Art History and Curating

Art history and curating is about the historical, theoretical and practical aspects of contemporary art and its forms of display. It will connect you to the work of traditional institutions (museums and galleries) and also to the growing field of art and the creative industries, including festivals, public art projects, artist-run and commercial spaces. Art historians are interested in the social, political and aesthetic significance of art. Curators select and interpret works of art for display. Both can play a critical role in discovering new ground, setting future cultural agendas through the expanded field of art history, criticism, curating and cultural production.

History and theory units will equip you with the skills necessary to research fine arts issues and provide the research methods relevant to your studio or workshop practice. They will enable you to contextualise your own practice and communicate ideas and strategies. Through the prism of history, as well as reference to bodies of knowledge relevant to cultural production, you will begin to situate the place of Fine art in society.

Year 1

• Introduction to visual culture
• Drawing
• Business and humanities or web design selective
• Introduction to art and design health and safety
• Modernism and the avantgarde
• Digital imaging for contemporary art
• Business and humanities or web design selective
• Electives

Year 2

• International art 1945-2000 
• Contemporary international art or Art criticism and curatorship 
• Art history and theory selective
• Modernism and the avant-garde
• Electives

Year 3

• Art history and theory selective
• Contemporary international art or Art criticism and curatorship
• Project studies
• Art history and theory selective
• Electives

English requirements

Applicants must also meet the English language requirements. Your application must include one original test:

• IELTS (International English Language Testing System - Academic)
• TOEFL (American Test of English as a Foreign Language)
• PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English)
• Cambridge English

Secondary school qualifications

• Satisfactory completion of final year secondary school, or equivalent, including English
• Satisfactory completion of the International Baccalaureate (IB), including English
• Satisfactory completion of the New Zealand National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), including English
• Completion of the Gaokao (for minimum scores, see Gaokao entry requirements)

Applicants with complete or incomplete overseas tertiary qualifications are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Australian government scholarships for international students

The Australia Awards are prestigious international scholarships and fellowships funded by the Australian Government. They offer the next generation of global leaders the opportunity to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia.

The scholarships and fellowships are administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Department of Education.

Australia Awards scholarships

• Contribute to the long-term objectives of developing countries to promote growth and stability.
• Open to students from participating countries.
• For full-time undergraduate or postgraduate study.

Australia Awards Leadership Program

• Offers leadership learning and development opportunities.
• Open to current and future leaders in academic, business, government and non-government services.
• For masters and doctoral degrees only.

Australia Awards Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships

• Internationally competitive, merit-based scholarships for study, research and professional development.
• Options of undergraduate and postgraduate, postdoctoral research,  and professional development opportunities.

Career options

Potential career opportunities include museums and galleries and also to the growing field of art and the creative industries, including festivals, public art projects, artist-run and commercial spaces.