WEEK 1
1. First Meeting: Sharing Curatorial Interests
In Week 1, our tutorial group held an initial planning meeting where we introduced ourselves and exchanged early ideas about our individual curatorial interests. Rather than immediately fixing a final theme, we focused on identifying shared concerns and values that could shape us as a collective. This process felt important, as it allowed our group to recognise overlapping motivations while keeping space for difference and experimentation.
2. Emerging Collective Themes
Through discussion, three key directions began to surface as the foundation of our collective curatorial thinking:
Education and accessibility through contemporary art
We are interested in how contemporary art can operate as a form of learning—beyond formal institutions—and how curating might create more inclusive access to artistic knowledge, interpretation, and participation.
Embracing decentralised curating
We are drawn to curatorial approaches that move away from a single authoritative voice. Instead, we want to explore distributed and collaborative models of curating that reflect multiple perspectives, experiences, and ways of knowing.
Socially engaged and responsive practice
We aim to engage with contemporary art and curating in ways that respond to social contexts, lived realities, and public concerns. This includes thinking about how curatorial projects can be accountable, situated, and open to dialogue.
3. Reflection: Why These Themes Matter
This first meeting helped us understand that our collective is not only a working group, but also a shared curatorial framework-in-progress. The themes we identified point towards an ethical and public-facing approach to curating—one that values accessibility, collaboration, and social relevance. Moving forward, we hope to develop these ideas further through research, fieldwork, and the making of our manifesto.
Resources / References:
Yarto, Ana Edurne Bilbao. “Micro-Curating: The Role of SVAOs (Small Visual Arts Organisations) in the History of Exhibition-Making.” Notebook for Art, Theory and Related Zones 25 (2018): 118-138.
Thea, Carolee, and Thomas Micchelli. “On curating: interviews with ten international curators.” (No Title) (2009).
Kolb, Ronald, Ella Krivanek, Camille Regli, and Dorothee Richter. “Centres⁄ Peripheries–Complex Constellations.” (2019).
