practices of publishing, editing and writing with leading professionals from across the contemporary art and design sector, live online.
Key details
Fees
- Full price: £820
- FULLY BOOKED for November 2023
Location
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Live online
4 sessions over 2 weeks
9–10 and 16–17 November 2023
10am – 1.30pm GMT per session
Maximum 25 participants
The Curating Contemporary Art and Design: Publishing, Editing, Writing Intensive explores the ways in which creative practices are made public through diverse modes of publishing in the field of contemporary curating and beyond. From artists’ books and exhibition texts to audiovisual recordings, and from online documentation and archiving to critical and creative reflections, the course offers a dynamic introduction to the breadth and scope of curatorial and artistic publishing, editing and writing across different media and formats.
Publishing plays a vital role in the dissemination of information and in the interpretation of curatorial and artistic work. In addition, publishing is an integral part of a broad range of creative practices – be it for curators, artists, writers, designers or others, and regularly some or all all of these together. As well as experimenting with the possibilities offered by printed matter, publishing increasingly makes use of the expanding affordances of the digital realm across a wide array of online platforms. This rapidly evolving media landscape is also changing the ways in which editing and writing are conceived and practised.
Whether comprising text, image, sound or a combination of these, publications can be considered creative environments in which different voices, practices and forms of knowledge enter into dialogue. Rather than positioning publishing, editing and writing as individual pursuits, this course will consider how these practices foster collaborative and transdisciplinary ways of working. Exploring questions of translation and mediation, we will reflect upon what it means to make work public and accessible to viewers, readers and participants.
Through the Curating Contemporary Art and Design: Publishing, Editing, Writing Intensive you will encounter cutting-edge approaches across the contemporary art and design sector, delivered by leading curators, artists, researchers, editors and writers. The programme combines analytical debate with practical activities, taught from the world’s leading art and design university and delivered online in an interactive learning environment. As a participatory forum, the course provides opportunities to engage directly with our faculty of experts and visiting speakers, as well as building a network of peer-to-peer relationships.
The course is led by Dr Rosie Ram, Tutor in MA Curating Contemporary Art and Course Leader of the Curating Contemporary Art and Design short course programmes, and Dr Gerrie van Noord, Tutor (Research) in MA Curating Contemporary Art. It is delivered by tutors from across the School of Arts and Humanities as well as invited practitioners and guests from leading institutions including Maria Fusco (Writer, Professor of Interdisciplinary Writing at the University of Dundee) and Katrina Palmer (Artist, Sculptor and Author), plus more to be announced.
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Learn more:
IN SESSION: I want to keep the books
Watch Course Leaders Dr Gerrie van Noord and Dr Rosie Ram in conversation with Artist Kathrin Böhm, discussing the role of publishing, editing and writing as part of an artistic practice.
Applications closed for 2023.
About the course
Course structure
Through this four-day programme you will investigate the role of publishing, editing and writing within the context of contemporary art and design curating. Each day, you will build your knowledge and skills by engaging in workshops, presentations and discussions with leading writers, curators and researchers.
Day 1: Publishing
Day 2: Editing
Day 3: Writing
Day 4: Presentations
During the course, you will be invited to engage in independent exercises and offered opportunities to work in small groups.
Interactive sessions are delivered by tutors from across the School of Arts and Humanities as well as invited guests, providing tailored support and stimulation for the development of your practice.
Personal and organisational benefits
Benefits include:
- Developing your skills and your understanding of publishing, editing and writing in the context of contemporary art and design curating
- Exploring a range of fine art and design disciplines in international contexts, taking publishing, editing and writing as a focus
- Engaging with publishers, editors, writers, curators, critics, researchers and historians, including the RCA's faculty of experts and visiting speakers from leading institutions
- Learning in an interactive and collaborative environment
- Interaction and networking with international peers from different cultural, academic and professional backgrounds
- Certificate of online attendance
What will you learn?
