ARHT6932: Semester 1, 2023

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Units ARHT6932 Semester 1 2023 [Normal day]

Unit of study_

ARHT6932: Ways of Curating: Exhibitions and Display

Semester 1, 2023 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Exhibitions are the key medium through which art is displayed and interpreted as a prominent and diverse part of contemporary culture. This unit engages with current exhibitions in Sydney art museums and art spaces to interrogate textual, theoretical, and exhibition-based strategies. Students will critically engage with ways of thinking about curating from decolonisation, globalisation and communities, to historical, narrative, biographical, feminist, queer and activist models as they relate to current exhibitions in situ. A range of curatorial appraches will be analysed alongside historical and current art exhibition critique.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	ARHT6932
Academic unit	Art History
Credit points	6
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Donna Brett, donna.brett@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Terence Smith, terence.smith@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Bronwyn Bailey-Charteris, bronwyn.bailey-charteris@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Exhibition Review review/critique	40%	Week 07 Due date: 03 Apr 2023 at 23:59	2500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Research Project Essay Research Project	60%	Week 13 Due date: 26 May 2023 at 23:59	3500 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Detailed information can be found in Canvas

Assessment criteria

Refer to the Coursework Policy 2014, Schedule 1

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Exhibition making and Curatorial practice: The Exhibitionary Complex	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 02	Exhibition and Display: Old and New	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 03	The Anatomy of an Exhibition	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 04	Thinking Curatorially	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 05	Decolonising the Museum: Strategies and Discourse	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 06	Indigenous Modes of Curation	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 07	Other Approaches: Feminist Curatorial Strategies and Queering the Art Museum	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 08	Activating Collections: Interventions and Time	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 09	Distraction, Spectatorship and Wretched Screens	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 10	Spaces for Art	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 11	Spectatorship and Audiences	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 12	Reviews and Critique	Seminar (2 hr)
Week 13	QandA Discussion	Seminar (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance is compulsory. This unit will be run primarily at the Art Gallery of NSW. Remote access is limited to offshore students only.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Terry Smith, ‘The Australian Art Exhibitionary Complex’, in The Australian Art Field: Practices, Policies, Institutions, edited by Tony Bennett, Deborah Stephenson, Fred Myers, and Tamara Winikoff (London: Routledge, 2020).

Steven Miller, The Exhibitionists: A history of Sydney’s Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney: AGNSW, 2022), chapters 2 and 19.

Michael Brand, ‘Introduction’, in Michael Brand ed., The Sydney Modern Project: Transforming the Art Gallery of New South Wales (Sydney: AGNSW, 2022).

Terry Smith, Thinking Contemporary Curating (Independent Curators International, 2012), Preface and chapter 1.

Terry Smith, Thinking Contemporary Curating (Independent Curators International, 2012), chapter 2.

Cara Pinchbeck, ‘Yiribana … This Way’, in Michael Brand ed., The Sydney Modern Project, chapter 3.

Stephen Gilchrist, ‘Indigenous Curatorial Interpellations: Insistence and Refusal’, in The Australian Art Field: Practices, Policies, Institutions, edited by Tony Bennett, Deborah Stephenson, Fred Myers, and Tamara Winikoff (London: Routledge, 2020), chapter 18.

Nicholas Chambers, ‘Between here and there: collecting and displaying modern and contemporary international art’, in Michael Brand ed., The Sydney Modern Project, chapter 6.

Terry Smith, Thinking Contemporary Curating (Independent Curators International, 2012), chapter 4.

Justin Paton, ‘Something always not seen’, in Michael Brand ed., The Sydney Modern Project, chapter 14.

Isobel Parker Philip, ‘Looking forward: contending with the contemporary’, in Michael Brand ed., The Sydney Modern Project, chapter 13.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Demonstrate a strong understand of exhibition curatorial strategies
LO2. Articulate critical analysis of exhibition making through written and verbal communication
LO3. Undertake detailed research and articulate complex ideas
LO4. Understand the role of exhibition making in contemporary culture at the intersection of art, curating exhibitions, historical and contemporary critical reception

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This unit has been redesigned to enable close analysis of curatorial, exhibition and display strategies.

Additional information

This unit is designed to analyse and critique exhibition and display methodologies and practice at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Over the duration of the course we will consider a diverse, yet focussed range of questions that will lead us through the North and South galleries to consider curatorial strategies of the past and present.

Additional costs

only public transport

Site visit guidelines

Site Visits to the Art Gallery of New South Wales

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Additional costs

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

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