When Tate first opened its doors to the public in 1897 it had just one site, displaying a small collection of British artworks.
Today, Tate operates across four major galleries, its website and a number of social media platforms, hosting the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art, around 70,000 artworks.
As recent developments at Tate Modern, Tate Britain and Tate St Ives have shown, Tate continues to grow and expand while maintaining core features that have been present from its inception.
Touching on current debates about cultural institutions, collections, funding and audiences, with particular focus on Tate Modern, this 11-week course provides an in-depth examination of Tate as it is today, offering a rare opportunity to hear about what goes on behind the scenes in a range of departments and learn how such a large-scale arts institution operates on a daily basis.
Tate staff join us at a number of sessions to discuss their roles and to debate the challenges they face within the constantly changing landscape of today’s art museum. The course also includes visits to exhibitions and displays at both Tate Modern and Tate Britain, gallery activities and discussion, a wide range of reading material and an optional visit to the Tate Store, where Tate's Collection is housed when not on display.
- Download Inside Today's Museum syllabus [PDF, 162 Kb]
Please note that the syllabus may be subject to change before the start of the course.
Biography
Dr Michaela Ross is an artist and lecturer who completed her PhD at the University of the Arts researching the relationship between the artist and the institution and recent developments in fine-art pedagogy. She has collaborated with museums and galleries including Tate, the Serpentine Gallery and Nottingham Contemporary and has worked on international projects as part of Critical Practice, a cluster of artists, academics and researchers based at Chelsea College of Art and Design. She is a teaching fellow at King's College and visiting scholar at the University of the Arts London.
This course is organised in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King’s College London.