Exhibition Thinking

The PRO module "Exhibition Thinking" will provide a basis for reflection on different approaches to creating frameworks for showing art. In the module, we will examine different methods that can be used in the design of exhibition concepts, and what this means for the audience's encounter with art.

The module involves visits to exhibitions at selected art venues in the region. This includes institutions, artist-run venues and commercial galleries. We will meet curators and directors at the venues and take part in their reflections on their work and role in the art field.

Historical examples of art exhibitions that have influenced the art field in various ways will be presented and discussed. Each student will also present a selected exhibition project that stands out in terms of concept, materiality, location, or interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we will analyze and learn from these examples, drawing on them in the planning of our own envisioned exhibition project.

The course will result in increased awareness of art exhibitions as a creative idea and provide insight into exhibition discourses and make these relevant to one's own art practice. The conclusion of "Exhibition Thinking" is a submitted textual description and visualization of a hypothetical solo exhibition based on a fictitious Open Call at an exhibition venue in Bergen.

Teacher: Jane Sverdrupsen

This is a project-based module with a focus on the exhibition as form, exploring topics such as exhibition histories and contexts, presentation tools and processes, production and mediation, and the relationship between individual artworks and exhibition frameworks.

PRO modules are designed to enrich your artist development (as explored in the ART modules) through activating skills, connecting communities of practice, and investigating disciplinary territories. PRO modules allow you to focus on a specific project critically connected to your own practice within a context established by the module leader(s).

Knowledge

• Develop awareness of the history and political contexts of art exhibitions

Skills

• Explore and analyze approaches to the creation and mediation of exhibitions
• Identify, seek out, and apply relevant skills to a self-initiated project

General Competence

• Identify your own learning needs in relation to the subject area(s)
• Apply new knowledge and skills within your artistic practice
• Develop and present a proposal or model for a speculative exhibition