Curating.info

MARCO/FRAC Lorraine Award for Young Curators
Deadline: 7pm, Friday 30th October, 2009

Organized by the MARCO, Museo de Arte Contemporánea de Vigo, Spain and FRAC Lorraine, Metz (Fonds regional d’art contemporain de Lorraine), France, the purpose of the MARCO/FRAC Lorraine Award for Young Curators is to offer participants the chance to execute an exhibition project to occupy MARCO’s first floor and the exhibition venues at FRAC Lorraine. Entries will focus on the field of contemporary artistic creation and contemplate the participation of two or more artists.

The exhibition project will have a budget of a maximum sum of 30,000 Euro for each venue. The exhibition will take place from May to September, 2010 at MARCO Vigo, and from October, 2010 and January 2011 at FRAC Lorraine. Proposals that include works from the Collection FRAC Lorraine shall be taken into account. To visit the Collection: http://collection.fraclorraine.org

All curators born in and after 1970 are eligible to enter the competition. If an entry is a group creation, one person will be chosen from that group to represent it and act as mediator with the institution. Curators will not be allowed to participate as artists. Entries must be previously unpublished and must contemplate the participation of two or more artists. No more than one project per entrant will be accepted.

The curator of the winning project will sign a contract with the Fundación MARCO and FRAC Lorraine, agreeing to comply with the functions derived from curating an exhibition, the characteristics of which will be specified in the contract. These will include the selection and location of the works, the design and supervision of the installation, and the writing of at least one text for the catalogue. The curator will receive the sum of 7,000 Euro, tax included, as an honorarium.

A jury made up of professionals of the art world will select the winning project and two finalists in November. The jury’s decision is final. The jury may declare the award void should they consider this necessary. The criteria for evaluating the entries will be based on quality and suitability to the characteristics of the first floor of the MARCO as an exhibition space and exhibition spaces at FRAC Lorraine.

The jury will be composed of:
Beatrice Josse, FRAC Lorraine Director
Iñaki Martínez Antelo, MARCO Director
Kevin Muhlen, Casino Luxembourg – Forum d’art contemporain Director
Agar Ledo Arias, MARCO Head of the Exhibitions Dept.
Pedro de Llano, Art Critic and curator

The jury’s decision will be made public in November 2009 and all participants will be notified.

Entries must be exclusively and simultaneously submitted, PDF format to the following e-mail addresses info at marcovigo.com and fraclorraine.coordination at wanadoo.fr, subject: ‘Award for Young Curators’. In case of sending additional information, please send it to: MARCO, Museo de Arte Contemporánea de Vigo. Rúa Príncipe, 54. 36202 Vigo (Pontevedra), Spain and 49 Nord 6 Est - FRAC Lorraine. 1 bis, rue des Trinitaires. 57000 Metz, France. Dossiers received in only one venue will not be accepted. Projects must be preferably written in English, although Spanish, French or Galician languages are admitted.

The closing date for the reception of entries is 7pm, Friday 30th October, 2009. Dossiers received after this time will not be accepted.

For more information:
http://www.marcovigo.com
http://www.fraclorraine.org

Conservateur en chef/Chief Curator
(English below)

Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal
185, rue Ste-Catherine Ouest, Montréal (Québec) H2X 3X5, Canada

CONDITIONS SALARIALES : Classe 3, selon l’échelle salariale du personnel d’encadrement de la fonction publique.

S.V.P. veuillez faire parvenir votre CV avant le 31 août 2009, 17 h :

Par télécopieur : (514) 847-6934 Par courriel : rh -at- macm.org

Ce concours vise à combler un poste régulier à temps plein.

ATTRIBUTIONS :

Sous l’autorité de la directrice générale, le conservateur en chef - directeur artistique et éducatif planifie, organise, dirige et contrôle les activités des unités fonctionnelles de la direction artistique et éducative, soit la collection permanente, les expositions temporaires, les expositions itinérantes, le service des archives des collections, le laboratoire de la restauration, les créations multimédias et le service de l’éducation. Il élabore les politiques muséales, particulièrement celles des collections, de la programmation, de la conservation et de la recherche s’y rapportant; il réalise, à l’occasion, des expositions. Il dirige le développement de la collection du Musée et de la conservation. Il planifie et gère le programme d’acquisitions du Musée et le contenu des catalogues d’expositions. Il dirige la recherche scientifique sur les œuvres et sur le contenu des expositions. Il gère les ressources financières, matérielles et humaines de la direction artistique et éducative.

