Call for applications: 4th Moscow Curatorial Summer School

Theme: ‘Simple Twists and Complex Turns: Curating, educational turn and thereafter’

6–25 July 2015

Deadline for applications:  June 18, 2015

The fourth edition of the Moscow Curatorial Summer School will take place from 6 July to 25 July 2015. This year’s programme is developed by V-A-C Foundation in collaboration with Paul O’Neill, Mick Wilson and Janna Graham. The three-week course is devoted to the ‘educational turn’ in curating, prompted by consideration of the recurrent mobilisation of pedagogical models within various curatorial strategies and critical art projects. The term was actualised by Paul O’Neill and Mick Wilson in the anthology, Curating and the Educational Turn, published by Open Editions and De Appel in 2010. It refers to the ways in which educational formats, methods, programmes, models, terms, processes and procedures have become pervasive in contemporary curating, art practice and their attendant critical frameworks. From free schools to counter-universities, from the exhibition-as-school to self-organised study groups, ‘education’ is enacted and contested in many different ways across contemporary art.

Russian and international professionals contributing to the Moscow Curatorial Summer School include Felicity Allen, Ilya Budraitskis, Binna Choi, Cosmin Costinas, Anselm Franke, Marina Grzinic, Sven Lutticken, Marion van Osten, Sarah Pierce, Caterina Riva, Simon Sheikh, Anton Vidokle, Arseny Zhilyaev, Olga Zhitlina, Tirdad Zolghadr, among others. Together with them, participants will investigate the ‘educational turn’ in curating and examine the methodological similarities and differences of ‘the school’ and ‘the exhibition’. All classes at the Moscow Curatorial Summer School are in English. Participants are selected from an international call for applications. Some classes are open to general public.

The venue for the 4th Moscow Curatorial School will be GES-2 – a former power station in the centre of Moscow. Having served as a power source for the city since 1907, GES-2 is now changing its status from an industrial site to a cultural institution. Discussion about the future educational and exhibition strategy of this nascent institution is something to which the Moscow Curatorial Summer School is delighted to contribute.

Please click here for more information on the application process.

About V-A-C

V-A-C is dedicated to the international presentation, production and development of Russian contemporary Art – across a multitude of forms and within the framework of invigorated and informed exhibition, education and publishing programmes. Particularly important to the new generation of artists in Russia, V-A-C’s focus is on practically supporting and expanding the platform for home-grown talent, giving artists the opportunity to experience, engage with and interrogate international cultural practices whilst developing an authentic and autonomous artistic language. It is deservedly considered as one of the key proponents in opening out contemporary Russian culture to the wider world, and practically supporting and developing emerging artists through finding new international platforms for exhibition and opportunities for commissions as well as ways of encouraging cross-cultural exchange – especially important in the current climate.

Moscow Curatorial Summer School was conceived by the V-A-C Foundation in 2012 as an annual programme running for three weeks every July. While the intensive development of the contemporary art system in Russia has turned the curator into one of the most important and at the same time problematic figures within the Russian cultural context, the School aims to foster discussion around questions such as: What are the professional boundaries and competences of a curator? What are the author’s rights and professional duties? What levels of knowledge and skill define this new sphere of professional activity? How should this specialised experience be applied professionally? Students selected to take part in the summer school are chosen on the basis of their applications. Students are involved in the preparation of curatorial projects and seminars, while the lectures are open to the public.

For enquiries about the Moscow Curatorial Summer School or the application process please contact v-a-c@v-a-c.ru.

Please visit the website for more details.