M.A. in Gallery and Museum Management (MGMM)

This on-campus residency provides an introduction to and fundamentals for the entire program of study, and initiates network development. This intensive course includes a one-day program orientation, practicum instruction in on-site gallery and workshop classroom settings, field trips to art galleries and many types of museums, with workshops by leading professionals. Prerequisites: acceptance into the MGMM graduate program.

Professional careers in the gallery and museum worlds require a number of practical skills. This course builds upon fundamentals covered in the summer practicum, with in-depth practical explorations of design, installation, preparatorship and the management of the exhibition space. Prerequisite: MGMM 600.

Professional careers in gallery and museum management are increasingly complex and demanding. A key aspect of building and growing successful art galleries or museums is professional relationships. This course principally focuses on building professional relationships in the gallery and museum worlds, including artists, donors, patrons, collectors, researchers, cultural heritage agencies, audiences, and stake-holders. Prerequisite: MGMM 601.

Considerable planning, entrepreneurship, and bureaucratic skills are required in the building and development of successful for-profit art and cultural heritage entities. This course addresses the functioning and dysfunctions of the various sectors that can be described as the art business and cultural heritage industries. Topics include primary and secondary art markets, art fairs, auctions, as well as the nonprofit museum and public collections sector. Prerequisite: MGMM 600.

Gallery and museum administrators must be adept in all aspects of management (including marketing and promotion and leading and managing staff and volunteers) to grow successful for-profit and not-for-profit galleries and museums. This course addresses entrepreneurial approaches and business models, mission relevance, recruitment, governance, development, procurement, staffing, budget and finances, for-profit and not-for-profit business registration, and compliance with policies and law. Prerequisite: MGMM 612.

This course examines curatorial scholarship and practices that underpin collections development, research and analysis, and the exhibition process, and relates those to the evolving roles of galleries and museums in contemporary society. Subjects covered in the class include collections development, object-based research, exhibition development and analysis, and curatorial approaches to tangible and intangible heritage. Prerequisite: MGMM 600.

This course explores the roles and responsibilities of contemporary curators as investigators, negotiators, and mediators in gallery and museum environments. Students engage in dialogue and debate about ethical questions relating to acquisitions, access, ownership, copyright, knowledge systems, exhibition themes, new digital technologies, international collaborations and partnerships, and the integration of new scholarship and ideas with traditional curatorial skills. Prerequisite: MGMM 621.

Archaeological research relies upon sound curatorial practice; curatorship is often the only tangible evidence of cultural heritage for some peoples and most collections are in the public trust. This class explores those responsibilities through engaging with archaeological and cultural materials curation: technical information, laws and regulations, case studies, archaeological or anthropological exhibition process, integration of theory and practice. Prerequisite: MGMM 600.