Curating.info

Starting Point is a new annual opportunity open to recent graduate curators to work with public collections of modern and contemporary art.

Each year we plan to work in partnership with a different museum from across the country to offer exhibition opportunities and curatorial experience to curators interested in working with public collections.

An Opportunity for Two Graduate Curators (2012-2013)

The Contemporary Art Society, with Leeds Art Gallery are inviting proposals from curating and museum studies graduates from across the UK who have been out of full time education for no longer than two years.

Starting Point, now in its second year, will offer two curators the opportunity to select a small cluster of works from the collection to be installed as part of Leeds Art Gallery’s public programme in 2012.

The Leeds Art Collection Fund (LCAF) has been supporting the visual arts in Leeds since 1912 to mark their centenary Leeds Art Gallery are planning a series of special events in the gallery over the course of next year. As a way of responding we are asking that proposals draw on the list of works whose acquisitions have been supported by the Leeds Art Collection Fund. Applications should be no more than 500 words and accompanied with a CV.

Applicants are selected on the basis of their first idea but we know that the research period can often have an impact on ‘first ideas’ so we are looking for potential and commitment.

For more information visit the Contemporary Art Society website.

Application deadline: Monday 5th September 2011 (5pm)

For any further queries or to submit your application please email nationalprogrammes -at- contemporaryartsociety.org

The Clinton Hill / Allen Tran Foundation offers support to the critical early stages of exhibition planning in American museums.

Three grants of $5,000 each will be offered to curators contemplating exhibitions which include work by artists born between 1920 and 1960. Funds would be dedicated to travel, research materials (books; photographs; software, etc.) and other essential elements not typically budgeted by museums until an exhibition proposal is finally presented and officially approved.

The Foundation is not offering subvention of a curator's basic salary.

Reflecting the life and interests of Clinton Hill, strong preference will be given to exhibition proposals involving painting, sculpture and works on paper, especially those featuring paper as a primary medium.

The contemplated exhibition may not be one already scheduled by the home institution. It must have a projected opening within the next four years.

Applications Must be Postmarked on or Before: September 1, 2011

For more information, including full application guidelines, please visit the Clinton Hill / Allen Tran Foundation website.

Wave Hill offers a one-year fellowship that is an excellent opportunity for an individual to work in a multi-disciplinary cultural organization and gain experience in the visual arts. The arts at Wave Hill encompass contemporary art in the galleries and on the grounds, outdoor performing arts programs, a winter workspace program and arts-related public programs. This position offers a recent college graduate significant mentorship and learning opportunities to work as a curatorial assistant and exhibition interpreter. The Fellow provides all around support for exhibition development and research. During the fellowship period there will be three exhibitions, five solo projects, a winter workspace residency program, outdoor dance and music. The Fellow works in the gallery two days a week and provides exhibition tours for the public and organized groups of adults and children.

Requirements: We seek an individual who is knowledgeable about contemporary art and interested in curating, who is motivated and has a high level of enthusiasm. The position requires well-developed research, written and oral communication skills, familiarity with Microsoft Word, Excel and Adobe Photoshop. The successful candidate must be well organized, pay strict attention to details and deadlines, and be able to manage several projects at once, with excellent interpersonal skills to communicate professionally with staff and public. Experience giving public tours, enthusiasm for New York City’s diverse cultural resources, and previous office experience are assets.

The Organization: Founded in 1965, Wave Hill is a 28-acre public garden and cultural center overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades, in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. Its mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

Recommended Education: BA in Art History or Studio Art or related major
Position Dates: September 2011 – August 2012
Salary: $13.50 an hour for a 7-hour workday (not including lunch), 4 days a week that must include Tuesday and Saturday.

To Apply: Send a cover letter, a résumé, writing sample (five pages maximum) and three references with contact information.

Director of Arts, Wave Hill, 675 West 252nd Street, Bronx, NY 10471
fellowship(at)wavehill.org
fax: 718-884-8952
NO CALLS PLEASE

Website: www.wavehill.org

Nottingham Contemporary opened in November 2009 in an outstanding new building by Caruso St John. It is one of the largest and leading centres for contemporary art in the U.K. We have both an international outlook and a strong sense of local purpose. We are now seeking a Curator of Public Programmes. The role is key to our vision to generate debate across disciplines with a diverse public, with particular emphasis on students and staff at the universities in Nottingham. This renowned programme is funded by The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University.

