This is a special, out of term, blog post, to give you a sneak preview of what’s ahead, this month and this coming term. I also want to welcome all our new students joining us on all our programmes this Autumn – we’re very much looking forward to meeting you at the inductions in the last week of September, and then in class the week after that.
If you’re getting this, and you’re thinking you’d like to be one of those incoming students, or you know someone who’s considering it, there is still time to apply, right up to mid-October. We have a wider than ever range of programmes this year, from introductory Certificates, BA History of Art with Foundation Year, and/or with pathways in Curating, Film, History and (new in 2019) Languages, Graduate Certificate (for those with first degrees outside of art/art history), MA Museum Cultures, MA History of Art, and, also new in 2019, MA History of Architecture and MA History of Photography. Just google ‘Birkbeck’ and the name of the programme and you’ll get to the relevant webpage with info and application links.
The best way of finding out more is to drop into the Open Evening for late applicants on 12 September, 4.30-7 – History of Art staff will be there giving advice and guidance.
Seems a good moment to emphasise how EU-friendly Birkbeck is, and how much we value the very high proportion of EU students who study with us – you enrich our academic culture immensely, and we look forward to that continuing, Brexit or no Brexit, deal or no deal. Birkbeck has committed to charging the same home fees it’s always charged to EU students for those starting with us in 2019 – and you’ll pay home fees for the entirety of your programme. Student loans are also available as before. A helpful statement from Birkbeck is here. Another thing to keep in mind if you’re an EU student (or a home student with another first language) is that we don’t demand the IELTS English qualification – we’re happy to assess your English skills very individually and very efficiently, so don’t let that get in the way of applying.
So, what’s coming up:
The deadline for RFSA bursaries for Certificate and BA students is on Friday 13 September 2019. RFSA stands for Royal Female School of Art, which was an early art school for women, and now exists as a trust supporting access for all students, no matter what gender, to visual arts education. Our department is delighted to be the recipient of a generous grant which allows us to support Cert HE and BA students experiencing financial hardship through bursaries. You can find more details and the application form here.
Open House London on the weekend of 21-22 September. This is a great event, in which we show off our historically and culturally significant School of Arts building to the public. You are all very welcome, either to come along on a tour to learn about the building’s background as early Victorian terraced houses, and its close connection with the radical Bloomsbury Group (and to check out some Bloomsbury paintings…). You should also think about volunteering, welcoming visitors, giving tours and/or acting as a steward. It’s a fantastic experience, and there’s training providing. You just need to be available on 16 September 6pm for the training, and then for a shift on either the morning or afternoon of 21 or 22 September. Email me (Leslie) on l.topp@bbk.ac.uk and wonderful volunteer coordinator Eva Hoog if you’re interested in hearing more or signing up: eva.hoog@btconnect.com. Or just come along between 10 and 4 on 21 Sept for a tour! More here. And you can watch a film about the building (featuring some History of Art lecturers) here.
And the promised sneak preview: as usual, Autumn term brings an exceptionally rich programme of talks, tours, and events free for you to join alongside your studies. Here’s just a taste (you heard it first here!) – more to come in future blogs and on the relevant websites.
The Centre for Museum Cultures, a hub for intellectual exchange and debate relating to all aspects of museology, curation and heritage, has two upcoming events:
Thomas Ardill, Curator at the Museum of London, will be giving a talk on the development of the exhibition ‘London’s Secret Rivers’ on Monday 21 October 6pm in Keynes Library. Thomas will explain the Museum of London’s exhibition-making process from programming to design and installation, and reflect on the experience of co-curating with an archaeological curator including the collaborative process, the challenges of putting on a multimedia display and what he has learned by curating an art collection in a social history museum.
In December (date and time TBC), there will be a special gallery tour at the V&A by Provenance and Spoliation Curator Jacques Schuhmacher. He will give a behind-the-scenes tour of the special display ‘Troubling Objects: Uncovering the Story of Nazi looting’, which uncovers the history behind several fascinating objects of incredible craftsmanship that take us to the heart of the Nazis’ looting of art across Europe.
Murray Seminars on Medieval and Renaissance Art: These seminars are open to all, and attract interested members of the public, staff and students from other London colleges and beyond. They are an opportunity to hear and contribute to cutting-edge research, often at the very early stages of work in progress. This term’s seminars are:
Petr Ulicny, 16th October, 5pm, Keynes Library: The Origins of Renaissance Architecture in Bohemia
Michael Carter, 12th November, 5pm, Keynes Library: Relics in late-medieval England: some monastic evidence
Laura Jacobus, 4th December, 5pm, Keynes Library: Faces and Enigmas: maker-portraits in the work of Giotto and Giovanni Pisano
More posts and more sneak previews to come on this blog in the course of September, so if you haven’t yet subscribed to receive new posts in your inbox, now’s the time!
