Introduction
International Encounter on Curating
strategies and challenges for curatorial practices of contemporary art for the next decade
Organized by Permanent Forum: Art Museums between; the public and private domains.
Centro Cultural São Paulo 17th and 18th of September 2010
Why the curator’s role become such an important issue in the last decade? The role and profile of the curator has expanded in a such a way that today it comprises mainly all cultural practices in an art institution. Questions arise from this expanded field:
Is curatorship also corresponding to other expectations such as globalism, diversity, sustainability, connectivity and networking? Are we really aware of this expansion and of the demands of this complexity? Or are we still under the influence of the “Modernist curator style”, based on authorship, blockbusters events and big gestures? Are we prepared to develop new curatorial structures, programs, strategies and operations? How curatorial discourse has changed during this period and what are the dominant forms of curatorial practice that have developed during this time? Is there a balance between contextual/local and globalized demands in curatorial thinking and practice? The research period for large-scale exhibitions has decreased dramatically with the expansion of biennial culture and the acceleration of the arts global economy. How has the issue of temporality affected the work of the curator? Is Contemporary Art also shaped by curatorship nowadays or vice-versa? How? Which are the artistic and cultural costs? Curating in an expanded field is able to develop critique, to relate present demands with the historical experiences? Curating is really caring about the audience, about individual liberties? and about the Public Sphere? How curatorship, as a critical mediation and bridging activity, is dealing with its social and cultural role? Still very much based on Enlightenment educational notions, on hierarchical orders, or in fact facing the challenge of developing horizontal, dialogical actions? Curatorial teaching and post-graduate programs are just coping with the demand or are forming curators that will lead critically artistic and cultural processes in the future? Are we missing something or wanting too much? What are the strategies and challenges for curatorial practices of contemporary art for the next decade?
During one full day - Friday 17th of September - from 9:30 am to 4 pm, we will get together, close doors, and gather around thematic and simultaneous tables, each of them with one mediator and one "critical reviewer". The mediator will introduce the theme of the table and coordinate the discussion and the reviewer will write a critical report on the discussions. Towards the end of the first day, all participants are invited to take part in the preparation of the event that will happen the day after. The second day, Saturday, 18th of September, at 6:30 pm, we would all get together for a two hour public presentation of the main points discussed the day before, for a wider audience (an open event). Each mediator will be in charge of a presentation on the second day, and an open debate will follow. This event will be webcasted by Fórum Permanente. A reporter and a reviewer will also be invited to contribute to this occasion. All material gathered in this encounter will be published on the website.
Image: Antoni-Muntadas | On translation - 2002.
Venue: Centro Cultural São Paulo, Rua Vergueiro 1000
Dates: 17th to 18th September 2010. This event is closed to people invited on the 17th and open to the public on Saturday 18th at 18:30hrs
Organized by Permanent Forum: Art Museums between: the public and private domains.
Contact and more information: [email protected]