- Définit en accord avec la directrice générale les orientations et les objectifs opérationnels propres à la direction artistique et éducative.

- Gère la collection du Musée et contribue à son interprétation et à sa mise en valeur :

- Planifie les priorités en matière d’acquisition et oriente le développement de la collection.

- Propose à la directrice générale les œuvres à acquérir (par achat ou par don) ou à prendre en dépôt, propose et présente les dossiers au comité consultatif de la collection.

- Élabore, oriente et supervise la réalisation de la programmation des expositions de la collection permanente, temporaires et itinérantes et des créations multimédias.

- Conçoit et réalise des expositions.

- Planifie, supervise et contrôle les budgets de la direction artistique et éducative.

- Participe au comité de direction du Musée, ainsi qu’aux comités consultatifs de programmation, de la collection et autres du conseil d’administration s’il y a lieu.

- Représente et véhicule la vision de la direction du Musée auprès d’autres institutions et associations muséales, nationales ou internationales et auprès de certaines instances publiques ou privées. Participe au rayonnement du Musée en œuvrant au sein d’organismes professionnels québécois, canadiens et internationaux.

CONDITIONS D’ADMISSION ET EXIGENCES :

- Être titulaire d’un diplôme universitaire de deuxième cycle en histoire de l’art.

- Posséder au moins dix (10) années d’expérience pertinente à titre de commissaire d’expositions et de rédacteur de textes et avoir une connaissance approfondie de l’art contemporain, du milieu artistique et de la muséologie.

- Avoir à son actif des réalisations pertinentes.

- Démontrer des qualités de gestionnaire.

- Capacité de travailler en équipe.

- Haut niveau de créativité et d’innovation.

- Capacités développées en matière de communication orale et écrite.

- Connaissance des logiciels de bureautique compris dans la suite Microsoft Office.

- Excellente maîtrise de la langue française, parlée et écrite ; très bonne connaissance de la langue anglaise, parlée et écrite.

English version:
Chief Curator
(Artistic and Education Department)

COMPENSATION: Class 3, as per salary scale for management personnel in the public service.

Competition to fill a permanent full-time position.

PLEASE NOTE: The working language of the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal is French.

DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Reporting to the Director, the Chief Curator and Director, Artistic and Education Department plans, organizes, directs and oversees the activities of the various functions of the Artistic and Education Department: the permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, travelling exhibitions, collection archives, conservation laboratory, multimedia events and education services. S/he develops museum policies, particularly those pertaining to collections, programming, curatorial services and related research, and occasionally organizes exhibitions; oversees the development of the museum’s collection and curatorial services; plans and manages the museum’s acquisitions program and the content of exhibition catalogues; supervises scholarly research on works and exhibition contents; and administers the financial, material and human resources of the Artistic and Education Department. Duties include:

-In consultation with the Director, define the specific operating objectives and strategies of the Artistic and Education Department.

-Manage the museum’s collection and contribute to interpreting and showcasing it.

-Plan acquisition priorities and guide collection development.

-Submit proposals to the Director for works to acquire (through purchases or gifts) or to accept on loan, and propose and present cases to the Collection Advisory Committee.

-Develop, guide and supervise the programming of exhibitions from the permanent collection, temporary and travelling exhibitions, and multimedia events.

-Plan and organize exhibitions.

-Plan, oversee and monitor budgets of the Artistic and Education Department.

-Play an active role on the museum’s Management Committee, Collection Advisory Committee, Programming Advisory Committee and other Board committees, as required.

-Represent and convey the vision of the museum’s management to other museums and museum associations, both national and international, and to various public and private authorities. Promote the museum through involvement in professional organizations in Québec, across Canada and on the international scene.

QUALIFICATIONS:

- Master’s degree in art history.

- Minimum ten years’ relevant experience in curating exhibitions and writing essays and articles, and a thorough knowledge of contemporary art, the arts community and museology.