The postholder will lead on devising and delivering Nottingham Contemporary's programme of discursive activities, including talks, seminars, symposia, film screenings and related publishing initiatives in print and online. We aim to draw out the connections between contemporary art and a wide range of intellectual fields, in collaboration with artists, writers, university colleagues and our audiences, and see this as a means of examining art's broader social and cultural relevance. We will continue to develop a public programme that is engaging and ambitious, that takes a creative approach to its formats, and that opens onto inspiring worlds of ideas. Besides four beautiful galleries, Nottingham Contemporary has a Study and a large auditorium, which accommodates over 200.

Nottingham has a large student population and we have close links with both universities in Nottingham. The Curator of Public Programmes will have a particular responsibility for developing exciting work with colleagues from the higher education sector, for developing student participation in our programme, and for collaborating on external bids for funding for longer-term projects.

The successful candidate will have an in-depth knowledge of contemporary art, as well as enthusiasm for a wide range of knowledge areas. Familiarity with other art forms is also desirable. We are looking for someone with initiative and a commitment to dialogue and collaboration, within and outside our organisation. He or she will be an excellent communicator, in person and in writing, able to work closely with practitioners and specialists, and inspire audiences of various kinds. He or she will have a lively and creative intellect, as well as strong organizational skills and attention to detail, and a commitment to digital archiving.

The Curator of Public Programmes will work closely with the Director, Alex Farquharson, as well as other colleagues in the Exhibitions and Learning teams. The position is offered full time on a three year contract.

The deadline for applications is 19th August 2011.

The application form and further details can be found on www.nottinghamcontemporary.org/opportunities

dOCUMENTA (13) and the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC) have created a Curatorial Fellowship that will offer curators and scholars from Latin America the opportunity to work on the development of dOCUMENTA (13), an exhibition that will take place in the summer of 2012 in Kassel, Germany.

This fellowship is offered to young arts professionals from Latin America focused on contemporary art. The Curatorial Fellow will have the opportunity to gain work experience by participating and developing different projects and public programs for dOCUMENTA (13). The fellow will work closely with the office of the Artistic Direction and Project Management. Candidates should have an interest in working with artists in the creation of art that is activated by the participation of different groups of people and in developing a diversified and interdisciplinary program for the visitors in a wide context of art, science and research.

documenta is a periodic exhibition, which began in 1955 as an attempt to re-establish culture and the visual arts as a primary focus of society, and to reconnect Germany with the field of international art at the time, after the trauma of World War II. Since then, every five years, it has become both an exhibition of contemporary art worldwide and a moment of reflection on the relation between art and society. In this age of complexity, instability, simultaneity, collapse and recovery, the Artistic Director of dOCUMENTA (13), Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, would like to focus on where we are, where we come from, and where we might be going through a program of activities and experiences that, together with the artworks, is experienced as moments of depth, awareness, embodiment, delight, entanglement, intensity and poetry.

Interested in broadening the perspective of the project to culture generally and its relations with the world at large at this moment in history, towards a more just and peaceful "becoming with," dOCUMENTA (13) positions the engagement of the participating artists alongside ideas and questions faced not only by contemporary art, but by societies and cultures across the globe today. Participants from a range of disciplines, such as art, science, including physics and biology, bio-architecture and bio-agriculture, philosophy, anthropology, economic- and political theory, language- and literature studies, including fiction and poetry, contribute to a space of dOCUMENTA (13) that aims to explore how different forms of knowledge lie at the heart of the active exercise of re-imagining the world.

This partnership works to further the mission of the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, which is to increase understanding and awareness of Latin America's contributions to the history or art and ideas and to support innovation, education, creativity and research in the field of Latin American Art. Through grants and partnerships, CPPC also supports the professional development of Latin American artists, curators and scholars. Recent initiatives include, among others, a partnership with Hunter College (New York) to create the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Professor of Latin American Art, and an alliance with the Bard Graduate Center (New York) to organize the Cisneros Seminar in the Material Cultures of the Ibero-American World.

Time Period
This fellowship has a duration of 5 months, from February 15–July 15, 2012.

Stipend
The selected applicant receives a fellowship of 10,000 EUR to defray costs of travel, accommodation and expenses (February 15–July 15, 2012).

Eligibility & Application Guidelines
Interested applicants must provide:
a) At least 2 years of work experience in the contemporary art field, e.g. museums, galleries, nonprofit organizations, artist's studio, etcetera; and ideally with the production of participatory art work and programs;
b) Excellent writing skills, and strong communication and organizational skills;
Language requirements: fluent in written and spoken English, German advantaged;
c) Reside in Kassel during February–July 2012.

