Looking at contemporary art
Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Location: Off Site
Choose a start date
- Course Code: VB180
- Dates: 29/01/25 - 12/03/25
- Time: 14:00 - 16:00
- Taught: Wed, Daytime
- Duration: 6 sessions (over 7 weeks)
- Location: Off Site
- Tutor: Francesca Cavallo
Course Code: VB180
Choose a start date
Duration: 6 sessions (over 7 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This is a site-based course which aims to explore London’s contemporary art scene through visits to an eclectic range of galleries, from the public to commercial and artist-led spaces – some well-known, some off the beaten track. Sessions will encourage you to look and think critically about art and equip you with the skills and confidence to engage with, and enjoy, contemporary art in a range of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, new media and installation.
A full list of meeting places will be emailed to you a week before the course begins.
Please note: this course is taught by different tutors at different times of the year. Contemporary art spaces change regularly and which ones are visited are dependent on individual tutor scheduling. Each course is completely different from one another.
What will we cover?
· Artists’ techniques, materials and approaches when making their work.
· Specific themes related to each artist’s work.
· The role and impact of how an artist’s work is curated and how a display is constructed.
· How an exhibition space or venue influences the presentation and theme(s) of artworks.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
· Gain confidence in analysing a range of contemporary artworks by participating in discussions with fellow students and your tutor.
· Develop your visual analytic skills in identifying different media and materials used by artists in the work observed.
· Identify at least two different processes and/or techniques used by the artists discussed.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, handouts, and health and safety information.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
The course will be taught with a mixture of guided gallery visits, group discussion and short group activities. Handouts will be provided by your tutor to support your learning on the course.
This course uses a Google Classroom to post optional reading & resources in advance of each week. You will be sent an invitation to join the Google Classroom within a week of the course start date.
Museum/gallery-based courses take place during public access hours. Tutors are not able to control sound levels or behaviours of visitors outside of the course group. Unless you are a wheelchair user, and have confirmed access details with us (as levels of access can vary between galleries), you will need to be able to walk between exhibits and stand for some time while looking at them (you may bring your own portable stool if you have one, but we cannot guarantee access to any gallery stools.) If you feel you may be impacted by these environmental variations, please inform the department on humanities@citylit.ac.uk before the course begins, to discuss reasonable accommodations we can make to assist your learning in the museum space.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Students are expected to pay for their own travel costs to the galleries. You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Introduction to Tate Britain
Art in Britain since 2000: where are we now
Understanding contemporary art: ideas and origins
Study Day, Cutting it Fine: Collage in Modern & Contemporary Art.
Francesca Laura Cavallo is a curator, art historian, and Honorary Research Fellow at the Centre for Indigenous and Settler Colonial Studies at the University of Kent, with whom she organises the annual festival Brazil Footprint oo. Her work combines research and practice to explore how the arts can be mobilised to transform public perceptions and attitudes towards risk, ecology, health and sustainability. She has curated exhibitions and public programmes at the Science and Industry Museum, the Barbican, Turner Contemporary and the ICA; and internationally at Manifesta 11, Zurich; Cabinet, New York; 98 weeks, Beirut, and Andersen Museum in Rome, among others. Cavallo has a PhD in Art History from the University of Kent, where she has taught various courses in Art History, Curating and Aesthetics. Previously, she was a research associate for the Organising Disaster project at Goldsmith and taught at the London College of Communication and Royal College of Art. She has also worked in community development and art-related projects in the UK, US, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Lebanon and Uruguay.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.