Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

30 minutes – Part A: Introduction to Curation
70 minutes – Part B: Curating an Exhibition
70 minutes – Part C: Art Making
10 minutes – Reflection

Note: This teaching sequence could be delivered over a number of lessons.

Part A: Introduction to Curation

Step 1. To begin this lesson, explain to the class that they will be investigating how art exhibitions are put together, before curating a digital exhibition of their own. Their digital exhibition will contain the works of a range of artists of their choosing, as well as an original artwork from them.

Step 2. Ask the class if they are familiar with the role of an art curator and what they do. If needed, explain that origin of the word 'curator' is the Latin word curatus meaning ‘to take care of’. Ask the class what this might mean in the context of an art exhibition, guiding them to the answer that art curators are the people who manage an exhibition.

Further explain that curators can be responsible for everything from organising which artists will be in an exhibition and where their work will be displayed, all the way through to working on publicity for the exhibition. An art curator takes care of the artistic direction that the exhibition takes.

Large museums will often employ a team of curators while other art curators work casually, or as a freelancer, meaning they can move from exhibition to exhibition around Australia and the wold. Well known curators have careers that take them amazing places, for example Melissa Chiu is an Australia curator, who is now the director of the Hiroshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, in Washington, D.C.

Step 3. Ask the class to think about the last exhibition that they attended and consider everything that would have gone into putting that show together. Now, challenge the class to make a list of the skills that the curator/s would have needed to put that exhibition together. If needed, project the homepage of an exhibition from a local gallery to prompt the class.

Invite students to pair up and discuss the skills that an art curator needs. Invite pairs to share their answers, listing them on the board. Invite students to copy this list into the Student Worksheet. Explain that students will get the chance to revisit this list after they create their own online exhibition.

Step 4. Introduce the class to Google’s Arts and Culture project by projecting the homepage https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/. Invite the class to form small groups, turn on their devices, visit the Art and Culture project, and use the ‘nearby’ function, in the top left-hand corner, to explore the galleries around them (https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/nearby). Explain to the class that this site does not have all the galleries across Australia but it is building very rapidly, starting with the larger, more well-known art spaces.

Step 5. Encourage groups to find an Australian gallery with an exhibition on display that interests them (access these by opening a gallery and scrolling to ‘exhibits’).

Step 6. Explain to students that they will now be using the exhibition they have chosen to answer the following questions (available in the Student Worksheet). Before inviting students to complete this activity, demonstrate this task using the following exhibition, Biennale of Sydney

List the following details of the exhibition:

Museum
Suggested answer: the Art Galley of NSW
Title and/or theme
Suggested Answer: Biennale of Sydney
Dates of exhibition
Suggested Answer: Shows selections of artworks from 2008-2014
Artists (if there are over 5 artists in this exhibition, select 5 that your group feel are the most important)
Suggested Answer: Cai Guo-Quiang, Jannis Kounellis, Matt Hinkley, Brian Jungen and Mel O'Callaghan.

2. Do you think the theme of the exhibition would be clear if you only saw the artworks? Why/Why not?
Suggested Answer: Yes, there is a clear exploration of space and audience participation in all works. Every work is an installation that uses the unique areas that they are created for.

3. List the ways that the curator has attempted to convey the theme of this exhibition:
Suggested Answer: The curator has added artist interviews and clips of performances, as well as text about the Biennale.

Step 7. Ask for volunteers to share the exhibition that they chose and their assessment of how well it was curated.

Hot tip: The above step works well using the ‘no hands up’ method, where teachers randomly select a student to share with the class. This is done by teachers creating class batches of icy pole sticks with their students’ names on them. The teacher then, randomly picks an icy pole stick from the class pile. If the student selected does not want to contribute at this point this is OK but they will have to answer another question of their choosing before the end of class.

Step 8. Bring this part of the lesson to a close by revising the list of curator skills you created, and seeing if the class has anything to add, such as writing or digital skills.

