Back to What Is Contemporary Art?
The Museum of Modern Art

What Is Contemporary Art?

See the world through the eyes of today’s visionaries. Contemporary art can be challenging, but artists working today provide us with a direct lens to see the social, political, and technological shifts of our time. Whether you are a student building your academic foundation or a professional looking to sharpen your creative intuition, this course is structured around enduring themes to help you understand art being made today. This course from The Museum of Modern Art will lead you to go beyond the "what" to discover the "how" and "why" of making art. Hear directly from global artists, architects, and designers about new approaches to traditional mediums like painting and sculpture as well as cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and 3-D printing. You’ll also have the chance to explore public art, performance, and interventions into television and video games. By the end of this course, you will gain the confidence to engage with art wherever you encounter it and the tools to connect global creative trends to your own life and practice.

Status: Aesthetics
Status: Multimedia
BeginnerCourse12 hours

Featured reviews

IM

5.0Reviewed May 19, 2020

Outstanding collection of artistic philanthropists, huge awakening of Visual Arts as a vehicle to profession and put light on global and social issues.

PB

5.0Reviewed May 15, 2020

Unless you are a regular at MoMA you will learn about a wide range of artists and media that reflect a wide variety of contexts relevant to the world that we all live in.

GP

5.0Reviewed Jun 15, 2020

I discovered a lot of unfamiliar artists and topic such as border. It was worth taking this. I'm glad that I was able to absorb at this online class because it's my first time online course.

CE

5.0Reviewed Apr 20, 2020

Whether a fan of modern art or not, this course is really interesting and educational on how art is created, the story behind the piece, the materials, etc. Really well done by MOMA, thank you.

CS

5.0Reviewed Jun 26, 2020

Excellent, informative course, with much diversity. I laughed and smiled, felt awe and inspiration, cried and felt the pain and the beautiful defiance of pieces I might have never appreciated before.

NU

5.0Reviewed Aug 24, 2021

A great course for anyone interested in understanding Contemporary art and artists and also willing to go about making their own works of contemporary art.

TB

5.0Reviewed Jun 20, 2020

Thought provoking material Ideas one can apply to one's own practice Great support and fantastic course materials All up... Superb and am recommending to friends! Thank you Tim Baynes

CB

5.0Reviewed Sep 21, 2020

Greatly broadened my idea of what contemporary art is and introduced me to some very innovative andunique ways to present views of contemporary worldwide issues.

HH

5.0Reviewed Sep 3, 2020

Before I took this course, I didn't really understand what contemporary art was. Although short and not at all comprehensive, this course is eye-opening.

BS

5.0Reviewed Jun 16, 2020

Will help you broaden your perception of what is and isn't contemporary art. It will also introduce you to mediums we don't often think of as a measure of art.

MR

5.0Reviewed Mar 24, 2020

Great selections of artists . The course is full of videos, texts and interviews with the artists to delve into a beautiful journey of discovery of Contemporary Art.

NB

5.0Reviewed Jun 9, 2020

I really enjoyed this class. I honesty didn't know if i would enjoy it or not. I was skeptical, but wanted to give it a try. I really learned so much. Thank you so much.

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 419

Emily Basham
2.0
Reviewed Feb 20, 2020
Adriana Silva
1.0
Reviewed Mar 18, 2020
Alessandra M. Ribeiro
2.0
Reviewed Apr 18, 2020
Carla Eid
5.0
Reviewed Apr 21, 2020
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5.0
Reviewed Mar 13, 2020
Chisco Valdés
5.0
Reviewed Jan 23, 2020
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5.0
Reviewed Jan 20, 2020
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5.0
Reviewed Jan 23, 2020
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Reviewed Apr 13, 2020
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5.0
Reviewed Jun 16, 2020
Gavin Haughton
5.0
Reviewed May 4, 2020
Gabby C Prado
5.0
Reviewed Jun 16, 2020
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3.0
Reviewed Nov 23, 2021
Dr. Oliver Koch
3.0
Reviewed Jun 7, 2020
Miguel Ignacio Odriozola Juan
5.0
Reviewed Apr 29, 2020
Jaime Fernandez Garcia
5.0
Reviewed Apr 1, 2020
Marta Razza
5.0
Reviewed Mar 25, 2020
Odalys
5.0
Reviewed Mar 12, 2020
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5.0
Reviewed Apr 13, 2020
Paccelli Zahler
5.0
Reviewed Jan 21, 2020