As Foster articulated in his critical scrutiny of the complexity of community engagement in contemporary art in The Artist as Ethnographer, we can observe a subtle interplay between artists, community groups, and institutional frameworks. He criticises how artists’ superficiality in interacting with communities can potentially reinforce rather than challenge ethnographic authority, a perspective that he complements with a discussion of artistic contexts’ sociocultural power.

The tension between art practice’s personal intention and public perception in community participation is underlined by the interwoven narratives in this work. One recurring theme is the moral responsibilities of the artist as creator and participant in culturally charged spaces. The discussion highlighted the importance of reflexivity and awareness among artists of their impact on the communities they interact with, which has informed my curatorial project, where I deliberately selected artists who worked with homeless populations and integrated their insights into the project. Through incorporating anthropological sensibilities into exhibitions, artists and curators can foster more meaningful and respectful interactions that add a cultural dimension to art consumption, and simultaneously enable a conducive dialogue that is mindful of community institutions.

This marks a key paradigmatic shift in contemporary art, which seeks, through a more ethical practice, the understanding and integration of the entailing complexities of community dynamics, power relations, and cultural representations. Such a change is fundamental for contemporary art to become a platform for social critique and community empowerment on top of its aesthetic and expressive potential.

WEEK9 / Ziyi Chen / Curating (2023-2024)[SEM2] by is licensed under a