You will learn:
- About current debates in publishing, editing and writing in relation to contemporary art and design curating by engaging with sector-leading professionals
- About the latest developments in contemporary publishing, editing, writing and curatorial practice by encountering a range of publishing formats and curated programmes from different institutions and organisations
- How to develop your independent practice
- How to work collaboratively
How will you learn?
Learning takes place through a dynamic four half-day day programme. Each day features at least two sessions, comprising three-and-a-half hours of live interaction.
These sessions feature:
- Presentations
- Workshops
- Practical (storyboarding, writing, editing, etc.) exercises
- Introductions to publishing projects and publication formats/platforms
- Encounters with curatorial projects and institutions
- Feedback through group discussion and peer-to-peer support
- Recommended reading materials and resources
The sessions are delivered by RCA tutors and invited experts.
Participants are taught as a group and work in smaller teams.
Course contributors
Leading the course are Dr Rosie Ram, Tutor in MA Curating Contemporary Art and Course Leader of the Curating Contemporary Art and Design short course programmes, and Dr Gerrie van Noord, Tutor (Research) in MA Curating Contemporary Art. It is delivered by tutors from across the School of Arts and Humanities as well as invited practitioners and guests from leading institutions.
Invited guest speakers include:
Maria is a working-class writer, born and brought up in Belfast, now living in Scotland. Her interdisciplinary work spans the registers of critical, fiction and performance writing; she has authored six books, written and directed four major performance works. She is currently Professor of Interdisciplinary Writing at the University of Dundee. Her new book, Who does not envy with us is against us, is a collection of essays on class, published by Broken Sleep Books.
Artist, Sculptor and Author, Katrina writes and locates objects, bodies and voices as covert material presences in narrativized contexts. Using an expanded conceptualisation of sculpture, she explores the edges of language, focusing on uncanny physical displacements, marginalisation and absence. This work often results in confrontations with holes. Among Palmer’s solo exhibitions are What’s Already Going On (Mead Gallery 2023); Hello (England’s Creative Coast 2021); The Coffin Jump (Yorkshire Sculpture Park 2018); The Necropolitan Line (Henry Moore Institute 2015); End Matter (Artangel, BBC Radio 4, 2015). Her publications include Black Slit (Book Works 2023), End Matter (Book Works 2015), The Dark Object (Book Works 2010) and contributions to Documents of Contemporary Art (Whitechapel/MIT 2021 and 2013). Palmer was a recipient of the Paul Hamlyn Award for Artists (2014).
Plus more to be announced.
Disclaimer: The list of contributors is subject to change depending on availability.
Online delivery
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.
Course outcomes
You will come away from this course with:
- An understanding of publishing, editing and writing in the context of curating and beyond
- An appreciation of current debates around publishing, editing and writing in the contemporary art and design sector
- An understanding of the process of conceiving, drafting, editing and publishing
- Insights into different publication formats and modes of writing
- Creative and critical skills for developing your practice
Who should attend?
- Art, curating and design graduates and postgraduates
- Early and mid-career professionals from the cultural sector
- Curators and arts programmers
- Artists and designers
- Publishers
- Editors
- Writers
- Researchers
Admission criteria
Participants must:
- Have a successful application
- Have an undergraduate degree
- Have a good level of English language
- Be 21 years or over
Application process and deadlines
Application deadlines 2023
- Participants are advised to apply early to avoid disappointment as places are strictly limited.
- Applications will be assessed by the RCA course team every 2 weeks until November 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.
IN SESSION
Join Dr Gerrie van Noord and Dr Rosie Ram in conversation with artist Kathrin Böhm, to discuss the role of publishing, editing and writing as part of an artistic practice. Registration is free:
IN SESSION: I want to keep the books
26 September 2023 | 1pm-2pm BST
Gallery
Contact us
Get in touch with Jo Chounta if you'd like to find out more about this or any of our other short courses.
short-courses@rca.ac.uk
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