What is it like to study abroad for a semester at Sotheby’s Institute in London?

by Robin Klaus via “Sotheby’s Institute of Art“

When I first considered studying abroad, the options were endless. My university offered countless programs in countries all over the world, and each one promised an exciting and life-changing experience. As an art history major pursuing a curatorial career, however, nothing fit quite right — until I found Sotheby’s Institute of Art.

The Institute offers many courses for the art-attuned, but I found the Art Museums, Galleries, and Curating 15-week program unique in the scope of its content and the intensity of its experiential approach. As the title suggests we explored the history of collecting, traditions of museum practice, the myriad roles of a curator, and the functions of modern art museums and galleries within these contexts. The ways in which the course exceeded my expectations made for a world-class educational experience. During the more than sixty visits to London art museums and galleries, we went behind-the-scenes and discovered every conceivable profession therein; from conservation scientists to intellectual property lawyers and everything in between. No art museum-related stone was left unturned.

Robin getting to grips with a teddy bear during a special handling session at the V&A Museum in London

“During the more than sixty visits to London art museums and galleries… no art museum-related stone was left unturned”

With a new field-visit almost every day (and sometimes more than one!), the ‘Art Museums, Galleries, and Curating’ course was also an in-depth introduction to the London art scene — a sizable task, considering London remains a booming center of the international art world. We experienced blockbuster exhibitions at national institutions, enjoyed private tours at pint-sized galleries, and even walked the streets of trendier neighborhoods to soak up the street art. Each visit and viewing experience was enhanced by our learned lens of museum methodology, theory, and historical tradition — a facet of the course that left us acutely aware of our own role in the trajectory of art museum practice. . . . .

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