Curatorial Studies Minor
Shift
Perceptions.
Develop your professional curatorial vision through theory, design principles and art conservation methodologies—experiencing works of art in ways that few have.
The technologies and concepts behind the way we exhibit art are ever-evolving, which makes this study a great support for other interests to compliment your career goals.
Curatorial Studies Minor (18 Credits)
The curatorial studies minor introduces students to the contemporary and historic study of the exhibition, display, preservation and interpretation of art objects. Rooted in hands-on, object-based inquiry, students engage the exhibitions and permanent collections of the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum, the Spelman College Innovation Lab, and the Robert W. Woodruff Library. Additional Atlanta-based institutions serve as case studies in order to examine the role that institutions, curators and museum professionals play in shaping curatorial practice.
The curatorial studies minor also provides students with avenues to continue their education in a variety of postgraduate programs and/or careers in the visual arts.
Students are required to complete 18 credits for the curatorial studies minor.
SAVC 235 Introduction to the Object (4 credits)
SAVC 282 Acquisitions and Collections (3 credits)
SAVC 305 Seminar in Curatorial Practice (3 credits)
SAVC 375 Entering the Art World: Culture and Context (2 credits)
SAVC 435 Theory and Criticism in Exhibition Practice (3 credits)
SAVC 475 Curatorial Practicum (3 credits)
Study Abroad [Global Experience], Internships & Directed/Independent Studies are strongly encouraged.
Limitless
Career Options
- Art History + Curatorial Studies = Curator
- English + Curatorial Studies = Art Critic
- Business + Curatorial Studies = Museum Director
- History + Curatorial Studies = Archivist
- Chemistry + Curatorial Studies = Art Conservator
Photo: Alex Freund
Art + Curatorial Studies
If there is a word that describes the vibrant, interdisciplinary practice of the critically acclaimed artist Sanford Biggers, it would be one he provides himself: “consilience.” This notion of the convergence of disparate strands of knowledge into a deeper, multivalent whole encapsulates the installations, sculptures, drawings, performances, videos, and music through which he complicates everything from Buddhism to African and African American identity to art history.
Responding to such movements as Post-Minimalism and Dada, and to his own experiences as an African American and frequent expat, Biggers challenges viewers with unlikely connections in his provocative, seductive work. Claiming that, “intent can define or shape the content,” Biggers presents the tree, for example, as a symbol of earthly connectedness, as well as the site of Buddha’s enlightenment, and of lynching. By fusing these contradictions, Biggers shatters binary assumptions, offering viewers a more complex, and truer picture of the world.