Why Curatorial Studies at Carleton?

Carleton is home to many successful alumni working in galleries, museums, and the heritage, public history and cultural sectors. Even while at school, our students engage in the practice of curating, and networking through regular interactions with alumni, international curators and artists at a wide range of talks, workshops, and exhibit openings throughout the year. Emerging from the program with a curated exhibition, curatorial experience and professionally vetted exhibition proposal, students leave Carleton ready to build a future in the field.

Carleton is home to the Carleton University Art Gallery (CUAG), a dynamic cultural hub on the university campus and in the National Capital Region. Connecting art, ideas, and communities, CUAG offers a diverse program of art exhibitions, events, and publications. Committed to cultivating innovative artistic and curatorial practices, experienced curators on staff provide mentorship and opportunities for students to curate collaborative and individual exhibits on site.

Students will enjoy behind-the-scenes access to some of Canada’s National Museums where they can experience first-hand the inner workings of major contemporary institutions. They are exposed to museum practices through site visits, they are given practicum placements in one of the many institutions in the National Capital Region, and they group-curate a small exhibition with their peers. Program faculty and staff members from hosting cultural institutions provide mentorship to students as they develop their own curated exhibitions and proposals for curatorial interventions. Students also enjoy the rare opportunity to present their proposals to representatives from national museums for consideration.

One of the program’s many strengths is the network of relationships that it has built with museums in the National Capital Region. In particular, Carleton and the National Gallery of Canada are proud to be the first national institution to have partnered with a university in Canada to develop a curatorial studies program. At the same time, the program is building international partnerships. This fall, Carleton signed co-operative agreements with the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the University of Florence, with a view toward the exchange of faculty, students and expertise in museology and curatorial studies.

With a unique interdisciplinary approach, students are exposed to a wide range of curatorial practices that allow them to think beyond the given paradigms of their chosen discipline, providing an opportunity for even seasoned curators to expand their horizons. In our program, anthropologists spar with art historians, biologists learn from public historians, and performance curators challenge conservators. Through these productive encounters, all participants hone their craft, sharpen their critical faculties, and add to their toolbox of curatorial strategies.