Through studying the content of the Week 1 class and researching the exhibition of artist Marina Abramović, I have gained a deeper understanding of curating and its potential as a tool for self-exploration.

From Sacred Space to Public Spectacle

Historically, curating has functioned as a kind of “faith alchemy”—as exemplified by the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—using visual spectacle to convey religious authority and power structures to the public. Since the 19th century, public museums have gradually taken on the role of educating the public and constructing national ideologies, shifting exhibitions from the private sphere into a cultural mechanism oriented toward the masses.

Cappella Sistina

When Spectacle Fails: Rethinking the Biennial

However, as Carolee Thea points out in On Curating, “large-scale exhibitions such as biennials have increasingly become spectacles, weakening their critical functions. In contrast,”  Marina Abramović’s The Artist Is Present constructs a ritualistic space through gaze and silence, awakening the audience’s perception of inner emotion and spiritual energy. This led me to reflect: can such a profound experience of viewing still be preserved within standardized exhibition mechanisms? Or is it being compressed into a fast-consumed “viewing moment”?

Micro-Curating as a Space for Introspection

Ana Edurne Bilbao Yarto’s concept of micro-curating offers another possibility. She emphasizes that small visual arts organizations (SVAOs), functioning as “laboratories” across different global contexts, can sustain non-mainstream and localized curatorial discourse. This structure not only challenges curatorial centralization but also provides a more fertile ground for self-exploration.

Therefore, if curating is regarded as a narrative practice of the self, the intimate, flexible, and decentralized environments fostered by SVAOs may be more capable of inspiring deep connections and critical reflection between individuals and audiences than institutionalized exhibitions. This perspective sets a tone—both emotional and political—for my future curatorial projects.

Rreference:

By The original uploader was Snowdog at Italian Wikipedia. – http://artchive.com/ftp_site.htm Transferred from it.wikipedia to Commons by Pierpao using CommonsHelper., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18462479

Week 1: Curating Alchemy & Inner Worlds / Shumiao Cheng / Curating (2024-2025)[SEM2] by is licensed under a