THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2023/2024

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : Art

Postgraduate Course: The Future Business of Art (ARTX11046)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe Future Business of Art will examine a variety of strategies for equipping artists with the creative, theoretical, managerial and business tools for operating and surviving in the contemporary art world now, as well as exploring the future possibilities for continued artistic work. The courses core aim will be to equip the students with a range of practical, theoretical, adaptable approaches to navigating the post college art world, enabling art students to create and launch a sustainable artistic practice on graduation. Key professional areas of art work will be explored such as the development of skills for gallery, grant and public art applications, exhibition budgeting and organisation and the branding and the marketing of projects (online and offline). Key theoretical topics will focus on attempts to develop autonomous, independent and collaborative projects by artists and others, current debates about the economics of art and speculative ideas about the possible transformation of the art world, the identity of the artist and beyond.
Course description In this course the practical and theoretical aspects of the business of art will be explored through a series of seminars, workshops and site visits. You will examine some of the key historical, contemporary and future issues facing artists wishing to develop sustainable independent artistic practices. You will look at critical issues relating to how artists can self-organise, work collaboratively and in collectives, the relationship between the art market and the public sector, the economics of art, the history and politics of Artist-run spaces and self-publishing initiatives, and the possibilities offered by digital technology and culture to develop new forms of autonomy and agency in the future. The practical dimension of the Future Business of Art will further develop your existing understanding of how-to setup artist run activities, promote and market self-organised curatorial and exhibition projects and distribute accompanying self-generated catalogues, zines and texts. Elements of this course will be delivered in collaboration with external partners in Edinburgh and Scottish art world, who will share their expertise in these fields.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements This course is only available for students on a postgraduate degree programme within the School of Art.
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2023/24, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  24
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 2, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12.5, Fieldwork Hours 16, Feedback/Feedforward Hours 1, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 164 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 3000 Word Essay (70%) - assessment will be based on Learning Outcomes 1 and 2 (Research and Analysis).«br /»
Seminar Participation (30%) - assessment will be based on Learning Outcome 3 (Communication).«br /»
Feedback Continual formative feedback will be provided during group presentations of critical analysis and research into chosen themes.

Written feedback will be provided for the 3000 word essay and seminar participation, and will address each Learning Outcome in relation to the work produced.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Research - Working in groups and independently, demonstrate a high level of research into contemporary discourses and issues relating to the business of art in your group seminar presentations and essay submission.
  2. Analyse - Critically analyse a range of textual and non-textual examples (based on site visits and fieldwork) in your seminar participation and in your written work. Demonstrate in your analysis an understanding of the current state of art business.
  3. Communicate - Demonstrate the ability to write, discuss and visualise an in-depth understanding of the core issues within, utilising written and oral forms that are imaginative and open to the possibilities of digital forms of production and distribution.
Reading List
Abbing, Hans, Why are artists poor? The Exceptional Economy of the Arts, Amsterdam University Press, 2014.

Sholette, Gregory, Dark Matter: Art and Politics in the Age of Enterprise Culture, Pluto Press 2006.
Steyerl, Hito, Duty Free Art - Art in the Age of Planetary Civil War, Verso 2017.

Bishop, Claire, Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of
Spectatorship. Verso, 2012.

Bridle, James, New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future , 2018

Greenfield, Adam, Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life, Verso, 2018

Bourdieu, Pierre, In the Field of Cultural Production, Polity Press
1993.

Kester, Grant, Conversation Pieces: Community and
Communication in Modern Art. University of Calfornia.2013.

Krysa, Joasia, Curating immateriality : the work of the curator in the age of
network systems, Brooklyn, N.Y. : Autonomedia, 2006.

O'Doherty, Brian, Inside the white cube : the ideology of the gallery
space, Published:Santa Monica : Lapis Press, 1986.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Knowledge that covers many of the main areas of contemporary artistic practice, including their features, boundaries, terminology and conventions.

A critical, detailed and often leading knowledge and understanding at the forefront of contemporary debates relating to the professionalisation and management of art.

Knowledge and understanding that is generated through personal research or equivalent work that makes a significant contribution to the development of the contemporary models of self-determination and autonomy for artists.

The ability to apply knowledge, skills and understanding in applying a range of standard and specialised research and/or equivalent instruments and techniques of enquiry.

The ability to apply knowledge, skills and understanding in using a significant range of the principal professional skills, techniques, practices and/or materials associated with contemporary artistic practice.

The ability to apply knowledge, skills and understanding in using and enhancing a range of complex skills, techniques, practices and/or materials that are at key in the development of professional skills as an artist.

The ability to apply critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis to forefront issues, or issues that are informed by forefront developments in contemporary debates pertaining to the economics and business of art.

The ability to critically review, consolidate and extend knowledge, skills, practices and thinking in contemporary art practice.
KeywordsSelf-Organisation,DIY,Autonomy,independence,Agency,Collaboration,Collectivism.
Contacts
Course organiserMr John Beagles
Tel: (0131 6)51 5909
Email: j.beagles@ed.ac.uk
Course secretary Yijia Chen
Tel:
Email: ychen7@ed.ac.uk
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