Curatorial Practice

The Master’s Course in Curatorial Practice at IED Firenze is for anyone who wants to embrace the many different perspectives of what it means to be a curator: a professional who knows how to protect and care for artistic heritage, selecting new works, telling stories and interpreting artworks as they are presented and exhibited. But most importantly, a curator is someone who looks at exhibitions as a way of viewing and experiencing culture, producing knowledge through visual forms of language connected with multiple types of contemporary storytelling.

This Master’s Course is intended for anyone who wants to specialise as a professional in the area of curatorial work, with a special focus on the design of exhibitions and shows for museums, galleries, trade fairs, and auction houses. A background in arts and project management is highly recommended, though not a prerequisite.

Graduates of the programme will be able to successfully carry out curatorial projects and work in open, inclusive institutions, with a new perspective on public curatorships for museums, galleries and non-profit organizations. They will be looking after commissioning, writing and publishing activities, as well as career opportunities for art fairs, auction houses, art criticism, education, consulting and studio management.

The Master’s Course in Curatorial Practice at IED Firenze wants to answer the question 'What does it mean to work with contemporary art today?' by providing cross-curricular education, where many different skills can be combined with as many different contexts and artistic forms of expression.

This Master’s Course aims to develop project management and communication skills, awareness and critical thinking. All this will be useful when creating visual worlds where your personal vision interacts with new perspectives brought by the artists involved in your work. Your vision will be based on visual, artistic and educational signs, across a network of professional relationships that will help you promote your project.

You will experience the incomparable and prestigious background offered by the city of Florence. Here you will have the opportunity to join the current debate around curatorial work and best practice with some of the most accredited professionals in the art world, as you also delve into this world with a fresh, innovative drive. In Florence you will be involved in theory lectures, studio visits, exchanges and in-depth studies, developing projects and verbal storytelling with an insight into current artistic trends. Coursework will be held in small classes providing a workshop-like experience, thus allowing you to grow and strengthen your skills in a more organised way.

This Master’s Course has a constant focus on changes in the cultural production market and will help you build up your personal work portfolio. All this will be possible as we can count on a top-notch faculty with experience in major institutions. Prestigious partnerships, like the one with Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi, are also part of the program and will help you greatly as you move ahead in your career.