Conception of the course
The course is divided into a preparatory online-course and a 11 day course in Europe with base in London (UK) and Düsseldorf (Germany). Field trips will lead you to other European capitals as Munich and Vienna. Those who have attended the whole course will receive a participation certificate.
Optional preparatory online-course in August
This optional preparatory online-course will provide you with the essentials of curatorial practice: curatorial work, history of curatorial practice, contemporary curatorial policies, exhibition management (budget, transport, insurance), curatorial soft skills, PR and publications, etc. This course is conceived to offer you the best possible preparation to take full advantage of your visits and meetings in Europe.
The detailed program of the online course will be available here for download at a later stage.
11 days stay in Europe
Next dates: September 2024
The stay in Europe will offer unique occasions of getting in touch with the leaders of some of Europe’s most important and famous art institutions and of learning directly from them about curatorial practice today in the real world. You will come to know current curatorial theory and its application in practice, see some of the most exceptional examples of how curating evolves also beyond the white cube – e.g. Urban art, art in public space, art in nature etc. You will find inspiration for your own future exhibition projects in the multifaceted art world in Europe, into which you will be introduced by most competent, experienced, and awarded experts. This will take you to museums and art institutions in and around London, Düsseldorf, Vienna, Munich etc. The number of participants is limited to 14 in order to guarantee quality tuition and will be selected on the basis of their applications. All lectures are organized in a small circle and will allow interventions & questions by attendees.
In Germany the course is based at Düsseldorf, a city internationally known for its art scene, its art academy and the close by “Museumsinsel Hombroich”. Here, art is conceived “in parallel to nature”, integrating also Asian artists and architects – as such this place is the ideal base for a curating course trying to create bridges between the continents and promoting innovative, creative curatorial practice. The founder Karl-Heinrich Müller said that for him, Hombroich “is not just building a museum, but an attempt to find a new way of life, with all the thoughts and things that up to now could almost be seen as disreputable in society.”
The detailed programs will be available here for download at a later stage.
Optional curatorial project
During the 2 months following the postgraduate course attendees have the option to develop their own exhibition project and send it in. It will be reviewed by our experts with the chance to be realized in Europe, supported financially by the Sommer Academy. The aim is to support young curators with fresh ideas and new approaches to art.