WEEK7 SICP: CONFUSION AND TURNAROUND
After my recent field trip to Glasgow’s cultural institutions—including the Hunterian Art Gallery, Hunterian Museum, and Tramway, GoMA—I’ve experienced a significant shift in my curatorial perspective. Previously, I had planned an exhibition at Helix Park Falkirk that featured large-scale figurative sculptures and classical oil paintings. However, after witnessing a variety of different approaches in Glasgow, I became confused about my initial choice.
Comparison table of three different spaces at Hunterian Art Gallery, Hunterian Museum, and Tramway.
At the Hunterian Art Gallery, the experience was marked by a structured, linear narrative that followed art-historical progressions. Meanwhile, the Hunterian Museum focused on classification and the preservation of knowledge. In contrast, Tramway—housed in a former tram depot—embodied an experimental and immersive curatorial model. Tramway’s flexible layout and its emphasis on large-scale installations, multimedia exhibitions, and live performances created an environment where visitors could actively engage with art, transforming the experience from passive viewing into a dynamic, multi-sensory journey.
This revelation has led me to question the effectiveness of my planned exhibition at Helix Park. The Helix Park Visitor Centre (exhibition space), with its permanent displays and historical materials, seems to have little space left for innovative, temporary exhibitions. I now wonder if selecting artworks that are highly representational, like classical oil paintings or large figurative sculptures, leaves enough room for the viewer’s imagination. These works tend to reproduce established forms and narratives, thereby limiting the potential for interactive or participatory experiences.
Exhibition space, Helix Visitor Centre, Falkirk.
Exhibition space, Helix Visitor Centre, Falkirk.
Inspired by Tramway’s model, I am now considering a dramatic shift in my curatorial strategy. Instead of relying on static representations, I want to incorporate digital and interactive media that allow audiences to explore and reinterpret myths and cultural narratives in a more open-ended way. By integrating elements such as augmented reality, projection mapping, and participatory installations, I hope to create an exhibition that not only presents art but also invites dialogue and active engagement.
To further ground these ideas, I have been exploring literature that discusses the evolving role of exhibition spaces and the shift toward participatory practices. For instance, Brian O’Doherty’s Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space (MIT Press, 1986) critically examines traditional gallery settings.
The classic modernist gallery is the limbo between studio and living room, where the conventions of both meet on a carefully neutralized ground. There the artist’s respect for what he has invented is perfectly superimposed on the bourgeois desire for possession. For a gallery is, in the end, a place to sell things-which is O.K.
O’Doherty, Brian. Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999. 76-77.
Therefore, this model of gallery creates a pure, non-commercial art atmosphere through the ‘white cube’ environment on the surface. In reality, however, it still serves the market and satisfies the collector’s desire for possession. In my exhibition, therefore, I wanted to go beyond a purely boring display. My goal is to design a space that encourages active participation and dialogue, which means creating areas where viewers are invited to interact with the artworks and contribute their own interpretations. Therefore, I will be re-selecting works and setting up workshops in subsequent designs.
References
O’Doherty, Brian. Inside the White Cube: The Ideology of the Gallery Space. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
The Helix. Accessed February 10, 2025. https://www.thehelix.co.uk/.
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