Rosalie Doubal

"I was wary of courses that focused on curating as an entirely academic or administrative practice and rather was drawn to this course for its embrace of the complex intersections between art, academia and activism. I’d heard the student and teaching bodies at Goldsmiths had a name for their active political engagement and I was excited about other areas of research going on across the college in the fields of sociology, politics and literature.

My time on the programme was a hugely valuable period of experimentation and learning, and I gained confidence in my own approach. The course provided a stellar training in creative collaboration and great emphasis was placed on the importance of clear writing and the analytical presentation of ideas. I made enduring friendships galvanized by hard work and free wine, and together we learnt how to make the most of London.

After graduating, I took part in the 2013 Young Curators Residency Programme at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin, curating the exhibition "The 338 Hour Cineclub", before working as Programme Coordinator at The Showroom, London for a short period. I joined the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London in 2013, working as Exhibitions Assistant for a large off-site project, prior to taking up my current post of Curator, Talks and Live, in 2014.

Echoing the polyvocal manner in which the MFA Curating is taught, I am always keen to facilitate cross-disciplinary learning through my practice. The course’s emphasis on curating as a social and critical undertaking directly feeds into my current work at the ICA, an institute for all the arts that aims to contextualise contemporary culture within the socio-political conditions of the times. At the core of our live programmes are convenings bringing together transdisciplinary constellations of international and intergenerational practitioners – artists, dancers, writers, thinkers – to produce new thought or new work in response to a shared issue. Much of this mixing-pot approach I garnered from Goldsmiths.

My advice to current MFA Curating students would be: don’t get mired down in the art world. A lot of the most interesting work isn’t happening in galleries or being covered in art magazines. Approach your course projects with unbridled optimism – it’s rare to have so much time for research and discussion. Keep your collaborators fed and make time for thank you letters."