Call for applications: MFA Curating

MFA Curating at Goldsmiths is welcoming applications for the 2026–27 entry.

The original meaning of the word cura means care and concern, and curators have long been caretakers of collections, exhibitions, ideas and situations, while sustaining close relations with artists and audiences. In the last two decades, curators have taken on broader responsibilities—as conveners, mediators, translators, awareness-raisers and stewards—in the deployment of collective imaginaries, acts of world-making and proposals for more sustainable futures, institutions and ways of supporting artists.  

Focused on curating contemporary art, while acknowledging the past through the study of the genealogies of curating as a discipline, MFA Curating looks to anticipate what curatorial practice might look like and mean tomorrow. The programme covers the subject of curating contemporary art from many different angles, including aesthetic, social, political and philosophical enquiries, practices and discourses relevant to present-day culture.        

MFA Curating works in close connection with the exhibitions and public programme team, as well as with exhibiting artists, at Goldsmiths CCA, a vibrant platform for international contemporary art and exhibition making. We organise exhibition and gallery tours in London and further afield; invite international artists on a regular basis to introduce their practice; and facilitate collaborations between MFA Curating and other programmes within the School of Art—including MA Art and Ecology, MFA Fine Art, and MA Artists' Film & Moving Image—allowing for a unique dialogue between artists and curators. Beyond its close association with CCA Goldsmiths, the programme offers connections with Goldsmiths’ Centre for Art and Ecology and the Art Research Garden.       

MFA Curating offers knowledge in the form of a toolbox, ranging from theoretical concepts to the practicalities of working with artists and managing exhibitions and curatorial projects, and is built on a peer-to-peer learning model. Our student-centered learning generates independent, articulate, confident, self-motivated, knowledgeable producers who support each other’s learning and development.

Interdisciplinarity, collaboration and critical thinking, along with practices of listening, attention and accountability towards the human and non-human worlds are key principles of the programme. These principles help students develop methods and a work ethos relevant to the area of practice they want to pursue and refine, whether exhibition-making, public programming, commissioning social and public projects, publishing, or working with artists and practitioners from other disciplines.

Upon graduation, we offer students a fellowship scheme to work on the MFA Curating programme and at Goldsmiths CCA. The course further offers students the possibility of realising curatorial projects through our associations with organisations including Cubitt, Forma, Gasworks, Mimosa House, Acme and Artangel. Students get to apply for opportunities for professional development through placements at Tate Modern, the Government Art Collection and Peer Gallery.

MFA Curating is designed for students who wish to take up the challenge of contemporary curating as an artistic, social and critical undertaking, and to develop their professional practice in this area. We provide a practice-led research context for aspiring curators and producers, practitioners at an early stage of their professional development, and those looking for a shift in their art career.

Goldsmiths’ MFA Curating programme is recognised worldwide for producing highly qualified curators and arts professionals, as well as those pursuing further academic study at PhD level. Our graduates find employment in international museums, commercial galleries, magazines, non-profit organisations and alternative spaces.

Our staff is made up of internationally renowned curators and academics whose own professional practice informs their work as teachers: Paul Clinton, Dr. Anna Colin, Chris Hammond, Kirsty Ogg, Helena Reckitt, Dr. Irene Revell and Prof. Andrew Renton. Their teaching is complemented by a range of visiting tutors, many of them are artists at the forefront of critical debates. Apply here.