- A record of relevant accomplishments.

- Demonstrated management skills.

- Ability to work in a team.

- High level of creativity and innovation.

- Well-developed oral and written communication skills.

- Knowledge of Microsoft Office.

- Excellent command of written and spoken French; proficiency in written and spoken English.

Please submit your résumé no later than August 31, 2009, before 5 p.m.:
By fax: (514) 847-6934 By email: rh -at- macm.org

IKT, the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, held its annual congress in Helsinki and Tallinn from 23-26 April 2009.

IKT members from all over the world congregated in Helsinki and Tallinn for four days of intense activity. The congress participants visited Kiasma, the Ateneum, EMMA, Helsinki City Art Museum, Forum Box, the Cable Factory, FRAME, KUMU, and many more venues that were part of an optional gallery crawl on the first evening. The initial period of the Congress was spent in the beautiful Finnish capital, and was punctuated by a conference on the subject of "belonging and un-belonging". The Congress also travelled to Tallinn, taking in the Ars Fennica Award exhibition at KUMU, enjoying a lunch and continuation of the conference with presentations and a screening of "Monolith" by Kristina Norman (who represented Estonia at the Venice Biennale this year). After wrapping up with the annual General Assembly back in Helsinki at Kiasma, optional post-Congress activities began, composed of studio tours themed around media art, photography, and painting.

The conference programme featured papers from T.J. Demos, Kati Kivinen, Solvita Krese, Suzana Milevska, and Kristina Norman. The theme of "belonging and un-belonging" took many twists and turns: political, aesthetic, comical, academic. Perhaps the strongest response was generated in reaction to Kristina Norman's video, "Monolith", which depicted the relocation, by the Estonian government, of the statue of the Bronze Soldier from a very central location in Tallinn to a military cemetery a few kilometers away (which IKT members visited during our time in Tallinn!). The statue, which is a political firebrand, and its relocation caused passionate reactions in both the Estonian community and the local Russian community. Norman's work portrayed the situation with some humour (one sequence depicted the statue hurtling through outer space) and with distance: both the Estonians and the Russians were portrayed "equally badly" (paraphrasing here) in the quasi-documentary. This tension over this statue and what it represents meshed well with Solvita Krese's discussion of public art and monuments, highlighting the power of symbols in the public realm and their placement. The question then, of these symbols and their placement, and the work of artists and curators to create and situate these symbols, creates more questions in one's mind than answers, but proved to be an excellent frame for discussions around a subject as expansive as "belonging and un-belonging".

Aside from seeing a lot of interesting artwork, taking part in debates, and meeting new colleagues, there were several special moments. A very interesting whistlestop tour through several artists' studios at the Cable Factory culminated in a lovely dinner, lots of prosecco, and performances. I love Helsinki as a city, and savoured many personal moments, such as picking up a pastry at the Hakaniemi Market, trying to follow along with Finnish karaoke taking place at a local bar, and enjoying a dish of vorschmack at Cella with new and old friends. Of course it wouldn't be a logistically challenging trip involving hundreds of people without a surreal moment or two when difficulties arise. For example, a bit of confusion as some members were attempting to purchase tickets for the ferry to Tallinn was devolving into complete chaos until IKT Board Member Maria Lind magically appeared, gently commandeered the situation, and whisked us off to an quieter ferry terminal where departing ferries were miraculously quicker and cheaper. We had some lemons, and Maria made us some lemonade!

At the General Assembly, the board presented the financial situation of the past year and some discussions were had around future Congress locations, as well as requirements for members and the evolution of the IKT website. The IKT archive project is still ongoing (notably, a PhD student who is doing her dissertation on the history of IKT has been able to assist in this effort) and the board will continue to develop the archive into a real resource for the members and other researchers.

All in all, it was a wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with curators from around the globe, and the IKT membership looks forward to Athens next year, and Luxembourg and Metz the following year.

You can view my photos from the Congress here.

