PMPBARTP - MA Public Art and Performative Practices

This professionally focused MA (originally launched in September 2020 as “MA Public Art & Performance”) establishes its unique vision by exploring current practices and discourses in art, performativity, contemporary curating and public engagement. It embodies both the perspective of the artist working in the field, as well as that of the curator, thus encouraging a versatile approach to working creatively in the public sphere. It directly benefits from partnerships and collaborations with art institutions both nationally and internationally (including with postgraduate programmes in this field from across the globe), providing real life case studies of work and the opportunity for cultural exchange.

Public engagement is at the core of current programming by art institutions worldwide. Museums and public galleries have been increasingly encouraged to explore innovative ways to make the public directly involved in their programming, rather than as passive visitors. This MA aims to be at the forefront of this movement, identifying both its creative potentials and the professional opportunities within it.

The course utilises its central London location as a major asset. Many sessions are developed off-site, in a variety of visits to exhibitions and locations used for the development of new art experiences. This contributes to the MA being career-centred, allowing students to come face to face with the sector, making professional contacts and having a hands-on understanding of the field. The course also benefits from an ongoing link with our Research Centre CREATURE (Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement) and students are encouraged to continue their engagement with this following graduation.

The interdisciplinary nature of the course means that it is designed for creatives from all artistic disciplines (visual art, performance, installation, digital art, music, literature), as well as those interested in the curating, production and management of public-facing art events. Students will be encouraged to collaborate, but the core of the work will be done independently, giving the course a high degree of flexibility.

Reflecting the ethos of the School of Art Architecture and Design and London Met as a whole, the course is therefore career-driven, interdisciplinary, diverse in reach and championing its London position as a leading vantage point in the international cultural sector. The course has a specific emphasis on widening participation, facilitating access to culture and contributing to environmental and social agendas through the exploration of public space and place-making. It aligns with the University’s Strategic Plan, the Education for Social Justice Framework and Student Partnership Agreement in promoting accessible and inclusive education in an environment that respects and values the identities of our students and accommodates diversity in all its forms. In particular, responding to the ESJ Framework, the course champions the idea of critical pedagogy: accordingly, the curriculum content and process are aimed at developing students’ critical consciousness and empowering them, in turn, to stand against inequalities and become agents of social change. Furthermore, the course aims to include a variety of perspectives and practitioners from different backgrounds and examples that connect with students’ identities, experiences and interests, promoting a diversity of practices and cultural viewpoints in doing so.

The central focus of the programme is on how art engages with the public sphere. In doing so, the course aims to:

- Explore innovative models of public interaction, such as immersive practices, participatory activities, digital technologies, theatricality in contemporary art
- Frame public engagement through the perspective of performativity, as applied to a variety of artistic disciplines and curatorial approaches
- Look at the use of public spaces, thinking site-responsively and envisioning new ways for the public to experience art
- Reflect on the aesthetic, ethical and professional implications of public engagement, through direct experience of industry case studies
- Mentor students in developing their own projects of public art and performative practices, across artistic disciplines and curatorial needs
- Promote an industry-focused approach, responding the current professional demand in the sector

In completing the course, students will have gained:
Cognitive intellectual abilities
• LO1 An in-depth understanding of public engagement practices in the arts, drawing on real life models of work
• LO2 Multiple opportunities to creatively explore public engagement strategies, through both speculative activities and a sustained MA project
Subject specific skills
• LO3 Technical competences in the working sector, both in project managing and in initiating and fundraising for new work
• LO4 Academic proficiency in framing practice-based projects in art and curation, evaluating artistic, cultural and ethical issues, and drawing on relevant theories in the subject area
• LO5 The development of a professional mind-set to sustain a career in public art and performative practices, responding to the current trends of the sector
Transferable skills
• LO6 The ability to initiate projects of public art and performative practices, directing and managing the development and making process with others to achieve a convincing and well-worked proposal
Behaviours and values
• LO7 The development of an individual response and approach to the creative challenges of public art and performance, defending one’s position and work in practical, conceptual and socially responsible terms
Knowledge and understanding
• LO8 The construction and creation of an iterative process that communicates, tests and evaluates artistic ideas through critical, self-reflective and objective processes of analysis
• LO9 The ability to articulate and defend clearly to clients, commissioners, peers and related professionals the intentions of an artistic project and the rationale underpinning its development and production

