Introducation:
This week’s exploration of the artist-curator challenged the traditional boundaries between art-making and exhibition-making. Fran Cottell’s House Projects was particularly inspiring, as it redefined exhibition spaces by integrating them into lived environments, showing that curation can be fluid, personal, and embedded in everyday life. Similarly, the speculative curatorial projects we discussed in the workshop—especially those that engaged with audience participation, social perception, and unconventional spaces—made me think about how I want to structure my own curatorial project.
Moving forward, I am particularly interested in curating as an immersive, participatory process rather than a passive viewing experience. My project will focus on creating a situational exhibition where audience interaction is central, using space, performance, and dialogue as key curatorial tools.
The Artist-Curator: Rethinking Curatorial Methods
The artist-curator does not separate artistic practice from curatorial practice but instead integrates the two. This approach resonated with me because it treats curation itself as a creative medium rather than a neutral framework for displaying artworks. Fran Cottell’s House Projects inspired me to think beyond the typical exhibition model—she transformed her home into an exhibition site, making the audience reconsider their relationship with space, objects, and art.
This challenges the assumption that exhibitions need to exist in formal institutional spaces. Instead, it opens up possibilities for curating in unconventional locations—public spaces, domestic settings, or even transient, mobile spaces. This is a key influence on my own curatorial project, as I want to design an exhibition where the space itself plays a role in shaping audience experience, rather than merely functioning as a backdrop for artworks.
Speculative Curatorial Projects: Experimental Approaches & Practical Applications
Our workshop discussions introduced speculative curatorial projects that emphasized risk, trust, and audience participation. Two projects in particular—Sarah Percival’s Open Studio and Beichen Huang’s Situational Exhibition—inspired me to think about how curation can be structured as an interaction rather than just a display.
Key reflections from these projects that apply to my own curatorial approach:
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The exhibition as an evolving process – Percival’s idea of an open studio format made me think about how an exhibition can allow audiences to witness creation rather than just its final result. This aligns with my interest in making the curatorial process itself visible, incorporating elements of live production, conversation, and change over time.
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Situational curation and social dynamics – Huang’s project, where visitors enter a space knowing they might share it with someone they perceive as “risky,” highlights how curation can construct social experiments. This made me consider how creating controlled yet open-ended situations could be a powerful tool in my own project.
Applying These Ideas to My Own Exhibition Plan
Taking inspiration from these speculative curatorial experiments, my exhibition will be:
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Situational & Interactive – The audience’s participation will influence the outcome, making them co-creators rather than passive spectators.
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Multi-Sensory & Immersive – I want to incorporate elements of sound, movement, and dialogue to create a layered experience rather than a static one.
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Non-traditional in Space – The exhibition will take place in an unconventional setting that challenges traditional notions of where art should be experienced.
One of my main challenges moving forward is finding the balance between structured curation and open-ended audience engagement. The next step in my project development will be identifying artists and performers who work with interaction and immersive storytelling, as well as researching locations that support fluid, participatory exhibitions.
Conclusion: My Curatorial Plan Moving Forward
Based on this week’s reflections, my curatorial project will focus on:
- Situational Curating – Designing an exhibition that encourages spontaneous audience interaction.
- Immersive & Experimental Formats – Moving beyond static presentations by integrating performance, sound, and spatial design.
- Alternative Exhibition Spaces – Exploring unconventional venues that allow for an evolving, interactive experience.
- Audience Agency & Unpredictability – Allowing participants to shape their own experience within the exhibition, making it a dynamic and unpredictable space.
This week reinforced my belief that curation is not just about arranging artworks—it is about creating environments that provoke thought, invite participation, and challenge norms. My next steps will be refining my concept, identifying collaborators, and mapping out potential spaces to bring this vision to life.
alewisj
6 February 2025 — 14:19
Your reflection provides a solid overview of the lecture and group discussions in week 1, and you have begun to critically reflect on what these new concepts mean to you. While you summarise key ideas well, more in-depth analysis will enable you to challenge and shape your curatorial thinking. You have set out a question, which is good, how do decentralized curatorial approaches redefine artistic authority? What are the potential limitations of curatorial collectives? Additionally, your reflection is quite general; integrating personal insights or specific curatorial inspirations would enhance its impact. However, it’s great that you are forming a more complex understanding of curating and what a collective is and considering real-world applications in future research
Your second blog post begins with a good introduction to your activities that week, which helped you develop your idea for the speculative project. Clarify whether the quotes you use are from yourself or another person, as this is important for future posts. While your discussion of concepts from the group on collectives is useful, it currently reads like note-taking. The blog should be a space to share your own ideas and critically reflect on the theories discussed in lectures, allowing you to develop your speculative project whilst integrating theories you learn about in lectures and discussions.
Your reflection effectively outlines your curatorial interests, but it would benefit from deeper critical engagement. As you explore immersive and participatory curating, consider questioning the challenges posed by audience unpredictability—specifically, how much control a curator should relinquish. Additionally, incorporating a more critical reflection on the feasibility of unconventional spaces and the potential limitations of non-traditional formats would strengthen your argument. Your engagement with speculative curatorial projects is insightful, but how do you differentiate your approach from existing models? It’s commendable that you are actively shaping your project by researching collaborators and spaces. More self-critique could further refine your curatorial vision.
s2665510
24 February 2025 — 00:08
Your blog demonstrates your interest in dialogic, participatory, community-engaged and site-specific curatorial models. You mention Suzanne Lacy’s ‘The Roof is on Fire’ project as an example of successful community engagement and site-specific curation, and I think it would be good for you to describe in more detail how you have integrated these elements into your project?
Your discussion of collective demonstrates that your exploration of collective curation reflects a focus on collaboration and knowledge sharing, which is important for curatorial practice.
Your detailed description of the direction of future curatorial projects, including contextual curation, immersive experiences and non-traditional exhibition spaces, demonstrates a clear idea of practice. I think the ReplayNYC project’s approach to curation may be helpful in your curatorial direction. 🔗http://www.ernestzacharevic.com/replay-nyc-2015-1
Its curatorial approach provides curators with new perspectives on how to curate exhibitions in non-traditional spaces and create a stronger connection with the audience. I hope it will be helpful to you.
alewisj
6 March 2025 — 16:45
You have not submitted a PowerPoint and have not posted on your blog since week 3. Therefore, I can not give any feedback.
Beichen Huang
12 March 2025 — 13:57
Hello, your blog has a clear and aesthetically pleasing structure. The overall design is well-suited for quickly scrolling to get an overview of the content before going back to examine specific details. It’s evident that you’ve done plenty of research in your spare time.
This article provides a clear exploration of the concept of the artist-curator and, using the approach of speculative curating, examines how curation can be transformed into an immersive and interactive experience. The logic is rigorous, the structure is well-organized, and you’ve effectively incorporated specific case studies (such as Fran Cottell’s House Project, Sarah Percival’s Open Studio, and my Situational Exhibition—thank you!). You’ve also outlined your own curatorial direction and challenges.
Lastly, how did you create the background for your blog? It looks amazing!