Arts and Audiences 2

Full course description

This course focuses on the relationship between arts and audiences. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach and builds on perspectives coming from academic fields such as (art) history, sociology, pedagogy, philosophy, and critical museology as well as professional practices such as education, policy, marketing and curatorship. It aims to show students the diverse ways in which art institutions relate to, interact with and impact audiences. The course is firmly grounded both in academic scholarly works and professional practices. Lectures will offer overviews on the topics at hand and present diverse positions and dominant theories in the field. Workshops will offer focused work on academic literature related to the topics as well as hands-on professional training and real site analysis (visitor research, space analysis, etc). Debates will train your critical thinking and introduce you to controversial topics in the field, allow you to form an opinion and defend it through structured argumentation.   

In period 4 the programme will be tailored to the student’s interests and co-created with them. Hands-on projects, in collaboration with societal partners, will be offered, allowing students to further specialize. The course consists of 2 parts running simultaneously. The first part combines guest lectures from professionals and specialists, site visits, seminars on key topics and professional workshops. Topics that can be addressed are for example: various forms of audience experiences (e.g. immersive experiences), knowledge creation in art institutions, senses in the museum, decolonizing museum collections, representation and working with communities, matters of authority in cultural institutions, trends in cultural participation, ethical issues of audience research, etc. 

The second part is a hands-on project in collaboration with a societal partner. It can take the form of designing an exhibition, designing an art education activity, event or programme for a specific target group and institution, evaluating an education program, exhibition, or app. The focus of period 4 is on the critical analysis of cultural practices with a focus on the relationship between art and audiences, and the implementation of the results into practice.