If art’s task is to ask questions, propose possible visions and spark processes of critical thought, the curator’s role is to interpret and mediate the messages that art can transmit so that we stop, observe and reflect.
A one-year specialization course aimed at those wishing to develop the necessary skills to organize exhibitions and cultural events in the visual, digital and performative arts, in particular photography and moving images.
If art’s task is to ask questions, propose possible visions and spark processes of critical thought, the curator’s role is to interpret and mediate the messages that art can transmit so that we stop, observe and reflect.
ICON is avocational course covering the figure of curator in its entirety. Students study, gain know-how, learn to plan and build up their own network. Setting out to define the image’s place in the here and now, the course reflects on the opportunies given by technology to produce innovative models of art. And so it tests new cultural experiences that can harness change and keep ahead of the game in the contemporary world.
Students gain the skills needed to work as exhibition curators and event organizers in the contemporary image and visual arts sector, as consultants in the public or private sector – in museums, foundations, private collections, non-profit organizations, galleries, fairs or festivals – as editors in the publishing industry or targeted campaign promoters in various professional contexts.
FMAV and Modena, city for the media arts
FMAV is a is a culture production hub and professional training and teaching centre for contemporary art and visual culture. This means unique opportunities to meet leading figures in art in a student-friendly city, where art and culture increasingly come face to face with technology and innovation: Modena is the first city in Italy to have been named a UNESCO creative city for the media arts.
The course will only be held when the minimum number of participants is reached.
The curator course members are involved in curating and organizing a group exhibition with works from the historical and contemporary collections managed by Fondazione Modena Arti Visive.
Students can apply for the internships or residency periods offered by the exchange programme and FMAV’s Italian and international partnerships.
Discover the students’ projects from the past course exhibitions: new curatorial proposals, ready to be readapted for specific location requirements and to be really put into practice.
find out more hereThe training course is focused on practical and methodological learning. Students learn a curator’s different competences and develop critical thinking and planning skills.
The faces, the places, and how they slot together. The multiple aspects of the profession of curator.
Overview of the contemporary art scene, with a focus on key artists and works and analysis of the topics and issues of greatest interest.
Planning phase and practical organization of an exhibition: relations with artists and galleries, transportation, loans and insurance.
Evolution of display methods and techniques, case studies and devising an exhibition layout. Practical exercises with specialist software.
Fundraising, budget and feasibility studies.Economic sustainability of cultural projects and fundraising activities.
Features of the different means of communication and building an effective promotional plan. Specific focus on social media.
Ways of engaging and designing for different audiences, with special attention to accessibility and inclusion.
Overview of books, journals, catalogues, magazines and multimedia products for contemporary art.
Main rules of copyright law, protection requirements and duration of protection of intellectual works.
Practical exercises to cultivate a personal visual language and build relationships between thought and images.
The practical planning phases from coming up with the idea to drafting individual end-of-year projects.
Focus on study and practising writing texts and critical apparatus aimed at specialist and general audiences.
Joint planning and organization of the group exhibition from the collections managed by FMAV, to be held at one of the foundation venues.
Navigating the complex contemporary information landscape: tools for critical source analysis and curatorial research techniques.
Focus on podcasts made by Italian and international museums and creation of new audio content to tell the general public about artists and works.
Guided tours of exhibitions and significant events on the art scene and meetings with the initiative organizers and institutions.
A series of meetings with stakeholders and professionals in the sector, plus specific training modules held by the foundation department heads.
For me it was a positive experience that helped me grow. The course helped me to get clarity on my professional and personal goals thanks to the team talks and individual work on different levels and topics. The course gave me the chance to get out there and put myself to the test.
To really get into contemporary art, you have to study photography. But dealing with photographic images means taking part in a wider set of activities, which start from the visual to produce contents, documents and organize archives. It also means creating formats for reflection on society, fashion, communication and anthropology.
Against a background of changing techniques and digital broadcasting channels, our school sets out to train a generation of curators who can deal with the dynamism of the contemporary image in its vast range of approaches and its hybridization, from analogue photos to post-Internet works. The course provides specific practical skills and intends to be a place to meet, make connections and cue reflection to form a professional profile that will create leading players in the art system.
The course gave me an all-round view of the world of curatorship. The thing that probably stuck most is the whole host of creative forms that an exhibition and exhibition concept can take today, also thanks to the use of new technologies. The module held by Bas Vroege was very instructive and stimulating as it made us think outside the box as to how we could put photos on show, also following new routes of communication.
Curators have to be able to deal with artists and institutions, find funding, and above all, pinpoint and help to build a “critical” way of thinking. To do so, you have to ask questions about and be able to interpret the present, while looking beyond the boundaries of photography.
My advice is to stay determined, in your studies and in project work. Be patient and wait to find the right moment to get a new project off the ground and bring it to life. Never think that you’ve made it, there’s so much to learn and observe around us, so many life experiences that we can make our own.
Curatorship is a trade, a profession that requires know-how on the practices and procedures. My course takes a practical and pragmatic slant; the idea is to take down the mindset that a curator’s work is all about “thinking” and that’s it. While thinking has to be the first stage in building a project, it’s also true that there are a whole series of practical steps that are just as necessary. There are systems, methods (but also trends and behaviours) that you have to know and follow in every phase: from drawing up the concept to the relationship with the artists and the lenders, the display, the catalogue, communication, etc. These aspects are often undervalued but they play a substantial role in an exhibition’s success.
Thanks to the research work I did during the course, I was able to successfully curate and put on the exhibition that I presented as my end-of-course exhibition project.
Photography has a unique relationship with reality and so even now it remains a powerful tool that makes us reflect on society and the role that we play in it. But we live in a world saturated by the media and so we have to use innovative strategies and exploit different platforms to wow the public. On the course, students can come into contact with international experts and specialists. This is fundamental in a hyperconnected world, where borders are less and less important, and it helps to create a solid structure of educational opportunities and international internships
Thanks to the curators course, I got to know some exceptional people, professionals and projects. I also made contacts and had to constantly produce ideas to share with colleagues and propose to public and private institutions and galleries.
Since July 2021, thanks to ICON, I’ve been working with Generazione Critica, an online magazine of research on the contemporary world. I started getting into curating exhibition projects on contemporary artists without ever abandoning my writing as a critic and journalist. I hope to soon take part in a project for Art City Bologna 2022 with a cultural association from Bologna.
What I found most enriching was getting to know great professionals from the sector. It really meant a lot to be able to listen to the lives of some of the leading figures in contemporary art and to come into direct contact with them. At the same time, sharing this course with my fellow students enabled me to create new contacts and discover realities I had had no idea about before.
The internship at the Accademia Tedesca at Villa Massimo in Rome allowed me to appreciate the job of curator even more, in particular how this figure can support artists, cultural workers and projects.At the moment I’m working on socio-cultural projects and I’m always looking for the best way to communicate and raise awareness on social themes through art and creativity.
During my internship at Leporello in Rome, a specialist photography bookshop, I was able to see the practicalities of managing a place like that from close up. I was also able to take part personally in the different activities offered by the bookshop, planning them and putting them on, in particular the press office activities that I looked after myself during the months of my placement.So it was a fundamental step in my professional training, both in terms of the skills I acquired but above all the relationships and contacts that it allowed me to develop.
I'm working in various associations and publishing teams. I write articles, organize events and along with some organizations that I came into contact with when I was putting together my individual project, I’m running a multi-purpose community-building space in the multi-ethnic neighbourhood where I held my end-of-course exhibition.
Special early bird discount until 31 May 2024.