My pursuing the MA in Contemporary Art Theory has to do with my recognition for the importance

of a healthy symbiosis between theory and practice. I am interested to investigate new modes of
critical thinking, engage pre-existing knowledge on contemporary arts, as well as consolidate my
experiences of working in the field. Associating relevant theoretical discourse would allow for
further understanding of critical voices and challenges in visual cultures, as well as provide
essential academic backdrops for thinking about the contemporary art landscape. My excitement
about contemporary art theory is predicated on the act of manifesting and expressing ideas
through writing and curation. For me, writing and curation are tools of mediation, negotiation and
collaboration within artistic practices. They allow me to explore aesthetic and conceptual junctions,
ones I would like to elaborate upon with the support of educational scaffolding.
Having undertaken a BA in Media and Communications (Photography) at Goldsmith's University, I
am familiar with its interdisciplinary culture and attitude. This has enabled me to empathise with the
ideas, expectations and needs of art practitioners, through my own practice as well as my
relationships with peers. I was not only able to think through theoretical frameworks, but in equal
measures learn through action which help exemplify or discount personal ideas. I still refer to
the After New Media module lead by Sarah Kember, as it has been an incredible resource and
influence for interpreting digital arts and new media discourse. Over the past few years I have
worked with over forty artists spanning three continents - made possible by the advent of digital
technologies. Throughout my engagement with emerging contemporary art practices, concepts
from After New Media have been of special pertinence. As a whole, this course lent itself to an
informed, guided, philosophical foundation in creating and reading artwork. This 'tool-kit' made me
comfortable enough to further approach and unpack concepts in visual arts discourse after
completing my degree. Within this time, I noted my apparent inclination towards curation for it
allows me to glimpse ideas of gravity and magnitude behind the existing fabric of emerging artistic
practices. My curatorial projects are fundamentally interdisciplinary with no formal training, I
experiment in relating various theoretical modalities to works of emerging contemporary artists.
The MA program to which I'm applying would allow me the opportunity to nurture my keen
aspirations and prospects in contemporary art. I reflect on Barthe's essay on the seminar while I
write this - believing in a movement towards process and collaboration as means of empowering
artists and audiences. As an example, the seminar was the structure (or lack thereof) for the Hack
the Barbican showcase at the Barbican Center in 2013, which I participated in as a co-organizer.
The 'hacker' ethos draws parallels in organizational mechanisms of both art and technology,
somewhat emphasized in Simon Denny's solo show at Serpentine Sackler gallery that took place
Spring 2016. In these environments, I perceive an accessible (not necessarily white-walled) space
of potential for conversation, subversion and alternative proposition.
This brings me to my experience working in the Art Fairs department at White Cube, a commercial
art gallery. My first job in the arts provides fascinating insight into contemporary art as capital and
commodity, in the context of the present-day British cultural climate. In this reality of art labour,
aesthetic ideals are not free-floating, but run concurrent with the socio-political and economic everyday ways of art production and consumption are brought to the fore. My observations from
partaking in this ecosystem interrelate with wider discourses on 'the contemporary'. What is the
contemporary? - itself is still a fluid area of discussion among radical thinkers, mysteriously
opening more doors while offering fewer solutions across different disciplines. We are sensing the
tactonic shifts in traditional dualisms, they begin to blend and blur in theoretical and practical life...
Haraway has described these qualities of the contemporary with analogy to the Cyborg. The
boundaries of artistic mediums seem to be in a state of dissolution, symptomatic of the
contemporary. I feel the urgent attention (perhaps as ever) turned towards theorising the now, and
my access-point is via artistic practices and their dynamisms.
Throughout my time out of education I have expanded into readings of Krauss, Harman, Bourriaud,
Bishop, Steyerl, Coulter-Smith among others. Visiting galleries has become an integrated part of
my life when in London or abroad, and I recently had the pleasure of seeing the 56th Venice
Biennale. I regularly attend public lectures; after John Russell lectured at Goldsmiths in 2013 I
went on to incorporate his work into my curation project at the time, this exhibition comprised solely
of digital artworks. It then lead me to a wonderful corner of essays by Hito Steyerl on the
representational and world of unseen spam imagery. I have catalogues, interviews and group talks

by White Cube's represented artists available to me. Alongside, I seek out other formats and
means of access - like the recent booklaunch of 'Spirit is a Bone' featuring Eyal Weizman in
conversation with Broomberg & Chanarin. Attending degree shows helps me keep abreast of the
artistic concerns among generations of new graduates, and is a means of accessing new peers.
The Institute of Contemporary Art has also been a great facility and community in the interim. In
2014, Art Fund funded my place at the ICA's Curating Artists' Film weekend as part of their Artists'
Film Biennial. I enjoyed Christian Jankowski's talk especially. This sustained exposure I feel
benefits a curatorial practice - elasticizing the capacity for varied aesthetic realms, accounting for
dominant or recurring themes, immersion in real artistic networks and subcultures, and questioning
the role and status of art today. Together with my work on exhibitions abroad (Siauliai in 2014,
Goteborg in 2015, and Novo Mesto upcoming this year), I have been able to experiment in working
cross-culturally. With differing practicalities to bear in mind and important local contextualisations to
consider, these have been stimulating creative challenges. One can feel referenced in a profile of
'the contemporary' an 'international citizen', a 'post-humanist', 'postmodern subject'. With my own
lived experience to draw on, I am often inspired to strong inter-textual, intersectional curiosities
about this elusive 'contemporary' we live in. This elusiveness is something I pointed to in my recent
exhibition at Mile End Art Pavilion entitled 'Standing in the shade' (2016), which offers a re-reading
of aura and affect.
In the long run, I hope this MA will help me acquire transferable skills for conceptualising and
materialising critical ideas. I am comfortable with project-based work in terms of planning displays
at art fairs and curating exhibitions on the side, but I would like to improve on relating this to the
academic sphere. Between work and education is a liminal space comparable to that between
theory and practice a feedback loop, with ample testing grounds. For this reason I have chosen
to do this degree part-time alongside work, believing it will enhance my studies and vice versa. The
articulation of ideas is an invaluable skill to harness, enabling an extension into more complex
conceptual territories. Effective expression and coherency are important attributes to quality art
criticism - making them undoubtedly useful to career diversification as well as undertaking further
studies. Equally can be said of learning to source relevant material and appropriate it in a
meaningful way. Good strategies in the self-management of research will help map networked
ideas, illuminate cross-sections and facilitate the exchange of critical debate. And beyond this - a
strong theoretical grounding makes possible intellectual speculation or interrogation, encouraging
forays into new discursive terrains. It is at this stage that I could aspire towards a PHD in order to
draw out an even more specific line of inquiry.
In essence: the MA in Contemporary Art Theory weaves purposefully into the interests I have
cultivated across education, gallery work and 'extracurricular activities' thus far. I have fortuitously
grown into a passion for contemporary arts, and enthusiastically occupy myself with it in my
professional life and free time. Developments in both these domains have rendered a wide
understanding of contemporary artistic practices and its discontents. I attribute this to having been
able to dip my toe into the vast world of academia during my undergraduate degree, which left me
eager and excited to explore visual cultures. In light of this, I strongly feel the next step is to refine
and elaborate upon ideas under the instruction of leading academics in this specialized field. The
opportunity would enable me to be a critical participant, develop academic finesse in my curatorial
practice, and give me skills for more varied interactions with contemporary art. I strongly believe I
am a well-suited candidate for this degree, with a healthy aptitude and appetite for intellectual
growth. With this, I am keen to offer meaningful discussions and contribute new ideas as a
member of a pioneering educational institution.