This week we pay a visit to Talbot Rice Gallery and had a workshop with James. We learned how Talbot Rice Gallery is designed and tried to get a first glimpse of the curatorial activities in the workshop.

During James’ presentation, I was very interested in the relationship between the building and the curatorial activity. For example, he mentioned that the building was built in 1775 and that many aspects of it were adapted to fit the exhibition gallery. The lighting of the exhibition hall was one of the important aspects, in some spaces, the exhibition hall used natural light sources, in other spaces, the exhibition hall used artificial light sources, and in this way to create a different feeling. The color of the light and the form of the light source have a great impact on the psychology of the audience and the state of the visit. The exhibition hall’s design of space is equally striking. In some rooms, the exhibition hall has a large space of up to 9 meters with bright lighting, which can create a relaxed and atmospheric atmosphere, while in other rooms, the ceiling seems to cling to visitors at all times, giving them a depressing feeling. The use of walls in the space is equally important, and a properly functioning gallery must have objects such as fire exits, utility rooms and elevators. How to cut these objects away from the exhibition itself through the walls so that they do not affect the visitors’ experience is a topic worth discussing. In the Talbot Rice Gallery, the designers use lighting and wall color to guide visitors, so that the wall can be used to block miscellaneous items from affecting the visitor experience.

In James’ workshop, we first listed the exhibition topics we were interested in, and then took the initiative to introduce the artist groups we were willing to collaborate with. I personally introduced Situationist International, a group of left-wing artists who are committed to reconceptualizing the institutions of real life and critiquing the conventional nature of consumer society and modern life. I was also impressed to learn about the curatorial plan for the budget, which Talbot Rice Gallery keeps a detailed record of the incoming and outgoing accounts for the curatorial work.

I have definitely benefited from my studies at Talbot Rice Gallery and hope that I will be able to use it in my subsequent curatorial work.

WEEK 3 BLOG / Jianhao Lai / Curating (2022-2023)[SEM2] by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0