Art & Design (W190)

In the Autumn and Spring terms, students will engage with Public Art: Creating and Curating, which is designed to provide an overall conceptual path for their learning. Here, they will work in conjunction with associated institutional partners and explore the artistic and cultural potential, as well as the inherent challenges, in developing public art works and programming. Sessions on campus will alternate with regular visits to London art organisations as well as seminars and workshops in studio, where the ideas explored will be tested practically. A strong emphasis will be placed on the idea that all public art can be seen as performative, regardless of the disciplines entailed: the ideas of public work and performativity will therefore represent interdisciplinary stimuli for a variety of tasks and topics, which will be used to trigger a series of practical and speculative projects in response.

Alongside, students will foster their research skills and methodological developments through either a combination of new modules in conjunction with PG offerings in Design and Architecture (respectively, Inclusive Practice and Methods and Social Artefacts, both 20 credits modules) or FA7053 Critical Discourse and Analysis for Art Practice in conjunction with the MA Fine Arts: these Alternative Core modules enable them to understand the implications of developing methodologies and academic inquiries through the work, informing their artistic perspectives with theoretical and methodological rigour and multiple models of practice/theory integration.

Practical industry skills will be delivered through the Professional Focus strand of the course: Public Art, Funding and Commissions (Autumn) and Project Managing Public Art (Spring). The former looks at the communication and business implications of public art projects/programming, such as communicating new projects, fundraising, searching for commissions, planning, producing and managing existent projects. The latter looks at the logistical and managerial implications of public art experiences, exploring best practice in project planning, producing, risk assessing, public liability and accessibility.

All modules will then directly inform the students’ independent project in the Summer Term, in which they will bring to completion their own working concept in collaboration with related industry organisations.

The range of assessment tasks on this course reflects the interdisciplinary combination of the above modules, in both practical and written projects. Feedback to these places emphases, accordingly, on artistic practice, professional skills and scholarly competence.

Responding to the ESJ Framework, assessments are developed with inclusivity in mind and a student-centred approach. Students are invited to discuss with the tutor the tailoring of their individual projects to the assessment criteria, with the possibility of liaising alternative formats of assessment, where needed.

Work-based learning is embedded in the course through live projects, industry visits, visiting professional speakers and participation in public events.

The majority of tutors and lecturers contributing to the course are practitioners who share their knowledge and experience with students throughout their course of study. The flexible practice-led model of delivery for the course means that evolving opportunities for work-related learning through collaboration with external companies, agencies, institutions, competitions and professionals are taken up as they arise.

The course is based on the direct observation of professional case studies. This will entail a range of collaborations, from one off visits to sustained collaborations, with relevant art institutions and projects. Rather than a single placement, the course will encourage multiple opportunities to foster contacts in the industry.

The final project on the MA is designed to provide students with a sustained experience in delivering a work/experience of public art to professional standards, thus contributing to the student’s career development. Moreover, the Professional Focus modules on the course are aimed at equipping students with the technical and professional skills necessary to sustain a career in the sector.

Depending on the specificities of their own disciplines and on the nature of the projects they will want to carry out during the course, students will need to budget for possible expenses incurred in terms of materials and tools needed. The academic team will endeavour to reduce the possibility of additional costs with regards to off-site visits, largely by focussing on public London venues with free admission. In some cases, international trips may be proposed, which may involve students covering their own travel/accommodation costs. These will either be optional extra-curricular opportunities or, if inherent to curricular activities, suitable alternatives at no extra cost will be provided locally.
Students must be prepared to travel within London (between campuses and to other sites) as standard practice on the course.

THREE OPTIONS, to be discussed with the student by the CL, prior to the start of the course.