I attended this Congress because of the generous assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Call for Proposals:
On Gonzo Curating

I (Max Presneill, Curator of the Torrance Art Museum) was interested to read recently, on oncurating.org and at newcurator.com, some of their reader’s responses to the questions regarding topics that should be raised and what the purpose of a museum is, respectively. While I feel that there is space and time enough in the world to cover many areas and to be many things the bottom line must remain actual exhibitions/curatorial projects.. The last thing we need is to become so academic that we end up talking to ourselves about ourselves only - as can be seen in some arenas. This is not to downplay the importance of a dialogue and the conceptualizing of our field but more as a warning not to become too hermetic in our relationship to the world at large. A move towards self-reflexivity in our programming and a determined drive to ask harder questions about our own practices as an institutional art site are welcome, as is an extended scope of possibilities within curatorial approaches – which many curators and institutions are addressing admirably in various countries and that we also can contribute to.

To engage others, to become more collaborative and interactive with outside curators and professionals worldwide, to see our programming develop more hand-in-hand with a global enquiry and with curators in different contexts with different aims and agendas, alongside fulfilling our obligation to visually and intellectually engage a myriad of different types of visitor, can perhaps be sought via different routes, for example a form of crowd-sourcing? This is one potential approach we at TAM would like to follow up on…

To this end I would like to invite artists and curators (or anyone else for that matter) to present project proposals to the Torrance Art Museum. My feeling is that as a small museum of contemporary art our strength lies in our ability to react to moments in art, quickly (for a museum) and efficiently, within a limited budget. We cannot compete with large museum blockbuster shows but we can respond to the ideas referencing the role of art, curators, museums, etc within the world. What better way to do this than by actually offering a site for the production of some of these projects that deal with our concerns directly. TAM should be an artist’s museum, a curator’s museum and our audience’s museum for active engagement – so if this strikes a chord with you then feel free to send proposals to us. We will respond to them all and will shortlist those that we respond the strongest to (whatever that subjectively means) and try to schedule a number of these for the 2011/2012 programming.

We make no claims for this being an original idea, nor innovative, nor groundbreaking and we have no real idea how this experiment will succeed or fail but we feel it is worth finding out - so…proposals on a disc please to:

Torrance Art Museum
c/o Max Presneill, Curator
3320 Civic Center
Torrance, CA 90509, USA

About the Museum
The Torrance Art Museum is a small contemporary art museum located in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. It has a vibrant and fast paced programming schedule that covers the latest developments in current art regionally, nationally and internationally, as well as innovative curatorial projects featuring both emerging and established artists.

Reporting to the Senior Curator of Programs and the Assistant Curator of Exhibitions, Curatorial Interns provide a range of administrative and research assistance to The Power Plant's Curatorial and Programming team.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Administration

- Filing and labeling exhibition and public programming materials
- Managing the research library
- Updating the catalogue exchange database
- Helping to coordinate the submissions review program
- Compiling exhibition checklists and didactic panels
- Assisting with artist and speaker travel, hotel arrangements and hospitality
- Securing images for publications and PR
- Helping to fulfill catalogue orders
- Assisting in compiling packages for artists, galleries, and lenders

Research

- Researching artists, performers, film makers, and lecturers for exhibitions and programs
- Compiling exhibition reading packs and bibliographies
- Proposing themes and participants for public program events

Writing

- Preparing texts on artists, public programs and exhibitions

Public Interaction

- Assisting at exhibition openings and public programs
- Writing and leading one gallery tour of the current exhibition
- Responding to enquiries from the public

Requirements and Timeframe:
Internships are open to anyone with a serious interest in contemporary art who has completed an undergraduate degree within the visual arts, art history or humanities.

A minimum of two days per week for three months is required, during regular office hours of 9am - 5pm (or the equivalent number of hours over a shorter time period). Hours do not need to span two full days and can be spread out over the course of a week.

How to Apply for an Internship
Please send the following materials:

- CV
- letter outlining why you would like to intern at The Power Plant. Include details of when you would seek to start/finish and confirm your ability to meet the necessary time requirements
- contact information for two referees (one academic, one previous employer)
- writing sample (a class essay, a published text, or an article that you intend for publication: avoid anything too personal or flowery)

Send materials to: desposito -at- harbourfrontcentre.com

There is no strict deadline for applying for a Curatorial Internship. However, the Power Plant suggests that you contact them at least four months in advance as Curatorial Internships are competitive and are typically confirmed several months in advance.

