ART HISTORY AND CURATORSHIP
Introduction - Why ANU? - Internship Program - Undergraduate - Honours - Postgraduate
Introduction
How do you ‘read’ a work of art? How have artistic styles moved from one continent to the next? What do curators, educators, designers and conservators do in a gallery? Who visits galleries, and why? Should galleries challenge and entertain? These are just a few of the questions you will encounter while studying Art History and Curatorship at ANU.
In both our undergraduate and postgraduate programs you have the opportunity to exclusively study art history or combine it with curatorial studies. In art history we examine a broad range of visual material, including sculpture, painting, architecture, prints, photography, ceramics, electronic images and the decorative arts. Art History combined with Curatorship bridges the gap between the theoretical side of the university discipline and the practicalities of curating cultural objects and presenting them to the public.
Why ANU?
The Australian National University has become a leader in Art History and Curatorial studies and for the past thirty years has been forging close connections with national cultural institutions in Canberra. ANU enjoys close links with the National Gallery of Australia, National Library of Australia, the Australian War Memorial and the National Portrait Gallery. These links ensure that students:
- have good access to major national collections, from first-year undergraduates students through to postgraduates
- can combine academic excellence with a strong vocational emphasis
- remain at the forefront of current research and issues confronting galleries.
Art History and Curatorship has a strong career orientation, opening many possible doors. Many of our graduates have taken up key positions in art galleries, museums and other cultural institutions. Some are in teaching positions relating to their specialisations, while others have entered the commercial world of culture and art. With a strong emphasis on critical analysis, research, problem solving and communicating with audiences in diverse ways, the program provides valuable training for future managers in the arts, heritage and collections sectors, and more broadly across the public service and private enterprise. Each year at ANU a ‘Career Information Day’ is conducted with invited gallery professionals discussing various career paths.
The Art History and Curatorship team at ANU, with Professor Sasha Grishin (Sasha.Grishin@anu.edu.au) as the Head, includes a diverse range of scholars who are leaders in a range of fields. Australian art is a major area of research and teaching, along with the study of SE Asian art and textiles. The expertise of the academic staff ensures that the research and learning environment is of the highest quality. The art historians and curators working at ANU have strong and prolific publishing records, as well as been recognised in national awards for excellence in teaching. For more information see the links to ‘People’ in the School of Humanities.
Internship Program
In conjunction with the national institutions and smaller galleries and museums around Canberra, the ANU runs a widely acclaimed internship program. The internship program runs over two semesters and is open to Honours, Graduate Diploma, MLitt, Master of Arts and PhD students. The internship counts towards the overall degree. Internship positions are advertised towards the end of the preceding semester.
For further information contact the Internship Convenor, Dr Andrew Montana (Andrew.Montana@anu.edu.au).
Undergraduates
At an undergraduate level students can tailor their degrees to their own requirements, with a range of structures for studying Art History and Curatorship. Art History can be studied as:
For further information contact the first year lecturer Dr Elisabeth Findlay (Elisabeth.Findlay@anu.edu.au), or where appropriate the course convenor.
A summary of undergraduate courses offered for 2010 can be found at Study@ANU
Honours
The Honours year is an exciting, challenging and rewarding course of study, which includes writing a 15,000 word and presenting seminar papers. In this year students also have the opportunity to apply for the Internship Program which is worth 30% of their overall grade.
Students can choose to enroll in either:
It is also possible to do a combined degree program.
For information on Honours entry requirements and applications, as well as rules and guidelines see the College of Arts and Social Sciences information for prospective students and current students.
Information sessions are held twice a year to inform students of the entry requirements and Art History Honours structure.
Honours Application
For more information please contact the Honours Convenor Dr Elisabeth Findlay (Elisabeth.Findlay@anu.edu.au),
Postgraduates
There are a wide range of opportunities at postgraduate level for studying Art History and Curatorship. The diverse range of academic staff means that we are able to accommodate and supervise a variety of research interests. Postgraduate studies can take the form of coursework or research or a combination of both. For further details see:
A summary of courses offered for 2010 can be found at Study@ANU
For further information contact the Graduate Convenor Professor Sasha Grishin (Sasha.Grishin@anu.edu.au),
