Curating Art and Nature: The Knowledge of the Curator III, University of Groningen Summer Schools
In recent years, the already multifaceted role of the curator in museums, exhibition spaces, and cultural heritage sites has expanded significantly. Curators have expanded their practice from traditional institutional contexts to public spaces. They are now expected to produce innovative scholarship, invent new fundraising formats, digitize collections, collaborate with artists, and engage with society in order to rethink the museum as a sustainable place for the future.
In 2020, the focus of our successful summer school series “The Knowledge of the Curator” lies on the increasing interest in curatorial projects that cross the boundaries between art and nature. How can artistic interventions forge meaningful relationships between humans and nature? What is the history of curating beyond museum walls? Can contemporary art serve to enhance ecological awareness and local identities? What are the characteristics and challenges of ‘landscape-based’ curating, can the environment be curated at all?
Intended for art historians preparing for a career in museums, other cultural institutions, or academia, as well as professionals in those fields, this course is devoted to the knowledge, expertise, and skills required to meet the challenge of curating art and the environment.
The Department of History of Art, Architecture, and Landscapes at the University of Groningen offers a unique and innovative summer school programme that puts students in direct contact with internationally renowned scholars, artists, and curators. The summer school location is situated in the unique countryside near the city Groningen, close to the Wadden Sea and Lauwersmeer National Park and will include outdoor activities, curatorial experiments with landscapes, and hands-on work with nature as artistic material.
A key feature of our summer school – in addition to lectures, presentations, and discussion – is the creation of an experimental exhibition, based on the Groningen landscape in collaboration with contemporary artists. Several excursions are organized on bikes, including one to the outdoors exhibition Into Nature, in and around Emmen, that enables participants to meet/work with artists and curators on site.
For more information and to apply, see the summer course page.