Curating Contemporary Art: an introduction



Overview

This short course will introduce you to the ecologies of both contemporary art and curatorial practice. Utilising the wealth of expertise, knowledge and collections in the city of Oxford, this course consists of in person lectures and seminars, as well as practical workshops inspired by the galleries and collections in Oxford.

Curators act as facilitators. The practice of curating often involves of a series of exchanges with artists, with other curators, and with wider museum and gallery practitioners. This course places these exchanges right at the centre of your learning.  Through the course you will be introduced to some of the skills that go into the work of curating. This will include studying what it takes to commission new artworks, the training required to work in collection care and collection management, as well as current approaches to education, interpretation and public engagement. We will explore innovative ways of curating and activating archives and library collections and consider the role played by development and fundraising teams in the making of exhibitions and the shaping of collections.

Knowledge of curating in an everyday situation will be placed within current, historic and theoretical contexts with lectures, seminars and discussions, supported by selected reading material. In these sessions you will learn about some of the histories, ideas and theories key to both global contemporary art and curatorial practice. This will include the development of curatorial practice over the twentieth and twenty-first century, feminist theories of care, and the expansive role played by art schools. Throughout the course we will keep returning to the call to decolonise collections and curatorial practice, through approaches and case studies. As part of the course will also consider what it means now to work and curate online.

Alongside readings, seminars and lectures, this course aims to be practical and collaborative. Together we will test out and experiment with ideas, drawing on our discussions, visits, workshops, and opportunities to make.

Programme details

Course starts: 19 Jan 2026

Week 1: Ecologies of contemporary art and curatorial practice

Week 2: Art in the public realm

Week 3: Curating temporary exhibitions

Week 4: Collecting and curating 'unruly' artworks at Tate

Week 5: Conserving artist books

Week 6: Caring for, activating and cataloguing archives 

Week 7: Art schools and artist networks

Week 8: Decolonising collections

Week 9: Digital curating

Week 10: Feminist practice, group work and collaboration

Digital Certification

Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) Points

Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail. Please follow this link for more information on Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS) points

Digital Certificate of Completion 

Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Please note students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.

Fees

Description Costs
Course fee (with no assessment) £300.00
Assessment and Accreditation fee £60.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr Lucy Bayley

Dr Lucy Rose Bayley is a researcher, curator, and contemporary art historian. She is interested in narratives of collections, curatorial practice and the formation of artistic and curatorial networks. Her work is informed by feminist theory and practice. Lucy was recently Head of Programme at Cromwell Place where she devised and led a curatorial programme, prior to this she managed academic engagement with the Special Collections at the Bodleian Library and was the Post-Doctoral Researcher at Tate on the project Reshaping the Collectible: When Artworks Live in the Museum. Her doctorate explored notions of mediation, audiences, and exhibitions through the archives of London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (1949–1986). Lucy was previously Curator of National Programmes at Contemporary Art Society and has worked at London galleries, Matt’s Gallery, The Drawing Room and the Serpentine Gallery. She has curated exhibitions at the ICA and has published with Routledge, Stedelijk Studies, Tate, OnCurating, MIRAJ: Moving Image Review & Art Journal and UCL Press. Lucy has led courses, including Curator Academy, at Sotheby's Institute of Art.

 

Course aims

  • To provide you with an introduction to curating and to contemporary art.
  • To engage with curatorial practices in relation to temporary exhibitions, museum and library collections, digital programmes and public art commissions.
  • To understand the historical evolution of curating with relation to contemporary art.
  • To understand some of the routes to becoming a curator or working in related professions in the cultural industries.
  • To engage with the imperative to decolonise museums, galleries and curatorial practice.

Teaching methods

Participants will be taught in seminar groups. The teaching methods used during this course will include:

  • Object and exhibition analysis 
  • Lectures with presentations
  • Seminars and group discussions
  • Practical workshops
  • Demonstrations

 

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course will you be able to: 

  • Discuss and articulate definitions of curating in historic and contemporary contexts.
  • Understand a variety of curatorial approaches and methodologies as they relate to working with artworks, collections and artists.
  • Practice forms of research and writing common to curating in a range of contexts, and demonstrate a critical approach to the reading of curatorial and interpretive texts. 
  • Apply problem-solving techniques to curatorial issues.
  • Show familiarity with professional standards and networks in the curatorial community.  

Assessment methods

Students will assessed by either three (500) word essays written throughout the course with relation to the visits and lessons (questions to be given at the start of the course) OR a presentation of a proposed exhibition.

Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation will submit coursework.

Application

To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form (Word) or enrolment form (Pdf).

Students who do not register for assessment and credit during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Level and demands

While a basic knowledge of art history and museums and galleries will be useful, no specific background knowledge in curating or contemporary art is required for this course. 

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support