Please direct responses to:
Daniela Esposito, Head Animatuer
The Power Plant
231 Queens Quay West
Toronto, ON M5J 2G8 Canada

thepowerplant -at- harbourfrontcentre.com

T: 1-416-973-4949

Stills is offering an 18-month Fellowship to an arts professional of minority ethnic background.

The Fellow will contribute significantly to Stills' curatorial and programming activities, which supports artistic and photographic practice through an integrated programme of exhibitions, events, creative projects and public engagement.

Stills is particularly interested in individuals with good research skills and awareness of issues within contemporary visual art and photography, as well as issues about diversity, representation, migration and diaspora.

Stills works with Scottish, UK and international artists and with communities to present and explore contemporary visual art and photography. Located in the centre of the Scottish capital, Stills' work provides an innovative complement to the extraordinary year round artistic and social activities for which Edinburgh is famously known.

The Fellowship is funded by the Scottish Arts Council, as part of its commitment to promote equality of opportunity for minority ethnic practitioners within the terms of the provision of Section 35, 37(1) of the Race Relations Act 1976 (amended).

Salary - scale £16,259 – £17,789 plus £4k training budget, Full Time.

The deadline for your application to reach Stills is 10am Monday 20 July 2009.

For more information, please send a SAE to Beth Miller, Stills, 23 Cockburn St, Edinburgh, EH1 1BP, or visit the Stills website for a downloadable form.

Welcome to July's Pick 'N Mix!

- This report on a curatorial summit at the Banff Centre for the Arts appears to have slipped past my radar when it first came out, but thankfully Leah Sandals (the author of the report) mentioned it again recently. Trade Secrets: Swapping Curatorial Confidences was a summit held in late 2008 with eminent curators in the field, including Matthew Higgs, Mark Mayer, Richard Flood, Sabine Breitwieser and many more. At one point in the report, Sandals quotes Barbican curator Francesco Manacorda, saying he was "very frightened about many curatorial projects having as an audience colleagues only. [...] very often in curating, people disregard one of the two final clients of the curator—the public or the artist" -- a concern I agree with and touched on in my "For What and For Whom?" essay.

- If you're keen to participate in debates and discussions, LabforCulture is producing three online discussions that are sure to provide stimulating platforms for exchange. "Converging Pathways to New Knowledge" promises to unpick some juicy topics on knowledge sharing in the cultural domain through live online debates taking place on the 7th, 8th, and 13th of July. While you're browsing their site, if you are also a cultural blogger, why not add yourself to their growing map?

- Jerry Saltz describes "the curator problem" in a recent article. The "problem" as he sees it is illustrated in the exhibitions curated by Birnbaum at the Venice Biennale, which in Saltz's words are "full of the reflexive conceptualism that artists everywhere now produce because other artists everywhere produce it (and because curators curate it). Almost all of this art comments on art, institutions or modernism. Basically, curators seem to love video, text, explanations, things that are "about" something, art that references Warhol or Prince, or that makes sense; they seem to hate painting, things that don’t make sense or that involve overt materiality, physicality, color or strangeness." This call for further risk-taking by Saltz is consistent with his other campaigns and appeals to curators. There is a long but fascinating account of his encounter with Ann Temkin, Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at MoMA available online which also presses for diversification and risk-taking: "MoMA desperately needs this to play with its collection. [...] Beuys, Nauman, and Hesse are all bona fide top-dogs; the A-list as art history. I love them all but curators have to take more chances and not just default to the same artists. Other artists were working at extremely high levels in the late 1960s." I admire Saltz's integrity -- not only is he consistent in his arguments, but I think it's a rare art critic that would go out with a high-ranking curator for the sole purpose of having a serious collegial debate -- and Temkin is to be commended too, for taking Saltz up on his invitation.

- On a personal note, I'm quite busy converting my Master's thesis on the voice, performance and technology into a book. Despite that, plus my regular job, plus a bit of summer holiday too, I hope to soon post some (long-overdue, and sitting at 99% completion) interviews and book reviews. Stay tuned!