Part B: Curating an Exhibition

Step 1. Invite students to form pairs, and using a page in their visual arts process diaries (VAPD), consider issues at school or in their local community that they feel strongly about. This issue can be anything big or small that they feel is worth exploring through art. The only stipulation is that it must be an issue that students can help change or advocate for. If needed, prompt the class with the following question:

What things around the school/community need changing, improvement, expansion or support?

Invite students to work in their pairs to brainstorm a list of potential issues in their VAPDs. Once students have a range of ideas, encourage them to select one issue that they believe is the most interesting or important.

Step 2. Invite the class to write their chosen issue at the top of the Student Worksheet. Explain that you will now be taking them through three steps that will help them find the broader social issues behind what they have selected.

Read through the steps below with the class (available on the Student Worksheet):

Why do you think this issue is important?
Why is that reason important?
Summarise the above in 2-3 words – this will become the theme of your exhibition.

Note: if the above questions do not lead to a workable answer for a topic, advise students to return to their brainstorm to select an new issue.

Demonstrate this process by using the example of the issue 'the food at the school canteen is not healthy':

Why do you think this issue is important? Because there is nothing healthy to eat at school, people are forced to eat food that is not good for them.
Why is that reason important? Over time people at our school will become unhealthy
Summarise the above in 3 words maximum – this will become the theme of your exhibition. Student Health

Step 3. Read through the Curate an Online Exhibition task description description with students (editable version here), explaining how they will be working in pairs to create an online exhibition that highlights their chosen issue. Guide students to view the assessment rubric and use the description to illustrate what a high level of achievement looks like. Encourage students to return to the Arts and Culture Project for inspiration on how to create a good online exhibition.

After reading the Curate an Online Exhibition task description, allow students to ask any clarifying questions they may have about the task.

Step 4. Allow students time to research and collect the details of the five artworks to be included in their online exhibition. Reinforce with students that their exhibition should highlight their chosen issue.

Step 5. Allow students time to create their exhibition online, including writing a description of each of the works included and how they highlight the chosen issue. Remind students that they should write a two paragraph introduction to their online exhibition. Emphasise with students that their website design will add to the viewing experience, and reinforce the message being conveyed about their chosen issue.

Step 6. Ask students to share the link to their final online exhibitions with you.

Part C: Art Making

Step 1. Explain to the class that they will now be creating two final artworks to feature in their exhibitions. As students have been working in pairs, they will each contribute a work to their own exhibition. Allow students to select a range of 2D art making and graphic products, that would best complement the other artworks in their online exhibition. Explain to students that their work should have something to say about their chosen theme however they also have the option to visually reference other works in their exhibition, if they like. While students are planning their work, remind them of the skills and artistic approaches that they covered throughout the Creative Sustainability Visual Arts unit. Allow time for students to plan, then create their final artworks.

Step 2. Invite students to photograph their finished work and add the images to their online exhibition.

Step 3. Gather the class and project students' final online exhibitions. If they would like to do so, allow each pair to speak to their work before you tour the class through their exhibitions.

Step 4. Facilitate a class discussion about how students could share their exhibitions amongst the school community, and the advantage and disadvantages of a digital exhibition over a physical one.

Reflection

Refer back to the list of curator skills that the class created. Considering the online exhibition you curated, respond to the following questions:

Are there any additional skills you would now like to add to this list?
If you were to curate a physical exhibition and could hire a person to assist you, what skills would you like that person to have?

Differentiated Learning

Extension – Encourage students to publicise their exhibitions. Options could include but are not limited to: using a school newsletter or local media, using school social media accounts, or creating flyers to be posted around the school.

Provisions for Learning Support – Invite the class to create hard copy exhibitions on either posters or in folders.

The online exhibition can be run as a collaborative, class activity around a topic that the whole class agrees upon.

Teacher Reflection

Creative Sustainability - Curating an Exhibition

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