|
Professional Opportunities for Young Curators
Despite the emergence of increasing numbers
of graduate courses in arts administration and curatorial studies,
career pathways for aspiring curators remain unstructured and difficult
to navigate. Contemporary art spaces and museums tend to remain
the exclusive realm of established curators and provide limited
opportunities for young and emerging curators to develop and hone
their skills within a professional context outside the university.
Such opportunities are essential if young curators are to develop
the necessary skills and experience to work within an increasingly
competitive industry.
In order to address this problem a number of
contemporary arts organisations and many artistrun spaces,
have developed strategic programs that aim to provide valuable opportunities
for young curators to gain handson curatorial experience. With
a focus on developing a range of skills, from the development of
an initial concept to the selection of artists, writing funding
submissions, exhibition design, marketing and catalogue writing,
these programs fill an important gap between study and professional
practice. 200 Gertrude Street has developed a range of programs
and activities that support emerging curators and facilitate ongoing
career opportunities and professional development. In 2000, 200
Gertrude Street presented its highly successful Emerging Curators
Program, working in partnership with other organisations including
the Centre for Contemporary Photography (CCP), Next Wave Festival
and NETS to support and present ambitious curatorial projects by
young curators including Final Fantasies, Useby Asia Pacific Artists
Initiatives Project and None More Blacker. Following the success
of this program, 200 Gertrude Street is currently presenting Curatorial
Lab, a fiveday program which encourages practical study and
theoretical enquiry into the field of curatorial culture. Designed
to provide professional development opportunities for emerging and
practicing curators, the program comprises workshops held over two
weekends, culminating in a oneday masterclass. Conducted by
leading Australian curators, including Wayne Tunnicliffe, Jason
Smith, Rhana Devenport and Alison Carroll, workshop seminars will
draw upon presenters' expertise to investigate curatorial practice
in relation to contemporary art, with reference to specific case
studies.
With a focus on an increased understanding of
the digital and screen arts and the development of networks within
the industry, Experimenta also provides professional development
opportunities for emerging curators. Experimenta's, Curatorial Attachment
program provides opportunities for curators to work under the mentorship
of the Artistic Director on program development and implementation.
In addition, Experimenta actively seeks proposals from emerging
curators and supports a wide range of industry placements for students.
Next Wave Festival and the CCP also actively seek proposals from
emerging curators.
Despite their limited resources, many artist-run
spaces also provide a supportive and responsive platform for young
and emerging curators to gain valuable skills and develop new ideas
and practices. Relatively free of the pressures and constraints
of more established contemporary art spaces and museums and with
a strong commitment to risktaking, experimentation and a doityourself
approach to contemporary art practice, artistrun spaces can
provide a fecund environment for emerging curators to develop and
present curatorial projects. Such spaces afford curators a flexibility
that allows them to develop a wide range of skills, from the initial
research and development stage of a project, through to exhibition
design, catalogue writing, marketing and promotion. Positioned at
a grassroots level within the culture industry in Australia,
artist run spaces are well placed to support a variety of projects,
from small scale or developmental exhibitions, to large scale international
exchange programs. Linked into extensive networks locally and internationally,
artistrun spaces such as 1st Floor, West Space, Platform and
TCB Inc., often work in partnership with other organisations and
provide an important forum for debate and dialogue. With a focus
on new ways of thinking and doing curatorial practice, such spaces
have presented a number of innovative curatorial projects over the
past few years. Exhibitions, including Mayonnaise and Rubik #11
at 1st Floor, Harmonia at West Space and Rapture at Platform, have
actively sought to expand the possibilities of curatorial practice
and to develop new relationships between both artist run spaces
and larger organisations and between artists and curators.
Despite the many barriers facing emerging curators
as they seek to gain experience and employment, a number of important
strategies and programs have been developed over recent years that
seek to establish clear career pathways. Such strategies nurture
innovative practices and encourage new ways of thinking about curating.
- Sarah Tutton is a writer and curator based
in Melbourne. She will be presenting a workshop with Tessa Dwyer
at the Curatorial Lab program focussing on curatorial practice and
artist-run spaces.
|