In the summer of 2025, several students from Arts SU were awarded a position on the Node Center course: Queer Art and Queer Curating - an online course exploring the intersections of queerness and curatorial practice. The course aimed to understand how queer identities interact with art and the histories that impact these experiences. We caught up with Dee (they/them) and Ishita (she/they) to get a glimpse into how this learning informed their creative practices.

Meet Dee, a master's student on the Fine Art - Digital course at Central Saint Martins. They applied for the Queer Arts and Queer Curating course as their MA was coming to a close, and they hoped to extend their engagement with queer curatorial theory in a more international context. “I’d just done six months of digital curation, so the course really affirmed a lot of research I’d already started,” Dee explains. “It also gave me a global perspective; connecting with students from all over the world who were thinking about queerness in such different but deeply resonant ways.”

Dee shares, “It was like coming home. I realised my experiences and my research weren’t just personas but also mirrored in so many places around the world. There were people of all ages on the course, and that intergenerational mix was so powerful. It felt like finding my tribe.”

Not only did this course create a sense of belonging and connection for Dee, but it was also an opportunity to facilitate peer learning and challenge dominant ideologies of gallery spaces in Western culture today. ‘The white cube gallery is dead, it has been for a long time.’ Node encouraged a critical analysis of the colonial structures around art: who gets to make it, show it, and fund it. “It’s a very difficult time to be queer in arts management or creative roles more broadly. But the course gave me hope. There’s still so much interest, so much spirit, especially in queer communities.”

Dee’s biggest takeaway? That process matters just as much as the final piece. “My practice isn’t about output, it’s about method. I’m much more focused on the intersections between curating, arts management, and care. This course helped me understand how those roles are starting to blur, and why that’s actually a good thing. The future of art is in community.”

We also met with Ishita, a Design for Art Direction student at LCC, who applied for this course because she wanted to further her understanding of inclusive practises. Ishita enjoyed studying the different theories and histories of queer art (topics often overlooked by major galleries or left out of Western history classes.) “I really liked that the course emphasised the power and influence of gallery leaders and curators. They’re not just arranging objects or exhibition making; they’re retelling personal stories, and with that comes great power and potential,” she notes.

For Ishita, the course was also validating for her own practices. “It provided me with strategies for experiencing queerness in the art world. The idea that ‘abstraction is inherently queer’ really stuck with me.”

The course’s highly communicative structure also stood out. “It was such a good networking opportunity, with voices from all over the world. The course was both academically rich and personally relevant, encouraging personal research. It gave me a deeper understanding of curation as a sensory, embodied act of representation,” Ishita explains. “Context and history really matter in how we represent others in art spaces.”

Ishita also explored the link between queer art and activism, particularly the pressure on queer artists to always produce politically engaged work. “The course helped me understand that sometimes, as queer people, we just want to make art because it feels right, not because it has to be activism. This shaped my perspective on how I enter galleries and connect with art.”

Ishita reflects on a quote from the course: ‘The body is the biggest enemy of the gallery.’ It’s a powerful statement that challenges the conventional understanding of art spaces as sterile, disconnected environments. Ishita elaborates, “The Mona Lisa never moves, yet thousands travel to see it. Why is it that some art is given more value than others? The course really made me think about these concepts of value and how queer art doesn’t always fit into these traditional frameworks.”

For both Dee and Ishita, the Queer Art and Queer Curating course had a tangible impact on their creative practices. Ishita is excited to enter galleries with a more critical eye, and Dee will be embracing process over perfection, “bringing care into the curation of spaces.”

The course is highly commended by both UAL students, and they would strongly encourage students to seek more Node Center sponsorships in the future. Their advice? Make sure you manage your time wisely, time-block for your readings and come with an open mind. “This is an investment in your future as an artist.”

The Arts SU have an ongoing partnership with Node Center for Curatorial Studies. So keep an eye out for further opportunities to take part in their courses, free through the Arts SU.