Don't Ask for the Mona Lisa!

Have you ever wondered how to turn your idea into an actual exhibition? Then this forthcoming seminar supported by the Association of Art Historians, on campus at Devonshire Hall may be for you!

Seminar: 'Don't Ask for the Mona Lisa: Collaborations between Academics and Art Galleries'

Thursday, 18 March 2010, 10.30-4pm

Tickets cost £30 for non-members, £18 for AAH members
The seminar, held at Devonshire Hall (University of Leeds) will focus in on three collaborative papers, where curators and academics will reflect on their experience of working together on exhibitions. The day will conclude with a roundtable discussion, with curators, academics and representatives of the key funding councils participating.

To book or for more information please visit the website of the Association of Art Historians (AAH):
http://www.aah.org.uk/museums-and-exhibitions

Supported by the Association of Art Historians, in collaboration with the Centre for Critical Studies in Museums, Galleries and Heritage (University of Leeds)

With the increase in funding initiatives aimed at encouraging knowledge transfer and collaboration, the event is aimed at academic art historians who have had little or no experience of organising exhibitions and is meant to be practical above all. It aims to explore questions such as; Can particular academic research projects influence exhibition planning? Who contacts who; the researcher or the gallery and who has the initial concept? Should the aim be to fit into a wider set of themes proposed by the Gallery in its programme planning? How do you prepare the proposal; should it consist of a written proposal or a formal presentation? Should you use illustrations and suggestions for exhibits as part of your proposal? Does the gallery and the researcher develop their own views of how the exhibition might look, or is this the role of a designer at a later stage? Does the proposal have to progress through several stages before it is finally accepted? How long does this process take? How long does it take from having the proposal to the opening of the exhibition? At what stage do you agree the allocation of responsibilities between the curator and the researcher for producing the exhibition? How much is the average overall budget for producing an exhibition? What are the benefits/limitations/problems of working in collaboration with researchers from outside of the gallery?

We are hoping to attract an audience of both curators and academics and the afternoon session will aim to be as interactive as possible in order to assist colleagues in exhibition planning, funding application preparation and developing collaborative partnerships.

Speakers:
Prof Catherine Karkov (University of Leeds) with Ellen Tait, Curatorial Assistant-Exhibitions, Henry Moore Institute (now at National Railways Museum)
Prof David Jackson (University of Leeds) with Edwin Becker, Head of Exhibitions, Van Gogh Museum
Prof David Hill (University of Leeds) with May Redfern (former) Head of Collections, Learning and Access, Harewood House