Schedule

Amikam Toren *Armchair Painting – The Unthinkable* 2007, oil on canvas with cut out lettering

This course will require students to read & discuss assigned texts, engage in group projects and attend exhibitions off campus. The schedule below articulates the flow of the course to make sure students are aware of the expectations.
Students in this course will collaborate with peers to produce an Exhibition project for which there are three class sessions, and forms the final project submission for all students.

Week/Date	Subject & Activities
Sept 4 Week 1	Introduction to the course Reading syllabus, explaining expectations. This week we will set the foundation for the rest of the semester.
Sept 11 Week 2	Founding Museums Why do we have museums? How did they originate? We will use the homework assignment reading and questions as the basis for an in-class discussion on the founding of museums.
Sept 18 Week 3	Education in Museums What place does education play in museums? Reading(s) related to museums and education will be discussed.
Sept 25 Week 4	Curating What does a curator do? What skill sets do curators need? What is the relationship between artists and curators, or between the curator and an institution? We will read selected papers discussing these issues.
Oct 2 Week 5	Site Visit 1 Students must visit museums and galleries to be able to fully appreciate the readings and ideas alive in this course. Students will be given specific instructions to visit a museum and conduct an activity attached to the visit. Students will make a total of three site visits.
Oct 9 Week 6	Exhibition project 1: Content, context and intent Students will use the information and knowledge gained thus far to begin to assemble an exhibition. The class will break into two groups and use class time to discuss the details of this work (the context, content and conceptual intent). This is the beginning of an in-class project that culminates in an end-of-semester group project.
Oct 16 Week 7	Exhibition Design What is the effect of exhibition design? How does the work of a designer aid a curator? What are the dynamics involved in exhibition design? Students will read and discuss texts, some of which they will be able to use in the Exhibition project. The exhibition project is a group project that should be worked on continually until the end of the semester.
Oct 23 Week 8	Exhibition documents Exhibitions require a range of document types. Students will study various forms of written communication materials, and replicate them. The final project will require these skills.
Oct 30 Week 9	Site Visit 2 Students will travel to visit a different museum or gallery and conduct a previously assigned activity attached to the visit.
Nov 6 Week 10	Exhibition project 2: Artworks, design and documents This week, students will continue to make progress with the Exhibition preparation work begun.
Nov 13 Week 11	Reviews and Essays Art exhibitions are reviewed in art magazines by art critics and historians. Sometimes exhibitions receive more substantial attention, an an essay is written by a critic. Students will read examples, and produce similar materials. These skills will be used in the group project.
Nov 20 Week 12	Site Visit 3 Students will travel to visit a third museum or gallery site and conduct a previously assigned activity attached to the visit.
Nov 27 Week 13	// NO CLASS - Thanksgiving break //
Dec 4 Week 14	// Final class session// Students will use this time to prepare their exhibition for presentation the following week.
Dec 11 Week 15	// Exam session// Exhibition Project 3 - Presentation The Exhibition preparation work groups began two weeks earlier will be presented on this day, and critiqued appropriately.