Nicky is from Hong Kong and is studying MA Culture, Criticism and Curation at Central Saint Martins (CSM).
Why did you choose to study your course and why CSM?
I was particularly drawn to the three Cs in the course title. It struck me that the course would cover a wider scope and situate curation in the broader cultural discourse. There are other curating courses available at UAL and other universities, but this course is where we can also explore expanded practice and different curatorial modalities.
What’s the most interesting project you’ve worked on so far? What made it so interesting to work on?
I am very glad that I could take part in a publication project, Unknown Quantities, a long-standing annual journal created in collaboration with MA Graphic Communication Design. It was an experimental playground for us to explore a non-hierarchical relationship between texts and images in a publication, and we had a lot of say in its content, design and production. In our edition, we proposed "lost and found" as the overarching theme, which was also an open prompt for contributors and wider readership to reconsider our ways of thinking and doing things in response to contemporary contexts and challenges.
Have you completed any work placements / internships / volunteering whilst being on the course?
Outside of the course, I have been volunteering at the Camden Art Centre as a gallery invigilator and helping with their family studio. It has been a very valuable experience, and Camden Art Centre has become one of the case studies in my MA dissertation, which is about the distinctive pedagogical approaches of gallery education in London.
What important piece of advice would you give to students thinking of studying this course
Curators collaborates a lot with artists and other practitioners. Students in this course will take part in a lot of group projects, which can be at times very challenging. Be open, flexible and receptive, and see what the process will lead you to.
What has been the highlight of your CSM experience so far?
Together with some other colleagues in my cohort, we have put up a show at the Lethaby Gallery for our final projects (Archive of Destruction, Extending the Line and Unknown Quantities) – that moment when we could confidently say: we are curating. Thankfully, the show saw a very nice turnout as well.
What are your career aspirations? Where would you like to be in five years' time?
I would like to work in the field of gallery education as a learning curator. I am also very interested in alternative exhibition-making and an integrative programming approach. In five years’ time, I hope I could accumulate enough of work experience and reflect on what I have been thinking, doing and researching in this year of study.
What is the most important thing you've learnt on the course so far?
I came to this course with this specific question in mind: what curation is essentially. I have come to realise that this is a question to be left answered as we are all in this search for our own curatorial position. During the process, we will develop our own curatorial approaches, practices and bearings.
Find out more about MA Culture, Criticism and Curation