Application Guidelines
Applicants should send the following materials (as email or PDF):
1) Cover letter explaining your interests in contemporary art and curatorial endeavors, and your motivations for applying to this Curatorial scholarship (max. 500 words);
2) Resume (as PDF), including bibliography if articles/texts have been published;
3) List of 3 references, including their names, titles, and contact information.
Send complete application via email only in PDF to: roumiguiere(at)documenta.de
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Please do not include additional materials than those requested above.

Application Deadline
September 1, 2011
Late applications will not be considered.

Interviews of Short-listed Candidates
October 2011
Short-listed Candidates will be asked for an interview with the selection committee via video Skype.

Notification of Awarded Curatorial Fellowship
October 2011

Relevant URLs
Please surf these websites before applying:
www.documenta.de
www.coleccioncisneros.org

No Phone Calls Please

The AFA seeks a Curatorial Assistant for the exhibitions department. The assistant will offer administrative support to curatorial and exhibitions administrative staff in their preparation for exhibitions touring all over the country.

Duties include: general correspondence, filing, calendar management, preparing marketing materials, inputting database information, exhibition research, and general assistance on all aspects of exhibitions.

BA in Art History or related field required. Strong organizational and multi-tasking abilities along with effective oral and written communication skills are imperative. Computer and word processing skills including proficiency in Word, Excel, Filemaker, PowerPoint expected.

Salary mid to high 20’s

To apply, submit a cover letter and resume, by August 5, 2011:
via email: mwills(at)afaweb.org
via fax: 212-861-2487
via mail: Human Resources
American Federation of Arts
305 East 47th Street
10th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Website: http://www.afaweb.org

The London Consortium and the London Film School seek to appoint a Course Director for its recently-launched MA in Film Curating.

The successful applicant will have an understanding both of film programming and of the theory and practice of curating, and will be responsible for coordinating the teaching for the degree and providing support for its 20 students.

The post is a one-year appointment with a salary of £35,000.

Full details of the degree can be found at: http://www.londonconsortium.com/programmes/mafilmcurating.php

Please send a cv and letter of application to The London Consortium, 24 Litchfield Street, London WC2H 9NJ.

Closing date for applications is 19th August 2011.

The Walter Philips Gallery (WPG) at The Banff Centre is looking for a Curator who is passionate about contemporary art, curatorial and museological practice, and brings a solid reputation based on exhibition and publication history. Reporting to the Director, Visual Arts this position carries out the day-to-day responsibility for the leadership of Gallery related activity and budget management, as well as for the administration, registration and logistical coordination of all Gallery and related programs including the Banff International Curatorial Institute (BICI).

Responsibilities:
- Planning, research and delivery of an annual program of exhibitions, public programs, publications, commissions, conferences, and events and for WPG and BICI
- With the Director, develops and plans Gallery programming which augments the Creative Residencies and other activities of the Visual Arts department
- Hires, trains and performance manages the Gallery staff including the Preparator, Curatorial Assistant, Programs Assistant, Gallery Assistant and casual staff
- Oversees contracts and agreements with artists, guests, contract staff, touring and in-house exhibitions, and other Gallery and BICI programming
- Manages Gallery programming and events, develops appropriate scheduling and ensures all logistical arrangements for shipping, storage, packing/crating, customs, insurance, contracts and condition reports are in place in a timely manner and on budget
- Monitors and tracks program related income and expenditures on a day-to-day basis, conducts budget reconciliation and regularly identifies variances and reports potential problems to the Director, and Operations Manager and other project leaders
- In coordination with Creative Residencies program, organizes and gathers materials for websites, and iTunesU, both for WPG and BICI and oversees the updating of the web accordingly
- Researches, secures and reports on appropriate external funding support for Gallery activities via grant applications and private sector funding requests
- Implements and develops an active and ongoing Gallery workstudy program, ensuring the appropriate learning objectives are tailored for each participant and that they are being met and that workstudies are mentored and supervised in an appropriate manner
- Ensures the overall care, conservation, security and ongoing management of The Banff Centre’s fine art collections and public artworks
- Implements best practices in digital data management and digital preservation and oversees the development of organizationally-appropriate digital data management standards and digital preservation policies and procedures

