IED Firenze Art Department

Working in the art system requires increasingly more qualifications and skills. To be part of the complex world of ideas, production, and mediation in the art world, professionals need to delve into artists’ and critical debates, as well as management and educational strategies.

IED Firenze offers a comprehensive program in its art department, defining three main professional figures with master’s programs: Curatorial Practice, Museum Education, and Arts Management. Through an intensive theoretical and practical one-year program, these three Masters programs prepare young professionals to become part of the art sphere. The courses are grounded in a solid theoretical foundation while also following IED’s motto of “learning by doing,” proposing a hands-on approach through design culture methods. Professors, professionals in the field, and partner institutions will guide students in practical projects that develop the acquisition of technical knowledge and an understanding of the dynamics shaping future professional careers.

Curatorial Practice is a master’s course that explores the curatorial figure in its various approaches and strategies, aimed at producing knowledge through the creation of exhibition and editorial projects in collaboration with artists and institutions.

Museum Education is a course dedicated to the fundamental role of mediation and interpretation of material and immaterial heritage in museums. The Master aims to create a professional profile that designs new narrative paths and relationships between artworks, diverse audiences, and participative communities, responding to continuously changing society.

Arts Management is a program designed to train professionals in all aspects of production in the cultural industry, with skills ranging from project management to communication and fundraising. This profile is adaptable to the changing needs of the performative, artistic, musical, and event areas.

All programs are coordinated by Daria Filardo - IED Firenze Academic Art Coordinator. The Master courses will share common ground and activities while following different paths to delve into specific competencies. Visits to museums, collections, lectures by national and international professionals, and specific projects will be vital components of an intense and enlightening educational experience.

Daria Filardo: Academic Coordinator Art Department, IED Firenze. Founder from 2016 (with Stefania Galegati and Davide Ricco) of Counter Production, Palermo a radical pedagogy program in collaboration with national and international artists and researchers. 1998–2000 resident curator at Palazzo delle Papesse, Siena. Her field of action consists of long-term curatorial and didactic projects involving writing, exhibitions, workshops and publications. Selected projects: The Tilt of Time, IED Florence/Palazzo Strozzi 2023; Eco-esistenze, IED Florence/Palazzo Strozzi 2022; Alter Eva, IED Florence/Palazzo Strozzi 2021; Life and Herstories, Villa Romana Florence 2021; Give me an (art)object, Fondazione Pistoletto, Biella 2017; Permanent refugee, Aleksander Duravcevic, catalogue  Montenegro Pavilion, Biennale Venezia 2015; Arte Torna Arte, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence 2012; Sahara chronicle. Ursula Biemann, careof/DOCVA, Milan 2009; Fuori Contesto, Bologna/Milan/Manifesta7 Italy, 2008

The Art department of IED Firenze offers also summer courses such as Museum Experience and Arts Management, and just opend a brand new three year course in Illustraion.