Call for applications: Commissioning and Curating Contemporary Public Art

Distance course online with intensive workshops in Gothenburg and Stockholm: January 21, 2019–January 19, 2020

Free to EU Nationals

Commissioning and Curating Contemporary Public Art, 30 hec, distance
A distance course, at advanced level, introducing key issues and practices in working with art in the public realm targeted at continuing professional development for artists, curators, commissioners, policy-makers, communities, community organisers, activists, planners, decision-makers, other professionals and citizens interested in the question of public art. This international course, delivered in English, in partnership with Public Art Agency Sweden is based on a combination of distance education and participation at two intensive workshops (from a choice of four) in: Gothenburg  or Stockholm February 20–22, May 8–10, October 16–18 and December 4–6.

This part-time course is designed to facilitate professionals and people with existing commitments to access continuing professional development in university education in a flexible manner.

The course is free to EU nationals. Students are responsible for their own costs of attending the workshops.

Admission is based on letter of intention (preferably in English) stating why you wish to attend the course, 200 to 350 words in length.

The teaching team includes: Andrea Phillips, Dave Beech, Jason E. Bowman, Kerstin Bergendal, Kjell Caminha, Maddie Leach, Mick Wilson, and special guests.

Content
What is the nature of public art? What do the policy-makers, commissioners, curators, artists and other specialists working with public art need to know about this rapidly changing and expanded field of practice? What do communities wishing to invite public art into their environments, or wishing to instigate public art commissions, need to know in order to pursue their desires and ambitions? Who can commission public art? What—if any—is the relationship between public art and local democracy? What does “public-ness” mean in the contexts of public art? What are the processes and frameworks that operate when art is created in, and for, public space? Who is it commissioned for? What are the challenges of curating art in the public realm? What is the public realm? What are the spaces of “public-ness” in an era of network technologies, population displacement and changing political imaginaries? How can curators, commissioners, diverse publics, communities, artists, and other practitioners effectively move between ideas and ideals of public culture, and the pragmatic contexts of actual decision-making, production, procurement, installation, and planning processes? What, if any, are the possible relationships between public art and local democracy?

These  questions are approached through conflicting perceptions of public space, public culture, and the contested themes of “the public sphere”. We emphasize the interaction of theory and practice, so as not to privilege theory over practice, but rather to look at how different perspectives—rooted in practice as well as informed by theoretical analysis—connect to different possibilities in realising art as an integral part of public life.

Practicalities
Please note: all times are based on Swedish time (CET). You will require a good reliable internet access and headphones. Content from the workshops will also be posted online for course participants to access. Participation in the workshops means that your contributions to discussion may be recorded for this purpose. Students are responsible for their own costs of attending the workshops.

Workshops  
The intensive workshop, involving physical attendance, is chosen from two of the following four options. (It is possible to attend more if you wish, you are expected to attend at least two.) The dates for 2019 intensives are: February 20–22, May 8–10, October 16–18 and December 4–6.

Application is via University Admissions
Read more about the course: Commissioning and Curating Contemporary Public Art 

Coming soon: call for applicants for our international MFA Programmes in Film, Fine Art and Photography

Open position: Professor in photography
Valand Academy also has an opening for a professor in photography. Apply by October 31, 2018. Read more: Professor in photography