CURATORSHIP: ISSUES AND PRACTICES

Significant changes in the roles and functions of museums are
reshaping curatorial practice. As curator, you must face these
challenges with skills in consultation, teamwork, technologies, and
management that complement your expertise in research and exhibition
development. This course explores the foundations of curatorial
practice, analyzes the key roles of the curator in the changing
museum, and encourages you to develop new perspectives and approaches
to your work. You will explore:
 * new definitions for museums in the '90s
 * changing roles of curators and collections
 * balancing curatorial and other priorities
 * philosophies and policies for collecting
 * collections and information analysis and management
 * disciplinary and object-oriented research methods
 * communication of research through exhibitions, publications, and
    other media
 * ethical and legal concerns
Instructors:  Elizabeth Kidd is an independent curator and museum
consultant. She will be joined by Dr. Carol Mayer is Curator of Collections,
University of British Columbia Museum of Anthropology for one day of
the course
Dates: March 3–8, plus a preparatory off-campus module
Please register by: February 5
Fee: $589 (credit or non-credit, Canadian funds)
Travel: Victoria is easily accessible by air or ferry from both
Vancouver and Seattle
Accommodation: Program staff are pleased to provide you with
on-campus and off-campus alternatives

For more information on this course and others offered in 1997, please
contact:

Joy Davis, Program Director
Cultural Resource Management
Division of Continuing Studies
University of Victoria
PO Box 3030  Victoria, BC V8W 3N6
Telephone (250) 721-8462  Fax: (250) 721-8774
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Website: http://www.uvcs.uvic.ca/crmp/

COURSE OUTLINE SUMMARY

Monday, March 3
"Who am I now anyway and what do I face?"
* Introductions
* The curatorial legacy: history of the profession
* Participants presentations - issue of the role of the curator in
today's world
* Whose voice gets heard? The curator within the institution and without
* Group exercise: communication / journal writing
* Social get-together

Tuesday, March 4
"Hoarders, Packrats, Connoisseurs - Collecting: Theory and Practice"
* Guest Speaker: Dr. Carol Mayer, Curator of Ethnology, University of
British Columbia Museum of Anthropology
* Collecting methods: institutional and private
* The Curator and the Collector: conversation or argument?
* Copyright: whose rights?
* Collecting/curator/collector/copyright and public representation

Wednesday, March 5
"Power and Public Relevance"
* Group discussion
* Who are we doing this for and does anybody care? Are we gatekeepers
or facilitators?
* Issues of power and voice: representations and appropriation in
(so-called) post-colonial times
* Group exercise

Thursday, March 6
"The Curator & Visitor: Clients or Partners?"
* Theory into practice: moments of truth for the museum and gallery
visitor
* Is the medium still the message? How do space, design, colour, people
and language shape the visitor experience?
* Field trip: Searching for those moments of truth

 Friday, March 7
"With(in) the Institution: problems, solutions, and new technology"
* Guest Speakers: Different people, different issues: presentations
by curators from exhibition centres in Victoria
* Hands-on presentation: The New Technologies: will it be better
or just different?
* Group discussion on new technology:
  - Universal access: is it still for the rich?
  - Copyright implications
  - Entertainment or learning tools?

Saturday, March 8
"Summing Up: What have I learned and where am I going?"
* Presentations on field trip findings
* Returning to the workplace
* What are the barriers for success?
* Whose voice gets heard and who gets credit?
* Job attitudes in the workplace
* What about research and professional development?
* Group exercise
* Summary and evaluation