Course leader Amy Mechowski gives us an inside look at the Institute’s curation courses and what participants can expect to take away from their experience.

What are a few key skills that participants will learn from these courses?

We’re just as focused on the development of practical skills as we are on building an understanding of conceptual and theoretical frameworks for contemporary curating, so weekly practical workshops are a crucial aspect of the course.

If I had to choose a few key skills that participants will take away, several would stem from these practical workshops. Participants will learn how to write a curatorial and design brief for an exhibition project, how to build a strong application for funding, as well as approaches to producing different types of gallery text and a participatory visitor experience.

How do these courses balance theoretical knowledge with hands-on, practical work?

One of the most important ways we achieve this balance is to engage with past, present, and future projects presented to us as case studies by the international curators who lead them. As specialists in their field who are keen to share knowledge and expertise, they speak to how theory informs their own practice.

The group develops a sense of how critical practical skills, problem solving, negotiation, and compromise are to the success of any project.

Who are these courses ideal for, and what can participants expect to take away from them?

This course is ideal for anyone eager to take the first step towards pursuing a career in curatorial project work and exhibition making. Whether you’re curious about what it means to work as a curator or ready to build the essential skills and confidence to do so, this course offers a dynamic foundation in the key principles of curating.

It’s also an excellent opportunity for those looking to bring experience from another field into the art world. These courses provide the tools, knowledge, and creative insight to begin shaping meaningful exhibitions and projects.

Drawing on your curatorial work at institutions like the Victoria and Albert Museum, what insights or lessons do you bring into the classroom that students might not find elsewhere?

Like many professionals, nearly a decade of experience in a major national museum grounded me in the highest standards of curatorial practice—working with world-class collections and engaging with innovative and pioneering developments in exhibition making.

That said, it’s the breadth of my experience—from working with commercial galleries, art fairs, and biennales to private collectors and contemporary artist commissions, alongside my own training as an artist—that truly shapes my perspective.

My diverse background allows me to offer students a rich and informed understanding of the many spheres of the global art world, helping them navigate and define their own paths within it.

How has the role of the curator evolved in recent years, and how do these courses address these changes?

Arguably, the role of the curator has evolved over time from that of a specialist focused on collection care and scholarship to someone who has the versatility to navigate multiple disciplines, audiences, and platforms to shape dynamic cultural experiences. Today, contemporary curatorial practice demands that we take on the roles of storyteller, facilitator, mediator, strategist, fundraiser, budget holder, and project manager simultaneously—all within a rapidly changing local and global landscape.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone considering a career in curation, what would it be?

It would be to follow the projects that truly spark your imagination and follow your passion.

Of course, we all need to begin somewhere and it’s important to look wherever opportunities arise—those experiences are invaluable too. But the best curators don’t choose this path so that their own voice or vision can somehow dominate—we do it because we want to inspire new ways of seeing.

For me, curating is about questioning, reflecting and engaging more deeply with the world around us and finding more innovative, relevant, and resonant ways of encouraging others to do the same.