In my initial curatorial pitch, Against the System – Artists Who Rejected the Art World, I proposed an exhibition exploring artists who distanced themselves from institutional spaces as an act of resistance. The exhibition aimed to challenge traditional curatorial models by using unconventional spaces such as abandoned factories or hidden rooms within museums, mirroring the themes of refusal, absence, and institutional critique. The selected artists—such as Lee Lozano, Gustav Metzger, and Cady Noland—were known for their rejection of commercial art structures, often withdrawing from the public eye or creating ephemeral, self-destructive works.
After receiving feedback, I realize that my approach, while conceptually strong, requires several reconsiderations. One key critique is that all the artists I mentioned are already well-established figures within art history. As an emerging curator, I should look towards contemporary and emerging artists whose practices engage with similar ideas but who might benefit from exhibition opportunities. The suggestion to explore artists influenced by Arte Povera, Art Brut, and Outsider Art is particularly insightful, as these movements embody nonconformist artistic practices and challenge institutional norms in ways that align with my theme. I now see the potential in collaborating with lesser-known artists who actively resist conventional exhibition structures in today’s art world.
Another major area for improvement is my choice of space. While the idea of using an abandoned factory or a hidden museum room is intriguing, I need to consider feasibility, accessibility, and the practicalities of securing such spaces. My tutor’s suggestion to research Edinburgh’s Hidden Door Festival and Glasgow’s Stalled Spaces initiative offers valuable direction. These projects have successfully repurposed unconventional spaces for artistic interventions, providing models for how I might execute my exhibition more effectively. Visiting and studying such spaces will help me refine my curatorial strategy.
Additionally, I need to reconsider the exhibition’s time frame and logistical aspects, including budgeting and funding opportunities. While I originally imagined an unpredictable and ephemeral experience, sustainability and audience engagement should also be factored in. If the exhibition aims to challenge institutional structures, it must still create meaningful encounters rather than becoming inaccessible or purely conceptual.
20 March 2025 at 22:43
Aobing Wang’s peer review:
1) INDIVIDUAL CURATORIAL PROJECT：
Your blog posts so far have featured a series of discussions around the theme “Exhibitions that challenge traditional curatorial models”, showing your critical thinking about your personal curatorial projects, particularly in questioning traditional exhibition models and exploring alternative curatorial strategies, as you try to integrate approaches to decolonization, site specialization and audience interaction into your curatorial thinking.You have a solid theoretical foundation, but how to translate these theories into actionable practice for your personal curatorial projects is a question worth thinking about. In exploring exhibition Spaces, you look for many modes that break the limits of traditional exhibitions, such as family Spaces, nomadic exhibitions, and participatory installations. But how do you deal with the logistical constraints of using these non-traditional exhibition Spaces? How do you ensure that audience interaction is effective and not superficial? Perhaps you can further clarify the way the audience interacts, specifically explaining how different groups of viewers can participate and understand the content of the exhibition, especially those who lack artistic foundation.
Some exhibitions for reference:
The exhibition “Living as Form” (Creative Time, 2011), curated by Nato Thompson, offers valuable insights into socially engaged art and alternative exhibition formats.
“The People’s Biennale” (2014) — This biennale focused on alternative ways of exhibiting and audience accessibility, which might inspire strategies for engaging diverse audiences.
2)COLLECTIVE CURATORIAL PROGRAMME：
The blog about The Sleepwalkers shows your ability to collaborate, negotiate, and adapt in a team. In the discussion of the collective curatorial programme, you continue to focus on the mobility and decolonisation of exhibitions. The Sleepwalkers’ collective curatorial programme is also ready to break with the traditional exhibition model, emphasizing decentralized and diversified viewing perspectives. However, there are still limitations to the research that can be seen on the collective curatorial programme: decentralized exhibitions may suffer from a lack of thematic coherence. Without a clear structural narrative, the exhibition as a whole may appear fragmented and lacking thematic cohesion. Secondly, the arrangement of exhibition personnel coordination remains to be discussed. The flexibility of exhibitions is a strength, but it is important to ensure that the work of artists, curators and institutions is coordinated, and further discussion is needed about the transportation of works, the distribution of exhibitions and the accessibility of audiences. In addition, diverse viewing perspectives create conditions for audience participation and open interpretation, but at the same time may pose barriers to certain audiences, such as those who are unfamiliar with conceptual or participatory art. In subsequent discussions, we should focus on the balance between decentralization, exhibition coherence, and accessibility of audience interaction, while reconciling concept promotion and practical implementation.
REFERENCES：
Independent Curators International. Living as Form (The Nomadic Version). Accessed March 21, 2025. https://curatorsintl.org/exhibitions/9475-living-as-form-the-nomadic-version.
Biennial Foundation. People’s Biennial (USA). Accessed March 21, 2025. https://www.biennialfoundation.org/biennials/peoples-biennial-usa/.