Curatorial Studies was featured prominently as a “Cool University Program” in the 2018 edition of Maclean’s revered College and University Program Guide.
The newly established graduate diploma in Curatorial Studies is described by Maclean’s in a multi-page spread as a program which offers extraordinary practicum placements and “helps students to learn more about curatorial practice through an interdisciplinary approach, providing opportunities to focus on curating film, science, history and other areas, in addition to art and anthropology.”
Professor of Art History Ming Tiampo explains to Maclean’s that the program is putting focus on training curators to connect and cultivate dialogue with a variety of communities. “This has to do with shifting ideologies about the role of museums, and it has to do with the assertion of communities who have said, ‘You can’t represent us without consulting us.'”
Professor of Anthropology and Art History Stephen Inglis also underscored the importance of curators engaging the public, “translating information and material insights into wider access is a very important part of being a curator.”
While the Curatorial Studies program stresses progressive and inclusive ways of engagement and diplomacy, it puts equal emphasis on training students in a practical fashion to produce successful and creative exhibitions themselves.
Professor Tiampo, the curator of the AICA award-winning and celebrated exhibition Gutai: Splendid Playground featured at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, is one the many faculty members in Curatorial Studies with the extraordinary first-hand experience and knowledge to guide students towards achieving a successful life and career in the curatorial world.
“Curatorial studies is really about thinking about the humanities in a very expansive sense… and what it can do in terms of making the world a better place,” Professor Tiampo tells Maclean’s.
