This is the review I wrote for Juyee Lu:
“In terms of clarity and structure, the posts lack continuity of research. Your latest post is about wayward curating (Whittle, 2019), which is associated with the reading material in week 3. It is crucial for curators to consider the curatorial approach and gestures one takes to initiate a curatorial programme. It would be nice to discuss the material at the beginning and include reading materials from the course consecutively in a weekly structure.
For the content, although it is interesting to see the linkage you made between the position of artwork and the programme from the perspective of the spatial relationship of the venue, however, it would be nice if the research focus be re-oriented to the schemes and structures of events and programme that are relevant to your individual theme. Round-table conferences and workshops often appear as educational formats, the pedagogical counterpart that provides support in the context of exhibitorary fairs (Wilson & O’neill, 2010). Thus, by turning the a conference into an annual curatorial practice, the rigour of the structure and the consistency of the knowledge network should be considered in the context of curation. In this sense, practicability should also be taken into consideration apart from pure input of art theories, which includes not only the programme schedule but also matters of “organizing, managing and fundraising (Martin, 2007)”.
You mentioned considering venues located within the living quarters of minority communities, which aligns well with the chosen theme. In addition to the symposiums, your program also adopts a collaborative approach with other social organizations. It bears resemblance to the artist-led community program, Kotti-shop (2024), which shares mutual care in addressing social issues within the local community and society.
Your consideration of the entrance fee demonstrates your responsibility for the guest speakers as an independent curator. This arrangement could be further explored to align with the two research orientations you proposed, the audience engagement and the documentation means of the programme. Take, for example, Ruine München (2023), a nomadic art organization. Their ephemeral events were documented in publications, allowing the generated knowledge to remain effective over time. By involving the public, artistic dialogues were opened up, breaking the closed circuit. Utilizing various mediums effectively could help connect and spread ideologies to a wider audience.
For improvements, since the program has demonstrated collective efforts in addressing contemporary issues, it would be beneficial to incorporate reflection of the group project. Currently, this aspect appears to be lacking. Also, some references are missing. For example, references to exhibitions and art projects were not included. Such as the projects of CCA and the mentioend artworks of Summerhall. Also the data that serves to be the foundational theory of the programme seems lacking, for instance, the report from the organization Art-Fund in week 4. Finally, it would be nice to have all the references documented using the same referencing style.
The general design layout is accessible. However, it would be better to organize the visual content in a more uniform format, with unitary sizing and accurate references, such as Figure 1.2.3…”
Reference：
Kotti-Shop (2024) Kotti-Shop. Available at: https://kotti-shop.net/en/ (Accessed: 26 March 2024).
Martin, J-H. (2007) ‘Independent Curatorship’, in S. Rand and H. Kouris (eds) Cautionary Tales:Critical Curating.New York: Apexart, pp.36-45.
Ruine München (2023) Ruine München Companions. Available at: https://www.ruine-muenchen.de/index.html#about (Accessed: 27 March 2024).
Whittle,A (2019) “Biting the Hand That Feeds You: A Strategy of Wayward Curating”, Critical Arts, 33:6, 110-123, DOI: 1080/02560046.2019.1688848, 116-122
Wilson, M. & O’neill, P. (2010) Curatorial counter-rhetorics and the educational turn. Journal of visual art practice. [Online] 9 (2), 183–187.
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