School of Arts run curatorial training programme in AlUla, Saudi Arabia

From 8 – 18 September Dr Gizeh Rangel-de Lazaro and Dr Stephen Murphy ran a curatorial training programme in AlUla Saudi Arabia. This followed Professor Charlotte Horlyck’s successful bid to the British Council Saudi Now Collaborative Project, in partnership with the Royal Commission of AlUla.

The bespoke programme, Curatorial Studio: from theory to practice in museum studies equipped students with a range of critical, theoretical, and practical approaches to curating in museums and galleries. It provided an in-depth knowledge of the practical, intellectual, and ethical issues involved in the interpretation and display of objects.

By providing practical, hands-on experiences of curating, the course developed students’ knowledge and understanding of aspects of the exhibition development process, as well as team-working, organisational and communication skills.

The programme took a project-based learning approach, with students working towards curating their own group exhibitions. These will take place in November this year when the students will present their work to visiting SOAS academics, Professor Charlotte Horlyck, Professor Graeme Earl, and Professor Scott Redford, capping off their learning journey.
 

Quotes from students

“The course and the experience of having and organizing an exhibition in museum make me thrilled to even dive deeper in the field.”
 

“This experience has deepened my understanding of how curatorial and museum practices must balance storytelling, authenticity, audience engagement. It taught me to approach collections not only as historical objects but also as gateways to lived heritage, community memory, and visitor connection.”

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The programme participants with the SOAS instructors; programme participants during one of the object handling and selection sessions. Courtesy of the Royal Commission of AlUla.