Written by MA in Contemporary Art student, Tara Vivian Kubik.

One of the aspects of the MA in Contemporary Art at Sotheby’s Institute that I most looked forward to was the opportunity to experience art beyond the classroom. Our recent study trip to the Netherlands and Belgium, visiting institutions across Rotterdam, Tilburg, and Brussels, showed how valuable those moments of direct engagement can be.

Over several days, our group visited institutions including Kunsthal Rotterdam, De Pont Museum, Argos Centre for Audiovisual Arts, WIELS Contemporary Art Centre, and the Vanhaerents Art Collection. Each offered a different institutional perspective, from public museums to experimental exhibition spaces and an important private collection. Seeing these environments helped us understand how contemporary art operates across different contexts.

At Kunsthal Rotterdam, Kudzanai-Violet Hwami’s exhibition They Have Always Been Here explored overlooked histories, particularly those of queer people of color within the African diaspora. Seeing the works in person created a different level of engagement than studying them through images. Noticing the paintings’ scale, texture, and layered references encouraged us to look more closely. The exhibition also resonated with themes discussed in the MA program, particularly representation and how artists reinterpret historical narratives.

David Shrigley’s What the Hell Was I Thinking introduced a welcome sense of humor into the museum space. His dry observations about everyday life and the art world felt refreshingly direct. Looking at his works with classmates sparked laughter and conversations about the meaning behind certain drawings. It reminded me how humor can open up new ways of looking at the art world.

“The trip connected theory with practice and offered a clearer understanding of how contemporary art operates across different institutions.”

A highlight of the trip was our visit to the De Pont Museum in Tilburg. Housed in a former wool mill, the museum’s large industrial spaces allow artworks to interact strongly with their surroundings. With my long-standing interest in the Düsseldorf Becher School, I was especially pleased to encounter Thomas Struth’s family portraits in the collection.

Another memorable moment at De Pont was experiencing Tino Sehgal’s live performance This Youiiyou. Seeing it unfold in person was quite special, as Sehgal famously does not allow documentation or recording of his works. The piece explores intergenerational connections through live interaction, reminding us that contemporary art can exist purely in the moment through human presence and exchange.

Anish Kapoor’s Vertigo became one of those moments where the experiential nature of art was particularly evident. The slightly concave reflective surface surrounds the viewer and destabilizes the space around it. Our reflections appear larger than life while the surrounding architecture seems to tilt and swirl. Moving around the sculpture constantly shifted our perception and quickly became a shared moment of experimentation, captured in many videos and photos.

Another striking work at De Pont was Wolfgang Laib’s Wachsraum. Entering the beeswax-lined room created a deeply sensory experience. The warm yellow surfaces and strong scent of wax produced an atmosphere that felt almost sacred. Encountering the work again felt especially meaningful for me, as Laib is currently exhibiting at Kunsthaus Zürich.

In Brussels, our visit to the Vanhaerents Art Collection offered insight into private collecting. Founded in the 1970s and housed in a converted industrial warehouse, the collection reflects the vision of a family deeply committed to contemporary art. Seeing how the works are installed within the building’s raw architecture helped us understand how private collections shape the presentation of contemporary art in ways that differ from public museums.

One work that stood out to me was Jason Rhoades’ Eight Wheel Wagon Chandelier. Its bold presence filled the space with chaotic energy. Encountering it within a private collection also sparked conversations in our group about collecting strategies and the long-term care of ambitious installations.

What made the trip especially meaningful was experiencing these institutions together with our group and professors. Conversations continued long after we left each exhibition space—on train and bus journeys between cities, over coffee breaks and dinners, and during group discussions. Hearing different interpretations of the same artwork often shifted how I thought about it, while faculty shared valuable insights into curatorial approaches and exhibition design.

For me, studying contemporary art as an MA student comes alive in moments like these: standing in front of artworks, discussing them with peers, and observing how institutions present them. Experiences like this extend classroom discussions into real spaces and professional contexts.

The trip connected theory with practice and offered a clearer understanding of how contemporary art operates across different institutions. Sharing these experiences with our group and professors made the trip particularly memorable.