Sotheby's Institute of Art

Starting with Linda Nochlin’s 1971 essay WHY HAVE THERE BEEN NO GREAT WOMEN ARTISTS?, this course considers the key global currents of fifty years of feminist art around a number of themes. These include feminist art about the body and sexuality, women’s domestic labor, feminist approaches to identity, motherhood and childcare, violence against women, feminism, and the art historical canon.

This course explores the emergence and key concepts of the global market for art from the 18th to the 21st centuries through a discussion of its history, disruptions, and innovations. The course takes a thematic approach delivered via specific case studies to map the key concepts, individuals and institutions, and the various business models, and ethical and legal considerations that underpin the contemporary market. Students gain an understanding of the globalized art market economy through a comparative study of different geographical market regions across time, including the emergence of new global art market centers and the rise of the millennial collector. Throughout, the auction house and the unique behind-the-scenes access afforded to students of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, provides a detailed and practical case study of the history, development, and future of this market.

This course surveys current developments in curating art, examining expanded definitions of curating (in museums and independently post-2020); and the evolving local, global, and digital landscapes for curatorial work and activity today.
With a project-oriented focus, this course equips students with the contextual knowledge as well as the entrepreneurial skill to plan, develop, and deliver a curatorial project as well as situate it in a rapidly changing landscape. Topics include (but are not limited to) the curator as auteur, facilitator, mediator, and project manager as well as contemporary curatorial approaches and research methodology. Project-based learning throughout the course examines: initiating and defining curatorial projects; sourcing artworks in private collections for object-based exhibitions; building connections and relationships with contemporary artists; expanding exhibition formats and sites for curating (including "pop-ups"); writing curatorial statements and press releases; working in a sustainable and accessible way; fundraising and budgeting; marketing and publicity; and working with digital networks and platforms.

In this course, students learn to develop and present a business plan for a commercial or social enterprise within the creative economy. The course equips students with the tools and entrepreneurial skill to rigorously plan, resource, and deliver their own proposal or product launch, as well as articulate and communicate its relevance in a rapidly changing landscape. Students gain a range of sought-after hard and soft skills, across five key areas: market analysis, product or service design, branding, assessing resources, and an in-depth financial forecasting. Regular group and project-based activities help to foster an inclusive and entrepreneurial learning environment. Lectures, seminars, and panels led by specialists and leaders drawn from the commercial art, finance, and startup sectors also help students to generate entrepreneurial sparks to resolve some of the issues facing the contemporary art world. This course culminates in a “shark tank” event, where students present a unique idea to a panel of experts, offering opportunities for networking, advice, and potential investment.

This course explores the emergence and key concepts of the global market for art from the 18th to the 21st centuries through a discussion of its history, disruptions, and innovations. The course takes a thematic approach delivered via specific case studies to map the key concepts, individuals and institutions, and the various business models, and ethical and legal considerations that underpin the contemporary market. Students gain an understanding of the globalized art market economy through a comparative study of different geographical market regions across time, including the emergence of new global art market centers and the rise of the millennial collector. Throughout, the auction house and the unique behind-the-scenes access afforded to students of Sotheby’s Institute of Art, provides a detailed and practical case study of the history, development, and future of this market.

This course explores the dynamic discourse at the intersection of contemporary art and digital technologies, equipping students with a practical and contextual knowledge of how these technologies are reimaging the landscape of contemporary art practice. The course explores what it is to have "an art without objects" and the impact this is having, in turn, on the international art market and the curatorial field. Topics include artificial intelligence, augmented theory, virtual reality, NFT's, digital conservatism, and the history of digital art.

This course introduces and examines London's internationally-significant museum and gallery collections from a critical and global perspective. Exploring the politics of collecting and display, it engages with contemporary art historical and curatorial debates via the realities of institutions and their collections - and the inherent tensions therein. Major cultural institutions and their collections are examined, including the national gallery, Tate, and the British Museum, where issues of the representation of gender, the depictions of people of color, decolonization and repatriation are discussed and debated. Current debates surrounding museum and gallery ethics (for example ongoing debates regarding the Elgin/Parthenon Marbles and Benin Bronzes) are explored and contextualized in relation to contemporary social justice movements.

This course is a work experience placement, which students undertake in an art-related work environment in London. Students examine established and emerging art world careers, together with cultural and management issues related to the creative sector. Part of the class is a range of sessions designed to develop and enhance students’ professional skills, including training on wider employability skills, such interview skills, networking, and communication. Students are introduced to contemporary management models for commercial and non-commercial practices through theory, case studies, and practical work. The course prepares students for a wide range of careers in the art world, wider creative sector, or for further study.

This course begins with a radical group of artists named the "Fauves," meaning wild beasts, for their unconventional and daring use of color. The 20th century was a time of great change which artists responded to in different ways. It saw the explosion of the "isms": cubism, surrealism, abstract expressionism, etc. The course explores and discusses the vision and techniques of these movements.