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The role of a curator is vast and varied and has changed a lot over the years. The primary role of a curator is to assemble or select collections of works of art, or art projects grouped around an idea or theme. Many artists are also curators and often a curatorial project is launched in response to events or concerns in the artists’ community or with regards to the ideas investigated in the artist’s practice. Many artists curate shows as a way of gathering various artistic voices together to create new meaning or to create/extend a context for their own work. Curating a show that has a completely different subject matter and can also be intellectually rewarding.

Curating is a great way to make connections with other artists, to expand ideas about your own work, to create a dialogue within a particular community, or to give an idea a public face. Whether in a traditional gallery space or a public site, curating can give an artist experience and exposure, which may lead to a job, new work, or a newly defined community.

WHERE TO START

There are many places to start in the curatorial process. You may have a theme or an idea in mind, or you might need to do research and visit exhibitions. Once you have the structure for your curatorial project, you need to compile a list of artists to contact. Think about your immediate connections, then ask other artists and mentors for suggestions. Next you will probably need to do some fieldwork by visiting these artists at studio visits.

Often a curator goes to a studio with an idea of what they want, and they choose work accordingly. This model can result in interesting shows, but the downside is that it primarily highlights the curator’s point of view. The artists are somewhat secondary to the curator’s point of view.

Another curatorial model is to define the content and the context of the exhibition based on the sensibilities of specific artists or certain topical issues. This model is less about shopping and more about context: instead of choosing specific works, the curator asks the artists to create work or choose their own work specifically for the exhibition. This model truly highlights the artists’ voice but it may be risky and can change the curatorial voice and/or position of the exhibition. Artists are often great judges as to how their work fits into the content of a show. For those curators who demand to have the last word, they can finalize the choices before the exhibition is installed.

CONTEXT

Ask yourself what types of arts organizations might be appropriate for your curatorial project. A guest curator may have much more creative leverage at a nonprofit space versus a commercial gallery, where revenue is needed to keep the lights on. Always think beyond the white walls of the gallery and remember that many site-specific projects and storefront locations can produce excellent exhibitions.

Consider the following:

• What is the context of the exhibition? How will the show relate to where it is held and the current events that frame it?

• How will you conceptually frame your exhibition?

• Who is your audience?

•Do you want to include local, national or international artists?

• What is your budget?

REMAINING PROFESSIONAL

Curating existing work is very different from curating work that has yet to be made. Working with your friends is sometimes a challenge, so work hard to maintain both the friendship and a working relationship. As a curator, you are in a position of authority.

When word spreads that you are curating an exhibition, many artists you know or are acquainted with will come out of the woodwork. Some may go as far as courting your interest in their work even if it is not appropriate for the show. Remain strong and professional in your interactions; never take anything personally and avoid desperate artists. It is often uninteresting when curators invite only their friends to participate in a show.

As a curator, it can be very difficult to control the community’s response to your show. You have to be willing to stand by the artists you include, and the conceptual ideas that underscore the exhibition on a public platform.

CURATOR AS ARTIST

There has been a lot of discussion, both pro and con, about the curator as artist. There is a strong notion that if the curator includes his or her own work it is a reflection of their ego. Yet, if the artist curator were truly egotistical, they would do a solo exhibition. These rigid definitions of the role of the curator can be shifted and expanded, as well as influence the curators’ position in their relationship to organizing exhibitions. The most important thing is to try and avoid obvious conflicts of interest. Usually trained arts professionals can tell when a curator has taken advantage of an exhibition opportunity, so only include yourself in your curated shows if your work makes sense and adds to the conceptual and aesthetic statement of the show.

PUBLICATIONS

Creating a publication in conjunction with an exhibition can be a great historical record that may provide artists with a way to extend the creative reach of the show into the future. Sometimes catalogs have other functions and a target audience outside the art scene. There are many ways to self-publish a catalog.

ALTERNATIVE VENUES

Exhibitions do not always need to take place in a traditional location. An exhibition can exist in your local newspaper or on the Internet. Alternative sites for art are always good, particularly ones that take the site’s distinctive features into consideration. Great exhibitions have taken place in really odd places. Artists have exhibited their work in shopping carts where advertisements are usually located, in parking spaces outside world fairs, in semi-trucks, rented sites at flea markets or in storage spaces in storage buildings. It is good to challenge the conventions of display.

Margaret Lazzari has a chapter on curating in her book, The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist, Chapter 10. Harcourt College Publishers.