Date Thursday 12 November 2026
Overview
Node Center for Curatorial Studies are delivering a short course on Curating Beyond Exhibitions: Events, Performances, Talks.
Arts SU have teamed up with Node Center to offer three current UAL students the opportunity to build their skills, knowledge, and confidence, helping them take their professional practice to the next level.
While exhibitions remain one of the most common formats to present art, curators and creatives increasingly work through a wider range of public activities such as experimental workshops, performances, and participatory events. In this course, you will experiment with formats that extend the possibilities of curatorial practice.
Taking a practical focus, you will be equipped with the tools to conceptualize and produce a curatorial project from start to finish. Through case studies, short lectures and in-class brainstorming sessions, the cohort will rethink curating as a form of cultural mediation that operates beyond objects, spaces, and conventional exhibition structures. You will also learn from challenges, like where collaborations can go wrong and how to deal with unexpected production issues.
By the end, you will be able to develop proposals for non-traditional curatorial projects including interactive programs, and co-creative productions.
Over five weeks, you will learn how to:
● Conceptualize a variety of curatorial formats (screenings, talks, concerts, performances, workshops)
● Align your project’s aim with its creative outcome
● Work with collaborators and community partners
● Manage the logistics of curatorial events and public programs
● Communicate the curatorial project to various stakeholders (funders, audiences, partners)
● Evaluate the success of your project
This course is for emerging arts professionals who work across formats and sites or who are interested in learning how to curate event-based projects. No prior experience is necessary, but an appreciation for non-traditional arts experiences is a plus.
The course is facilitated by Jess Van Nostrand
Jess Van Nostrand is the Director of Public Engagement & Curatorial Strategies at The Morris Museum in Morristown, New Jersey. She has led numerous curatorial projects, including founding the experimental art center The Project Room (2011-2015). For six years, Jess was Assistant Director of Exhibition Programs & Gallery Initiatives at the Museum of Modern Art, where she worked on innovative public programs that brought new perspectives to exhibitions and the collection. Jess was subsequently Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, leading the performance-based River To River Festival and directing exhibitions at The Arts Center at Governors Island.
More details:
This is a five week interactive course.
The 2 hour online workshops run once a week from 12th November - 17th December 2026.
Live attendance is encouraged to get the most out of the course, but recordings are available if you cannot attend a session.
A downloadable certificate is available upon course completion.
For more information on the course follow this link: Expanding Exhibitions: Innovative Approaches to Curating - Node Center
Arts SU aims to support UAL students with developing their professional practice. Therefore, we are working with Node Center to offer FREE places on this course for three UAL students.
If you are interested in applying to attend this course, please send in your application.
The deadline to apply is 9am on 26th October 2026.
If you have any queries about this course or the application process, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Arts Programme team at Arts SU - artsprogramme@su.arts.ac.uk
Skills you can gain from this opportunity
Just by applying to this opportunity, you will develop your transferable skills. It will build your application writing, articulating your aspirations, demonstrating proactive behaviour and ambition, and learning to seek constructive feedback.
If selected for this opportunity, we hope you will develop your skills in:
Still not sure whether to apply? Why not read about the experiences of other UAL students have attended Node courses, funded by Arts SU.
Queer Art and Queer Curating: Learnings and Unlearnings from Node Center
Launching an Independent Art Space: Practical Skills for Creative Futures with Node Center
