MFA Curating

"I was at the epicentre of where new ideas were being formed, which was very exciting. The programme seemed very on point regarding contemporary issues, notably around technology, ecology, politics, gender."

"I was always drawn to Goldsmiths for its reputation as a forward-thinking, experimental, artistic and engaging place, for its interests in contemporary art theory and anthropology. During my art history BA I started a publication called 'Plateau', which brought together emerging artists and writers from different universities across the world around a central theme. I very much enjoyed the collaborative process it entailed, the confrontation and dialogue that came about when bringing together different viewpoints. After studying the history of art, I felt the urge to understand at a deeper level the practice of present-day, living artists and how they reflect on our time. The process of researching and mapping contemporary threads in our cultural landscape was intellectually stimulating for me. Curating seemed like the right fit. I heard that the Goldsmiths MFA Curating programme was one of the best, so I applied.

In retrospect, the course had a great influence on my way of thinking and approaching the world. I felt like I was at the epicentre of where new ideas were being formed, which was very exciting. The programme seemed very on point regarding contemporary issues, notably around technology, ecology, politics, gender… I would say the way we approached things was open and thorough with a sense of urgency; this really allowed us to exercise our thinking and develop news ideas. Also, I met very inspiring people there from everywhere in the world, some of whom are now very close friends. There are some great professional opportunities, as well as education workshops outside the classroom, which allow you to acquire a range of very different experiences. My experience with the curatorial internship at Tate Modern, in light of the ideas I was exploring at Goldsmiths, was eye opening. As for the course work, I had to learn to be very self-disciplined.

After graduating I finished an internship at Tate Modern, where I worked on the Sigmar Polke retrospective, as well as researching contemporary and modern artworks by Eastern European artists for the museum’s collections acquisition committee. This research involved questioning what constitutes ‘European post-war art’ through the examination of women artists and former-eastern block sensibilities. I published part of my Goldsmiths dissertation on ctc (curating the contemporary). I wrote a series of poems that function as micro-exhibitions published online. For each exhibition-poem, artworks were featured through the use of hyperlinks.

Then, I started a job at Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, assisting the Director of the then-upcoming London gallery. After a year and a half as an executive assistant, I started helping with research, writing, editing and translation. I am now Director of Publications, having edited and produced over 20 publications for the gallery. At the gallery, I have had the opportunity to co-curate a large-scale exhibition titled It comes in Waves, which brought together 16 artists (Miquel Barceló, Georg Baselitz, Rosemarie Castoro, Richard Deacon, Elger Esser, Valie Export, Anselm Kiefer, Wolfgang Laib, Jason Martin, Justin Matherly, Sigmar Polke, Marc Quinn, Arnulf Rainer, Pat Steir, Not Vital and Lawrence Weiner) and organised a number of events, notably screenings and performances. The ideas discussed in the Goldsmiths MFA Curating Affect Studies workshop, in Year Two, were particularly inspiring when conceiving this specific exhibition.

It has sharpened my way of thinking and envisioning, deepened my knowledge of art, awakened my feminist and political consciousness and opened my academic interests to subjects that I would have perhaps not approached otherwise. It has anchored my practice in the present, encouraging me to consider more contemporary, pressing issues.

I would advise current students to apply to all the amazing side-project opportunities that are offered through the course. For some reason there are some I did not apply to, and I now regret these missed opportunities. I recommend reaching out and meeting the other MFA students and the different communities and research centres of the university but also in the London art communities at large. I remember meeting the people from the Forensic Architecture centre, whose research was fascinating. I recommend taking the opportunity to experiment, test out ideas and read as much as possible. Because once you start working you don’t have time to delve as deep. I would recommend this programme for students that have a particular project they want to carry out. The course will give you the perfect framework and all the tools to bring it to fruition."

"Our programme and Goldsmiths itself offered an environment to explore contemporary art and rethink how we can work within the arts in different ways."

"MFA Curating at Goldsmiths had always been my first choice of masters programme. My former tutor had graduated from the course a few years before me and she had shared her experiences. Our programme and Goldsmiths itself offered an environment to explore contemporary art and rethink how we can work within the arts in different ways.

I was particularly pleased with how the course shed light on conducting independent work and trained us as independent curators. We learned from our own research projects, worked collaboratively with our peers during workshops, and also learnt through the organic conversations we had both on and off campus. We were encouraged to collaborate with different types of institutions and work closely with artists, which amplified the core concept of the course. 

