Curatorial Practice

Overview

The Curatorial Practice program at School of Visual Arts takes full advantage of the vast number of arts institutions and professionals on the doorstep of the School of Visual Arts in Chelsea and throughout New York City, which provides countless opportunities for study, mentoring and professional development.

Our faculty members work as curators, directors or in other professional capacities at major New York institutions. Our weekly guest lecturers are curators, artists, conservators, writers, architects, critics and theorists who come to the program from around the world to talk about their exhibitions, programs, projects and events.

There has never been a moment so potent in the explosive growth of venues for curatorial work across the globe, while the political urgencies we now see around the world are a call to curators everywhere to turn their attention toward the intersection of social and cultural concerns.

Our program in Curatorial Practice (MACP) is predicated on the fact that he global enterprise of the art world—including museums, Kunsthallen, commercial and nonprofit galleries, private collections, alternative spaces, biennials, art fairs, online art sites, and a vast number of other publicly and privately supported art platforms—has increased the number of curatorial ventures for programming on local, national and international stages that seek to effect change.

To emphasize the deeply entwined nature of education and professional engagement, MACP considers itself a hub for practitioners in the global field, not an academic cloister. What this means in real terms are exhibitions, performances, panel discussions, workshops and ample time in the city for one-on-one encounters with artists and professionals in the field on a continual basis for our students. They have the opportunity to create, curate and collaborate with leading professionals and institutions from New York, with further opportunities in projects and internships, including research, exhibitions and publications that span the globe. These events and collaborations, along with all of the New York art scene, give the students daily access to artists and professionals who become the basis of their own networks for the future. Nothing can beat the proximity of these encounters in the everyday life of New York’s teeming, international art scene.

Why We Stand Out:

• Rigorous curatorial training in the heart of Manhattan with leading curators and experts from New York’s major arts institutions
• Historical and theoretical study of the expanded curatorial field
• International network of institutions and organizations for career development