Curating.info

Symposium: November 12–14, 2010
Banff International Curatorial Institute
The Banff Centre

Deadline: April 23, 2010

Curating contemporary art is, by nature, a field demarcated by flux and change, and thus remains to a great extent - and perhaps by necessity - an improvised and unregulated practice. In recent decades, however, it has experienced an unprecedented turn toward professionalization; the proliferation of curatorial and museum studies programs alone are evidence of this shift. We have also witnessed culture’s turn toward festivalization, of which the worldwide vogue for biennials is an example. In this context the profession and authority of the curator have undergone a simultaneous expansion and diminishment. Twenty years on, after the introduction of the first curatorial studies programs, there now exists an expansive curatorial class, which must contend with this unstable identity that persists between practice and profession.

In November 2010, The Banff Centre will host Are Curators Unprofessional?, the latest in the ongoing series of BICI symposia, which will examine the curator’s complex and changing relationship to notions of professionalism, expertise, ethics and modes of conduct. Developed in collaboration with Scott Watson from the University of British Columbia and Barbara Fischer from the University of Toronto, this symposium will provide a forum for leading international curators, museum professionals, educators, art historians, critics, students and artists to discuss and debate key issues in this area.

The panel Are Curators Unprofessional (Enough)? will analyze moments of crisis in the profession and ask: When is it necessary to be (un)professional? What issues exist within a field that is demarcated by instability? In the following Craftwork session, panelists will analyze the craft of exhibition making, by examining exhibitions that have provoked paradigm shifts. Is curating a trade or craft, rather than a profession? What skills must a curator possess? Which exhibitions have provoked paradigm shifts? The Catalogue is Out! session will scrutinize the emergence of curatorial writing as a genre and question its unique position and function in relation to art criticism and art history. What, if any, is the function of the catalogue? How does it mediate between the work of art and the world? What is the difference between criticism, curatorial writing and art history? Lastly, the Judge and Jury panel will illuminate the politics of taste, consider the ramifications of judgment with respect to curating and identify the continual attempt to re-distribute the power of judgment.

Submit a 200-word abstract and short CV to:

Banff International Curatorial Institute
The Banff Centre
Box 1020, 107 Tunnel Mountain Dr
Banff, AB, T1L 1H5
Email: VA_Admin -at- banffcentre.ca

We encourage submissions from young scholars, including graduate and PhD students. Please submit a 200 abstract and short CV to [email protected] by April 23, 2010, 5:00 p.m. All contributors should include their name, address, telephone number and email address.

Please note this event is funding dependent.

Program dates: January 04, 2010 - July 02, 2010 (Successful applicants will initially be offered a 6 month contract but this may be extended with the approval of the participant and The Banff Centre. )

Application deadline: October 30, 2009

The curatorial work study program with the Walter Phillips Gallery is designed for emerging curators. This is a hands-on opportunity that allow individuals to work on projects with direct mentorship and support in a multitude of areas focusing on the participants learning objectives, and may include curatorial studies and arts management and administration. Learning opportunities may be formal sessions and/or workshops or informal opportunities arising out of daily situations. The work portion of the experience will primarily focus on activities that complement the participant’s learning objectives as the work relates to the real and ongoing activities of the Walter Phillips Gallery.

Work study placements are appropriate for individuals wishing to leave their work worlds or formal advanced studies for a period of time to expand their careers, professional experience, and capabilities.These programs require full-time commitment and independent thinking. All participants sign a learning contract that assists in the evaluation of their work study experience.

Applicants or leaders from professional arts organizations, cultural and technology industries, other training organizations, colleges and universities, research centres, and labour and government agencies are encouraged to approach Visual Arts to create work study partnerships.

For more information, and to apply, visit the Banff Centre for the Arts website.

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!

Call for Registration: Banff International Curatorial Institute Symposium: Trade Secrets
Education/Collection/History
Conference dates: November 12 - 14, 2008
Application deadline: October 31, 2008

The latest in the ongoing series of the Banff International Curatorial Institute (BICI) conferences, Trade Secrets will re-focus the collective discussion about the curatorial profession by exploring specific issues regarding: the education of curators; the challenges facing collection-based curators; trends in curatorial research; and the writing of curatorial histories.

Invited guests include François Aubart, Wayne Baerwaldt, Sabine Breitwieser, AA Bronson, Heather Diack, Joseph del Pesco, Rosemary Donegan, Sam Durant, Barbara Fischer, Richard Flood, Teresa Gleadowe, Matthew Higgs, Candice Hopkins, Céline Kopp, Ken Lum, Francesco Manacorda, Marc Mayer, Cuauhtémoc Medina, Lourdes Morales, and Joanna Mytkowska.

To apply to attend, visit the Banff International Curatorial Institute website.

Visual Arts Curatorial Program: Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada
Program dates: August 04, 2008 - March 27, 2009
Application deadline: April 30, 2008
Note: Program dates exclude December 13, 2008, to January 4, 2009.

This work study program with The Banff Centre’s Walter Phillips Gallery is designed for emerging curators. This is a hands-on opportunity that allows the participant to work on projects with direct mentorship and support in a multitude of areas focusing on the participants learning objectives. Learning opportunities may be formal sessions, workshops, or informal opportunities arising out of daily situations. The work portion of the experience will primarily focus on activities that complement the participant’s learning objectives as the work relates to the real and ongoing activities of the Walter Phillips Gallery. For further information, please visit the Banff Centre for the Arts' website.

Work Study: Curatorial/Educational Outreach
Program dates: April 01, 2008 - March 27, 2009
Application deadline: March 28, 2008

This work study participant works closely with the senior curator and other members of the Walter Phillips Gallery team. This work study program with the Walter Phillips Gallery is designed for emerging curators who also have an interest in developing skills relating to educational outreach. This is a hands-on opportunity that allows the participant to work on projects with direct mentorship and support in a multitude of areas focusing on their learning objectives. Learning opportunities may be formal sessions, workshops, or informal opportunities arising out of daily situations. The work portion of the experience will primarily focus on activities that complement the participant’s learning objectives as the work relates to the real and ongoing activities of the Walter Phillips Gallery.

For more information, visit the Banff Centre's website.