Artist Rooms Launch First Massive Open Online Course

ARTIST ROOMS have launched Warhol MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) which has been developed as part of the ARTIST ROOMS research partnership between the University of Edinburgh, Tate, and the National Galleries ofScotland. This is the first art MOOC dedicated to a single artist and the first such course to be developed in a gallery/university partnership in the UK. The MOOC will introduce participants to the life and work of Andy Warhol, exploring his international standing, thematic concerns and creative innovations and examining his relationship to major artistic movements of the 20th century. The course will be delivered collaboratively by staff based in the Schoolof Designat Edinburgh College of Art and theSchoolof Educationat theUniversity of Edinburgh.

MOOCs are free online courses delivered from prestigious universities. They are open to all and encourage large-scale interactive participation. The development of this MOOC affords the opportunity for ARTIST ROOMS to do important early work in establishing the impact of MOOCs on gallery learning.

The National Galleries ofScotlandand Tate are also delighted to announce plans for the sixth ARTIST ROOMS Tour in 2014. New exhibitions and displays will go on show at 16 venues across the UK. The Tour will include theIsle of Wight, Exeterand Shetland, adding twelve new venues to ARTIST ROOMS on Tour. By the end of 2014, ARTIST ROOMS will have been shown in 66 museums and galleries nationwide and 132 displays and exhibitions will have opened since 2009. ARTIST ROOMS have been seen by 29 million people to date. The tour is supported by the National Lottery through Arts Council England and through the continued support of the Art Fund and, inScotland, support from the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

The 2014 ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays will be seen outside London and Edinburgh in Bideford, Birmingham, Denbighshire, Dumfries, Exeter, the Isle of Wight, Kilmarnock, Leicester, Middlesbrough, Northumberland, North Uist, Powys, Preston, Shetland and Thurso.

The total number of artists now included in the ARTIST ROOMS collection is 38, six having been added since the project began in 2009: Louise Bourgeois, Martin Creed, Dan Flavin, Douglas Gordon, Don McCullin and August Sander.

The continued and powerful impact of ARTIST ROOMS through the associate institutions across the country has been clearly demonstrated over the past year. Venues have seen record numbers atARTIST ROOMS displays. Highlights have included the first exhibition of the work of Andy Warhol in Northern Ireland at TheMACin Belfast; Bruce Nauman at York St Mary’s, York’s contemporary art space; Robert Mapplethorpe in Galashiels attracting 50% more visitors in the first month of display; and Martin Creed at Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, where the artist gave a performance. The New Art Gallery Walsall saw 235,938 people visit the Damien Hirst exhibition, an 18% increase in visitor figures on the previous year.

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