Syllabus

Gallery Management  - Fridays 12-3pm
Art Department New Jersey City University

Professor Doris Caçoilo
Office hours by appointment in VA131
 dcacoilo *at* njcu.edu


COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this course students will provide an overview of key aspects of managing galleries and museums today. It will consist of primarily hands-on training at NJCU galleries, class discussions, readings and visits to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) to learn aspects of managing and exhibiting one of the largest modern art collections in the world. Students will also be visiting various other galleries and museums in NY and NJ. Relevant to gallery management, the course topics may include the current trajectory of curation, the history of galleries and museums, methodologies, politics of display, the the art market. Students will be given the opportunity to meet with MoMA staff to learn the basics of museum operations including curatorial work, registration, education and public programming, marketing , public relations and collection.

COURSE OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
1- Understand and discuss varying needs and challenges of galleries (museums) in the contemporary society.
2- Achieve an awareness of the challenging role of galleries (museums) through the course of history.
3- Perform some of the preliminary administrative/technical tasks necessary in installing/uninstalling exhibitions.
4- Discuss theories and politics involved in gallery (museum) management.
5- Conduct independent research and execute a semester project.
6- Present the semester project to the class and invited guests.

Class sessions will be divided into presentations, class discussion of the readings, and museum and gallery visits.

READINGS: Various weekly reading assignments will be from the recommended texts, posted for download or passed out in class. The reading schedule will be distributed in class. Readings are due each week. Recommended texts:

Jane R. Glaser, Artemis A. Zenetou, Museums: A Place to Work Routledge, 1996

Gail Anderson, Reinventing the Museum: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Paradigm Shift, Altamaria Press, 2004


BLOG You must consult the class blog daily to check for announcements, readings and to post your writing assignments. The blog is crucial to the course and your completion of the requirements. You MUST have access to the blog to complete assignments, get readings, post work and comment on students’ posts.

TWITTER You must create a twitter account (if you do not have one already) we will share links and comments with each other using the class hashtag #njcugalleries

REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPLETION OF THE COURSE
Four writing assignments published to the blog, a group presentation as well as a two-part semester project will be developed during the semester. Students must participate in gallery exercises, complete all readings and participate in class discussions. Students must complete all assignments thoroughly and on time.

ATTENDANCE
Attendance is required. Attendance is taken at the beginning of each class and at all museum visits, and will be considered when determining the final course grade. Absences affect your participation grade. More than four (4) absences will result in an 'F' (failure) for the course. Absences are unexcused unless documentation of the absence is handed in tot the professor and allowed as an excused absence.  Class begins on time, so you must be punctual. Lateness, leaving early or leaving class unexcused for an extended period of time will also be recorded. Two of these instances will count as one absence. You must bring documentation to class and hand in to me for any absences to be excused.

You are required to make up any and all work that is missed if you are absent. Notify the professor if you will be absent. There will also be time commitments outside of class time. Please notify the professor if you will miss class or museum visits ahead of time when possible. As work will not be accepted late, please contact the professor to hand in work on time.

--Evaluation:
10% extra assignment - tbd
20% 2 blog posts – gallery reviews/ responses
50% final project (2 parts: Midterm and Final)
20% participation (Contributions to class, twitter, the blog + attendance)

NOTE: BACK-UP your work frequently, even as you are working on the projects. Write and edit your posts locally before uploading them to the web. No excuses!

Statement on Originality of the Work
All work completed for this course must be completed by the student enrolled in the course. All work for this course must be made in this course and not fulfilling the requirements of another prior or current course unless pre-approved by the instructor. Plagiarism is a very serious academic offense which will result in penalties ranging from reduction of class grade to failure in the course. Plagiarism occurs when the ideas, images, and words, published or unpublished, of others are presented as one's own without citing the original source. Plagiarism also occurs when the papers, research, or creative works of another person are presented as one's own work.

Student etiquette and performance and respect in class will reflect on their final grade. Cheating and plagiarism of any kind will not be tolerated and result in failing the class according to the NJCU Academic Integrity policy.










SCHEDULE
******PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE******
 ALL READINGS AND ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE SPECIFIED IN CLASS AND ON THE CLASS BLOG

All readings for each class will be listed on the class blog every week. It is the student’s responsibility to check the blog for required readings and assignments. All readings can be found on Blackboard, online (linked from the blog) or otherwise specified on the blog.

If you ever have questions or concerns about the schedule, due dates, changes or anything else please ask me after class or e-mail me: dcacoilo *at* njcu.edu

Week 1: Friday 1/25 Introduction and discussion.

Week 2: Thursday 1/31 Opening Reception in Visual Arts Gallery 4:30-7:30pm
 
              Friday 2/1 Class Discussion
         Mini Intro Post Due

Week 3: Thursday 2/7 Opening Reception in Lemmerman Gallery 5-8pm
           
             Friday 2/8 Trip to Newark Museum (Cancelled due to snow - postponed to 2/15)
Readings Due – check the blog.

Week 4: Friday 2/15 NO CLASS - Trip to Newark Museum

Week 5: Thursday 2/21 Artist Talk and Performance Lemmerman Gallery
           
              Friday 2/22 First Trip To MoMA – installation of Applied Design exhibition


Week 6: Friday 3/1 Class Discussion on the Museum visits and Post 1 and Discussion of semester project ideas.

Week 7: Friday 3/8 Class Discussion Writing Assignment due on the Blog – Post 1
MIDTERM – topics due in class - proposal and first “draft” of semester projects due on the blog by 3/22

Week 8: Friday 3/15 NO CLASS ☺ Spring Break

Week 9: Friday 3/22 MoMA trip (QNS and PS1)

Week 10: Friday 3/29 NO CLASS Good Friday

Week 11: Friday 4/5 MoMA trip

Week 12: Friday 4/12 Class Discussion

Week 13: Friday 4/19 Class Discussion
Writing Assignment due on the Blog – Post 2

Week 14: Friday 4/26 De-installation of Lemmerman Gallery

FINAL
Week 15: Friday 5/03 Presentation of Final Projects. – Group Critique

Week 16: Friday 5/10 Presentation of Final Projects. – OR trip to Storm King


PROJECT DESCRIPTIONS:
*Posts 1-2.
Students must develop well-edited and researched responses to gallery visits, readings and discussions in class. Students are responsible to write and edit these posts as well as illustrate them and successfully post them to the blog for discussion and critique in class.

*Final Project
*Semester Project – (Re)Imagining the gallery
2-parts: Midterm and Final
Based on the discussions museum visits and readings create a project illustrating the gallery, the art market and the future of art collection and exhibition. Ultimately your project should 1) be publically visible. 2) highlight contemporary artists and art practice 3) refer to the practice of gallery and museum management, it’s history and it’s potential future. 4) encourage its audience to understand the process of curation and exhibition and change their perspective on the role of art. These will be published to the class blog and presented in class.

The assignment can take many forms: Essay with embedded images. Video, documentary, performance, Researched article or extensive slideshow with captions or narration (think NYTimes), Magazine/Zine, Interactive Web Project/Site, workshop, gallery or web exhibition, proposal for exhibition (submitted).

*You must create a post on the blog for your final project. This will include a link to your project, a summary and explanation, images and or videos. You will present using/from your post - this will be much easier. ALL projects must be posted to the class blog and resource lists and summaries printed and handed in to me. Projects in print such as: papers, zines etc must be physically handed in to me. I have invited guests to attend our final presentations.