Week 2 Platforms and organisations

Lecture Reflection

In this week’s reading on the Visual Arts Exhibitionary Complex (VAEC), Smith (2017) argues that mapping the wider institutional and conceptual context of curation provides a useful framework. He also concludes that mapping these grammatical patterns can clarify the fundamentals of curatorship as a practice. (Smith, 2017) In the reading, a diagram outlines the development of the role of the professional in VAEC, the types of exhibitions, formats, curatorial styles and modes of making sense of exhibitions. I think that such a toolkit of discourse can serve to facilitate curators’ understanding of their profession and its potential within the VAEC.

The lecture further introduced Counterspace, an independent curatorial platform. It functions as the first decolonial think tank mapping cultural activities around the world. It has the aim of creatively decolonising culture, connecting countercultural experiences with radical culture shapers while at the same time encouraging participation in collective mechanisms aimed at others. (Counterspace, 2021) I think that this platform will contribute by providing research material for artists and curators to use their creativity to address the theme of the current situation and future possibilities.

My Curatorial Project

Concerning this platform for expanding the possibilities of curatorial research, my curatorial project will propose a platform for the digital conversion of street art archives, enabling access and long-term preservation for audiences worldwide. The platform will allow any online viewer to contribute to the curation of street art, expanding the boundaries between artists, curators and viewers. Boscaino (2022) mentions the global nature of street art, which has grown in parallel with the development of the web, as a reason why street art is suited to digitisation. It has become equally distributed in this particular way. The popularity of Street Art among younger generations has been attributed to by its suitability for digital media (Irvine, 2012), suggesting the feasibility and growth potential of digitally storing Street Art archives on platforms. The interaction that occurs between Street Art and its audience, whereby the general audience can distribute large quantities of images, photographs, stories and other performances over the internet, can contribute to the value of the work.

References:

Boscaino, M. (2022). Exploring street art in the digital era: how the value of street art is co-created (Doctoral dissertation, University of Birmingham).

Counterspace (2021). London. Accessed on March 18, 2024. Retrieved from https://counterspace.zone/about/

Irvine M. (2012). Work on the Street: Street Art and Visual Culture. In B. Sandywell & I. Heywood (Eds.) The Handbook of Visual Culture (pp.235-278). London: Berg/Palgrave Macmillan.

Smith, T. (2017). Mapping the Contexts of Contemporary Curating: The Visual Arts Exhibitionary Complex. Journal of curatorial studies, 6(2), 170-180.