Curatorial Practices in the Public Realm: Working Outside the Box

The objective of this course is to teach students how to curate in public space. Students will learn the process of exploring pertinent issues, finding and responding to sites, selecting artists, strategies for engaging with local communities, as well as developing and presenting a curatorial proposal. We will discuss audiences, engagement, and working with communities around pertinent issues. The course will be taught as if the class is a curatorial team curating a biennale to take place in sites across the Americas. Prompts based on sites, artists, and issues will come together to develop individual large scale public art projects, that come together to form a decentralized biennial.

Each class is divided into various segments: lecture, group discussion, student presentations, guest speakers and an overview. The lectures approach the practice of working in public space by investigating existing public art projects. Student projects are developed through discussions where issues, sites, and artists are proposed and considered. Guest speakers, including artists, will join the class to speak about their work and outdoor processes. Readings, including catalog essays, artist interviews, reports and news coverage, will supplement the learning experience. 

Throughout the semester we will explore potential topics, sites, and artists. During which students will begin to develop a curatorial proposal for the Biennale. As a final project, each student will submit a curatorial proposal and deliver a final presentation featuring an artist, issue, site, and related community.

Students may pursue issues such as migration, drug trafficking, indigenous rights and traditions, recycling, climate change, degrading biodiversity, public safety, and gang violence. Sites may include the US/Mexico Border (cities, desert, mountains, rivers), Darrien Gap, Orinoco River, Lake Ilopango, San Salvador, Guatemala City, Medellin, Colombian riverways, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, Caracas, The Beast, The Wall, Mexico/Guatemala Border, Mayan Ruins, Aztec Ruins, Cabo San Lucas, Culiacan, Tulsa OK, autonomous towns such as those in Michoacan, Manaus, Belen, Iquitos, the Atacama Desert, Amazonia, and Patagonia, among others.
 

The first day of classes, Tuesday, September 3rd, is held as a MONDAY schedule at the GSD. As this course meets on Tuesday, the first meeting of this course will be on Tuesday, September 10th. It will meet regularly thereafter.