This module is not currently running in 2026 to 2027.
The module provides a practice-based approach to art history to complement the academic approach of other modules in the History of Art programmes. In the course of the module students will curate an exhibition of their own design for exhibition within the Studio 3 Gallery. The exhibition is most likely to be composed of prints drawn from the Kent Print Collection and other sources that emerge during the course of planning and organisation of the exhibition. These activities will be accompanied by lectures on aspects of the theory of curating and the history of printmaking.
In the first assessment task each student will submit an "exhibition bid" proposing an idea for an exhibition based on the existing collection and suggesting how best their idea might be realised. The exhibition might for example be organised around a particular subject matter or around techniques of printmaking to be found in the collection, or they might involve focussing on a particular artist or period. The best conceived bid will be determined by discussion and a fair process of decision-making and then be adopted by the group who will work together to organise and stage on the exhibition.
A study diary will be kept by each student to record this process of planning, organisation and staging, and this will be submitted at the end of the module as part of the overall assessment. Finally the task of producing an exhibition catalogue will be shared among curatorial team, with each student producing a short catalogue essay on some aspect of the exhibition for inclusion in the catalogue.
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Exhibition Proposal (1,000 Words – 30%
Catalogue Essay (2,000 words) – 40%
Reflective Log (1,500 words) – 30%
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
8.1 identify and evaluate different types of prints in terms of technique (engraving, etching, mezzotint, mixed medium etc.), subject and engraver;
8.2 acquire the discipline of object-based research and description essential for the process of cataloguing (a development from learning outcome 8.1 above). This process also involves developing a sense of how the market value of collectable items relates to their historic and aesthetic value;
8.3 acquire a good knowledge of the history of printmaking and be able to relate this to the history of other visual arts, as well as to broader themes of cultural history;
8.4 acquire, through practical and responsible involvement in developing a departmental collection, a good understanding of the nature and history of collecting as an art historical practice;
8.5 design and budget for an exhibition bid;
8.6 structure and arrange a collection of objects, together with the critical information relating to those objects in a clear and useful way (e.g. the basic skills of archival practice).
The intended generic learning outcomes.
On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
9.1 acquire skills of project management (necessary for putting on an exhibition, for example);
9.2 work with others to achieve collectively agreed aims and objectives, within a timetable and budget, thereby developing skills of oral and written communication and problem solving;
9.3 acquire skills of promotion and publicity (for example, by advertising and disseminating information about an exhibition);
9.4 use appropriate Information Technologies to research and present their work;
9.5 further develop the key skills of critical reading and visual analysis, and the analysis of primary and secondary sources.
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