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Contact:
800.345.SFAI
Contact:
800.345.SFAI
Master of Arts in Exhibition and Museum Studies
We are living during a cultural moment in which every aspect of life is perpetually displayed and constantly reviewed, interpreted, and consumed. The study of museums and exhibitions and their continuing expansion provides a unique avenue towards understanding the intersection of preservationism and constant display in contemporary culture.
While the rapid expansion of museums and exhibitions may be a recent phenomenon, it has deep historical roots in the development of modernity and the rise of capitalism in the late 16th century. The recent expansion of museums, exhibitions, and their cultural tourism corollary is the result of a profound transformation of institutions of modernity in the wake of globalization and technological developments enabling the rapid distribution, circulation, and delivery of cultural experience. Museums and exhibitions have assumed an omnipresent status in contemporary culture, visible through the museum and exhibition cultural experience circuit: from Bilbao to the “new” MoMA; and the mega exhibition circuit from Venice to Istanbul; Kassel to Sao Paulo.
The Master of Arts in Exhibition and Museum Studies at SFAI is founded on the understanding that museums and exhibitions are both historical objects and subjects. The relationship of museums and exhibitions to contemporary culture is best understood through advanced and rigorous engagement with the history of these forms. SFAI's program affords students a grounded understanding of the history and roles of institutions of modernity (museums, historical societies, archives, libraries, architectural commissions) in contemporary culture, the economy of the artworld, and the politics which affect it. The Exhibition and Museum Studies program is therefore grounded in research and critical analysis through seminars, colloquia, symposia, and independent study in organizations, agencies, museums, galleries, departments of culture, libraries, archives, and private collections.
Integral to the program is the student's acquisition and application of research methodologies through a series of reading, writing, and analytical seminars. Modes of visual investigation are addressed through visits to galleries, museums, exhibitions, and collections. The program of study addresses broad areas of interest such as curatorial models, exhibition systems and concepts, institutional mediation, and education. It pays special attention to areas such as historical preservation, heritage management, the ethics of trade in antiquities, and the problematic of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary curating often found in works understood as primarily ethnographic, anthropologic, and archaeological. Students will examine the role of the museum in the public sphere, its relationship to civil society, and the frustration of its civic identity as a public trust by private enterprise.
How to Apply to the MA in Exhibition and Museum Studies Program
We are living during a cultural moment in which every aspect of life is perpetually displayed and constantly reviewed, interpreted, and consumed. The study of museums and exhibitions and their continuing expansion provides a unique avenue towards understanding the intersection of preservationism and constant display in contemporary culture.
While the rapid expansion of museums and exhibitions may be a recent phenomenon, it has deep historical roots in the development of modernity and the rise of capitalism in the late 16th century. The recent expansion of museums, exhibitions, and their cultural tourism corollary is the result of a profound transformation of institutions of modernity in the wake of globalization and technological developments enabling the rapid distribution, circulation, and delivery of cultural experience. Museums and exhibitions have assumed an omnipresent status in contemporary culture, visible through the museum and exhibition cultural experience circuit: from Bilbao to the “new” MoMA; and the mega exhibition circuit from Venice to Istanbul; Kassel to Sao Paulo.
The Master of Arts in Exhibition and Museum Studies at SFAI is founded on the understanding that museums and exhibitions are both historical objects and subjects. The relationship of museums and exhibitions to contemporary culture is best understood through advanced and rigorous engagement with the history of these forms. SFAI's program affords students a grounded understanding of the history and roles of institutions of modernity (museums, historical societies, archives, libraries, architectural commissions) in contemporary culture, the economy of the artworld, and the politics which affect it. The Exhibition and Museum Studies program is therefore grounded in research and critical analysis through seminars, colloquia, symposia, and independent study in organizations, agencies, museums, galleries, departments of culture, libraries, archives, and private collections.
Integral to the program is the student's acquisition and application of research methodologies through a series of reading, writing, and analytical seminars. Modes of visual investigation are addressed through visits to galleries, museums, exhibitions, and collections. The program of study addresses broad areas of interest such as curatorial models, exhibition systems and concepts, institutional mediation, and education. It pays special attention to areas such as historical preservation, heritage management, the ethics of trade in antiquities, and the problematic of cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary curating often found in works understood as primarily ethnographic, anthropologic, and archaeological. Students will examine the role of the museum in the public sphere, its relationship to civil society, and the frustration of its civic identity as a public trust by private enterprise.
How to Apply to the MA in Exhibition and Museum Studies Program
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