During the two-year programme we never stopped rethinking the definition of 'Curating.' Instead of a noun we limit ourselves to achieving, or a verb that we action, we explored how curating is an open and equivocal term that continues to be redefined, expanding the meaning through our own methodologies. This reflection has had a huge impact on my thinking and practice, from curatorial projects to my current role.

Since graduating I have written for art magazines and museum journals. My articles have been published in the museum journal of Taiwan Fine Arts Museum and the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts Magazine in Taiwan, and in Art Forum China. I am a regular contributor to The Artist magazine and cultural newspaper The Affairs. Recently, I was appointed as an editor and writer for Taipei Dangdai art fair's online editorial platform. Currently I am working at White Cube gallery in London, supporting our Asia team on sales and the regional programme. Regarding my curatorial practice, my recent projects include 'Create Syria: A Future Constellation' in 2016, a joint project collaborating with International Alert, the British Council, and Ettijahat - Independent Culture; and 'The Xenophobia of Time?,' 2017, an exhibition featuring four artists exploring the pertinent issues of migration and its link to temporality, at Clerkenwell Gallery in London. I also worked with the art and humanitarian organisation Between Borders as their curator from 2016 to 2017, and have given public talks at BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts and University College London.

Current Goldsmiths MFA Curating sutdents should cultivate the relationships they make with people they meet during their studies. Try and spend as much time as you can with your colleagues and fellow students as you can learn from them not only while on the course, but also after graduating. Spending time with Fine Art students in the Art Department is also really valuable as you are so close to artists which helps to understand their practice. After graduating, do remember your true beliefs and your initial motivation for wanting to work in the arts. Keeping that in mind will lead you to the road that you are aiming to reach."

"The programme appealed to me also because I was keen to explore the wider understanding of curating, which goes beyond the exhibition making and considers public programming and social projects."

"I was drawn to Goldsmiths because of its reputation and wanted to be in the critical environment that it is famous for. I knew a number of people who graduated from the MFA Curating as well as Fine Art and heard a lot about the variety of cultural theories and philosophical concepts that students get exposed to. I saw it as a perfect place to start developing my own research, but also to be immersed in a wider critical discussion. The programme appealed to me also because I was keen to explore the wider understanding of curating, which goes beyond the exhibition making and considers public programming and social projects. Moreover, I was very interested in the practice-led approach of the programme the opportunities to get experience working in London art institutions.

Two years on MFA Curating were very challenging but if I had the opportunity to come back and do the course again I definitely would. The course made me reconsider the way I had previously understood and approached art. It helped me to become much more confident and independent and to find my own voice. I valued the fact that the programme was very much informed by the tutors’ personal research and the diversity of their interests and approaches. The classmates were another source of knowledge and inspiration. It was great to be a member of an international group of people coming from all kinds of backgrounds. I am still in touch with many of them and the connections and friendships I have made throughout the course are invaluable.

 I also enjoyed the opportunities that the course offered. For example, during the programme I had the chance to co-curate an exhibition at the Zabludowicz collection with fellow curating students and get experience working on the Malevich retrospective at Tate Modern. This helped me a lot in expanding my practical skills and theoretical knowledge while contributing to the development of my own research.

Straight after the course I embarked on the PhD programme in Loughborough University School of Social Science and Humanities. My research focuses on curatorial practices in late Soviet Russia. My thesis offered a critical history of curation in Moscow in the period between 1974 and 1993 and argued that the history of curation can be used as a lens though which to examine how culture is negotiated during a period of social change and transformation. I have published a few papers exploring the relations between curatorial practices and the development of public sphere in the USSR and other aspects of the late Soviet art. Currently, I am working on a book proposal, which would consider the gender dynamic of late Soviet curation, and am planning to continue developing research in the field.

While in Loughborough I started teaching art theory on BA Fine Art. My experience at Goldsmiths was very helpful and inspired my own teaching practice. After the completion of my PhD I joined Sotheby’s Institute of Art as Lecturer in Art Business. I teach a variety of modules and focus primarily on the intersections of private and public sectors, collecting strategies, public art institutions and Russian Art and Eastern European art markets.

The course played a huge role in what I am doing now. It made me reconsider what curation is and how it influences and informs social life. My PhD proposal developed organically from the project I was doing during the programme and was inspired by the ideas introduced during the study. The works of the tutors, particularly Simon Sheikh and Helena Reckitt, informed the development of the PhD argument and continue to inspire me now.

The main advice I could give is to value your time as a student and be open to any opportunity. You never know where each of them might take you."