1) My individual curatorial project

This week, I started to define my individual curatorial project in a more concrete way. Instead of thinking about exhibitions in an abstract sense, I am focusing on how curating can happen in everyday commercial spaces. In 2023 and 2024, I visited Parkview Green in Beijing several times. What stayed with me was how artworks were placed throughout the entire building, in corridors, atriums, and shared public areas, rather than inside a single gallery space. Walking through the building felt similar to walking through an exhibition, even though I was technically in a shopping mall.

 

Julia Halperin once mentioned in Food courts and pharmacies are Basel’s hottest new art spaces, Curator Stefanie Hessler once mentioned “By bringing art inside local businesses, “I hope it doesn’t feel like art tourism only,” she says. Perhaps a student will unexpectedly encounter Piotrowska’s photographs on a shopping trip and become inspired to pop inside the vacant pharmacy nearby to view works by the French artist Pol Taburet.”

This experience changed my understanding of what an exhibition can be. It made me realise that seeing art does not always need a formal setting or specialised knowledge. People encountered artworks naturally while shopping, meeting friends, or passing through the space. For me, this raised the question of how curating might work in places where people are not intentionally looking for art.

2) Reflection through collective discussion

Talking about this experience within the Jì Jū (寄居) Collective helped me look at it more carefully. While Parkview Green feels open and welcoming, it is still a commercial space with its own rules and priorities. Our discussions about ethics and responsibility made me think about who really feels comfortable in these spaces, and who might still feel excluded, even if the art appears accessible.

 

The idea of “living away from home,” which shapes our collective identity, also connects to this context. As curators, we are not fully “at home” in commercial spaces, and neither are the artworks. They are placed there temporarily and have to adapt to existing conditions. This perspective encourages me to think about curating as something careful and responsive, rather than something that takes over a space.

3) How I Would Curate in a Commercial Space

If I were to curate a project in a commercial space, I would start small and work with what already exists. Instead of transforming the space, I would observe how people move through it, where they stop, and which areas feel more relaxed or more controlled. Based on this, I would introduce subtle interventions, such as short texts, small artworks, or sound elements that do not demand attention but invite curiosity.

 

I would avoid assuming that everyone wants to participate actively. The project would allow people to engage briefly, casually, or not at all. Practical considerations would be central to the project: permission from management, clarity around funding, respect for workers in the space, and transparency about who is organising the project. Rather than treating the space as a gallery, I would treat it as a shared environment where art exists alongside everyday activities.