Ground-breaking MA with Southbank Centre
Posted on 11/02/2011
Alan Bishop with Professor Rick Trainor
Southbank Centre and King’s College London are partnering for the first time with the launch of a unique master’s programme linking education and culture. The MA in Education in Arts & Cultural Settings is the first of its kind.
Many people work on educational programmes in arts organisations across the UK and internationally but, to date, there has been no professional qualification available. There are many existing master’s degree programmes focussed on the arts and cultural sector, but none have a complete and specific focus on education and the professional needs of arts educators.
This MA has been created by both organisations in response to this need and the development of outreach and educational programmes in the arts sector. The programme has been established between the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King’s and the Learning and Participation department at Southbank Centre and will be delivered to a first student cohort from September 2011. Students will be able to undertake study on a full-time or part-time basis.
Teaching on the MA will take place both at the College and at Southbank Centre. The programme will contain two compulsory modules combining theoretical teaching in informal pedagogies (the ‘internal’ module, to be delivered by King’s) with a student learning experience, which draws fully upon the professional expertise and experience of delivering a learning and participation programme in a world-class cultural setting (the ‘external’ module to be delivered through Southbank Centre).
In addition, students will include a Southbank Centre-based fieldwork element into their final dissertation, consisting of a report on a small-scale piece of research conducted on one aspect of Southbank Centre’s extensive learning and participation programme. Southbank Centre’s teaching inputs will be made by cultural practitioners and educators employed by or affiliated to Southbank Centre.
Landmark partnership
The programme will be of interest to those who currently work, or those who aspire to work within education, learning and participation in arts and cultural organisations and related sectors. It will offer learning on the methodologies used for designing, delivering and managing education programmes within arts cultural settings as well as for working on the interface between education and culture. This learning will be set against the background of current theoretical debates around cultural value, education, audience development, social inclusion, culture and identity, professional ethics within the cultural sector, and the economics and ‘social’ value of art and culture.
At the launch event on 9 February, Principal of King’s College London, Professor Rick Trainor, said: ‘The development and delivery of this MA speaks to a new and landmark partnership between King’s and Southbank Centre. We have been physical neighbours for 60 years – and so perhaps it is about time that we are now pooling our expertise around a shared endeavour!
‘We have strong links with arts organisations across London and this new collaborative MA is an excellent example of how these important links are developing. Students will benefit from an internationally recognised body of expertise in this field at King’s and the world-class professional expertise of Southbank Centre staff and its artistic associates.’
Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank Centre, added: ‘The UK arts sector has been incredibly successful in engaging audiences through their educational and outreach programmes. We are delighted to be partnering with King’s College to offer students the opportunity to gain first-hand practical experience and develop excellence in this ever-growing and important area for the arts.'
The design and development of the external collaborative module has been overseen by the Programme Steering Group consisting of Dr Anwar Tlili, Department of Education & Professional Studies and Course Director at King’s, Alan Read, Professor of Theatre in the English Department, Katherine Bond, Head of Business Development – Arts & Society, King’s Business, and Shân Maclennan, Creative Director of Learning and Participation at Southbank Centre. Seed-funding to develop the programme was provided through King’s Business’ Futures Fund.
King’s has a strategy to foster collaborative links with partners of excellence in order to deliver innovative research and teaching. This innovation ensures that the research excellence of its social sciences and arts and humanities has real impact on society and the economy.
Notes to editors
For further information visit: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/graduate/education_in_arts_and_cultural_settings/applying
King's College London
King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2010 QS international world rankings), The Sunday Times 'University of the Year 2010/11' and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, it has nearly 23,500 students (of whom nearly 9,000 are graduate students) from 140 countries and approximately 6,000 employees.
King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £450 million.
King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are part of King's Health Partners. King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is a pioneering global collaboration between one of the world's leading research-led universities and three of London's most successful NHS Foundation Trusts, including leading teaching hospitals and comprehensive mental health services. For more information, visit: www.kingshealthpartners.org.
Southbank Centre
Southbank Centre is the UK’s largest arts centre, occupying a 21-acre site that sits in the midst of London’s most vibrant cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames. The site has an extraordinary creative and architectural history stretching back to the 1951 Festival of Britain. Southbank Centre is home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery as well as The Saison Poetry Library and the Arts Council Collection. The Royal Festival Hall reopened in June 2007 following the major refurbishment of the Hall and redevelopment of the surrounding area and facilities.
Southbank Centre’s artistic programme encourages visitors to learn, contribute and take part. The learning and participation programme, which is the foundation of the organisations work, ranges from free events and exhibitions to indepth learning projects and longer-term participatory work. We work with a number of partners to help achieve this programme including schools across the UK, higher educational organisations, and arts, educational and other organisations.