OPTION 1 (Default)
YEAR 1
FA7057 Public Art: Creating & Curating
FA7051 Professional Focus 1: Public Art Funding and Commissions

YEAR 2
FA7058 Public Art: Research for Practice
FA7052 Professional Focus 2: Project Managing Public Art
FA7P48 Project as Professional Practice
OPTION 2

YEAR 1
FA7057 Public Art: Creating & Curating
FA7053 Critical Discourse and Analysis for Art Practice FA7058 Public Art: Research for Practice
YEAR 2
FA7051 Professional Focus 1: Public Art, Funding and Commissions
FA7052 Professional Focus 2: Project Managing Public Art
FA7P02 Public Art Project

OPTION 3

YEAR 1
FA7058 Public Art: Research for Practice

FA7051 Professional Focus 1: Public Art Funding and Commissions
FA7052 Professional Focus 2: Project Managing Public Art

YEAR 2
FA7057 Public Art: Creating & Curating
FA7P02 Public Art Project

The course shall conform to both framework and University Academic Regulations. Please note that Project as Professional Practice may only be undertaken once all other modules have been passed.

PG Cert (60 CR)
FA7057 Public Art: Creating and Curating (40 CR)
FA7051 Professional Focus 1: Public Art Funding and Commissioning (20 CR)

PG Dip (120 CR)
FA7057 Public Art: Creating and Curating (40 CR)
FA7051 Professional Focus 1: Public Art Funding and Commissioning (20 CR)
FA7052 Professional Focus 2: Project Managing Public Art (20 CR)
FA7058 Public Art: Research for Practice (40CR)

The course’s principle of guiding learning through a practice-led curriculum promotes ongoing reflection and personal development. This is supported by regular formative feedback on work in progress that enables students to understand their progress and find opportunities for multiple and individualised routes to successful outcomes.

The course’s engagement with external partners and employers ensures that personal development for career planning is effectively contextualised and suitable for the contemporary workplace.

Across the course, there will are multiple opportunities for self-reflection and PDP. The practical nature of the course and its career-centred focus entail that the student is consistently assessing their progress in relation to given tasks and in collaborative situations.

Each module is progressively tailored to the student’s own projects and this process is continuously aided by self-reflection, in both structured assessment activities as well as in formative experiences throughout the course. PDP strategies are also inherent to the professional practices and competences taught within the course, as quintessential aspects of project initiation and management in the art sector.

N/A

The interdisciplinary nature of this course encourages the development of skills that are transferable beyond the public art specific context, into the broader art sector.
Career opportunities include:

1) Professional artists, whose work explores idea of public engagement, communicated in any medium
2) Performance practitioners, exploring audience interaction and participation
3) Curators in the field of public art and public programming, working creatively with teams and partners
4) Project facilitators in the context of socially engaged and community practices
5) Event producers and managers in the area of public art projects
6) Managers and administrators in public art, outreach and participation
7) Researchers in the fields of art and performative practices, with the potential of following their MA with a PhD at London Metropolitan University, in conjunction with our Research Centre CREATURE.

Furthermore, the course provides professional skills in setting up both self-employed careers as well as working within existing institutions. The existent institutional links embedded in the course are designed to facilitate professional contacts for the students.

Students can also benefit from support and guidance from the Careers and Employability services and the University’s business incubator unit, ‘Accelerator’.

Build your knowledge of the art world and discover careers in a growing field within the industry. Career opportunities include:

1. professional artists, whose work explores the idea of public engagement, communicated in any medium, including visual art and performance
2. performance practitioners, exploring audience interaction and participation
3. project leaders and facilitators in the field of public engagement, working creatively with teams and partners
4. managers and administrators in public art, outreach and participation
5. curators of public programmes and events
6. academics and communicators in the field of public art and public engagement

You will be required to have:

• a minimum of a 2.2 honours degree (or equivalent) in any subject discipline

A full university application form will need to be submitted, which includes a detailed statement to support your application to the course. You should also submit an up-to-date CV and copies of award certificates.

You will be invited for an interview, for which you need to prepare either a portfolio of work or a detailed example of a subject-related project. Should you want to, you can also choose to have a portfolio/project review session prior to the interview stage.To find out more please contact Dr Scarso.