three people in an art gallery looking at Inuit art drawings installed on a white wall

Curatorial Incubator

These programs move students beyond the classroom to actively engage in and shape critical museum processes in the cultural sector.

The Art Gallery of Guelph has a tremendous resource in its collections, with over 10,000 works spanning six centuries. The gallery is committed to providing hands-on experience for students and emerging professionals, activating historical and contemporary work by Indigenous, Canadian, and international artists. These programs move students beyond the classroom to actively engage in and shape critical museum processes in the cultural sector.

Curating 101

Curating 101 offers an innovative school visit program, introducing secondary students to the organization of art and ideas that informs museum exhibitions. For more information about Curating 101 and to schedule a tour, please contact info@artgalleryofguelph.ca.

Curatorial Incubator

Drawing from the Art Gallery of Guelph’s collections, undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines are provided meaningful learning experiences through the development of gallery and digital exhibitions – unique environments to experiment with and explore the relationship between art, ideas, and audiences. Engaged in object-based research, students consider the interplay of theory and practice with a focus on the real-world contexts that mediate the interpretation and reception of artwork, historical and contemporary. Leveraging the gallery’s rich university and community relationships, the Curatorial Incubator program offers students exceptional experiential learning immersed in both the artistic and operational dimensions of art institutions, from research and exhibition planning to collection development and public engagement. Spanning individual research and collaborative inquiry, students are immersed in the real-world activities of cultural institutions and the business of the arts.

Bachinski/Chu Print Study Collection

Housed within the School of Fine Art and Music, this University of Guelph collection was created in 1968 by Professors Walter Bachinski and Gene Chu, retired SOFAM faculty, as a resource for students, allowing first-hand experience with pertinent examples of historical and contemporary fine art prints. From its beginning, the Bachinski/Chu Print Study Collection has been primarily funded by the proceeds of student print sales and now holds over 2,200 works in all traditional print media, providing opportunities for academic research, analytical study, and interpretation.

Middlebrook Prize for Young Canadian Curators

The Middlebrook Prize for Young Canadian Curators is awarded annually to an emerging Canadian curator who is under 30 with the aim to foster social innovation and curatorial excellence in Canada. Hosted and administered by the Art Gallery of Guelph, the winner is selected by a jury of arts leaders and receives an honorarium and mentorship, culminating in an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Guelph. By supporting and mobilizing Canadian creative talent, the Middlebrook Prize aims to inspire positive social change through creativity in an era of ongoing and unprecedented economic, environmental, social and cultural upheaval. Proposals should emphasize contemporary Canadian art with attention to ideas with tangible public relevance.