The Ideal Candidate:
- Masters level degree in art history, curatorial or museum studies
- At least 3 years of institutional experience working as a Curator and managing a permanent collection
- At least 3 years' experience actively managing and supervising staff
- Knowledge of national and international contemporary art and theory
- Demonstrated reputation based on exhibition and publication history
- Experience with outdoor sculpture commissions
- Knowledge of, and commitment to, innovation in museological practice and an interest in developing a relevant practice within the context of the Walter Phillips Gallery
- Excellent communication skills, both written and oral, and must possess excellent research, administrative, financial, management, supervisory and organizational skills
- Takes initiative, works well both independently and in a team-oriented environment
- Willingness to travel and work irregular hours as required

Employment Terms & Benefits:
- In accordance with the terms of employment governing Management/PSP employees, this is a salaried permanent position, subject to a 12 month probationary period.
- The annual salary for this position ranges between $47,222 and $51,947 depending on experience.
- The Banff Centre offers a comprehensive benefits package to all of its full time salaried employees. For more information please visit our benefits page.

The Banff Centre is accepting applications for this position from July 22 until August 7, 2011.

To apply, please visit http://tbe.taleo.net/NA3/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=BANFFCENTRE&cws=1&rid=1463

Salt Lake Art Center is currently pursuing a pioneering program of contemporary exhibitions designed to engage local residents while simultaneously participating in the national dialogue about and through contemporary art. The Art Center’s efforts to create a more permeable nexus with the community and the related flourishing of activity, referred to as the “Renaissance at the Salt Lake Art Center” by The Salt Lake Tribune, have led to a nearly six-fold growth in the Art Center’s audience in the last 18 months. Salt Lake Art Center is Utah’s museum of contemporary art, operating continuously since 1931.

Salt Lake City is the cultural and economic heart of the Intermountain West and is within easy driving distance of national parks, ski resorts, red rock wilderness, and Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Salt Lake’s thriving and diverse urban life, which places it at No. 7 nationally on The Atlantic’s Bohemian Index, includes award-winning restaurants, an active slow food/urban gardening community, monthly Critical Mass events, the Sundance Film Festival, the University of Utah’s top-ranked creative writing program, and the internationally-recognized Soldier Hollow Sheepdog Classic.

ABOUT THE POSITION

The Salt Lake Art Center seeks a dynamic and ambitious curator who wishes to organize, from conception to installation, five to 10 exhibitions annually that will continue our transformative dialogue with the local community and help us cement a position of regional and national prominence. The Senior Curator will also be expected to organize at least one off-site community initiative annually. The Senior Curator plays a leadership role in shaping the institution’s curatorial vision and philosophy and should have a successful record of exhibition development.

As the principle curatorial representative of the Art Center, the Senior Curator of Exhibitions will have occasional responsibility to speak with donors, local and national media, and at community events. The Senior Curator of Exhibitions will also be expected to coordinate the activities of the curatorial department with other departments inside the Art Center, including development and communications.

Job Requirements:

The Senior Curator of Exhibitions must have deep knowledge of trends in contemporary visual art of the last twenty years, including video, transmedia, site-specific, and performative works, and the ability to apply this knowledge to create exhibitions that serve broader institutional goals. Superior organizational skills required to meet overlapping project deadlines. Excellent oral and written communications skills are essential. Strong contacts with colleagues, scholars, and artists in the national and international contemporary art community required.

Masters or M.F.A. in arts-related field and minimum of five to seven years of successively increasing curatorial experience preferred. Salt Lake Art Center is a non-collecting institution.

Interested candidates should submit cover letter, curriculum vitae, salary history and 500-word writing sample to adamp(at)slartcenter.org . Position to remain open until filled.

http://www.slartcenter.org/

Guest editor, Mathew Poole
Contributions by Amanda Beech, Roger M. Buergel, Bridget Crone, Andrew Hunt, Jaspar Joseph Lester, Matthew Poole, Paul O'Neill and Mick Wilson


Open to submission from those involved in education at postgraduate and doctorate level within visual arts, The Journal of Visual Art Practice provides a platform for issues to be discussed in a public sphere and has established a reputation for supporting and disseminating in-depth scholarly, developmental, applied and pedagogical research within the visual arts.

Although the journal encompasses both the theoretical and the practical and encourages debates that are relevant across visual art disciplines, Volume 9 No. 2 is the first to focus specifically on curating. This special issue has been guest edited by Matthew Poole, Programme Director of The Centre for Curatorial Studies at The University of Essex. He presents an introduction to his research project on the topic of anti-Humanist curating and has invited seven distinguished contributors to discuss their own take on the subject.

Underlying Poole’s project is an exploration of the limitations and problems of Liberal Humanist ideology and politics in relation to curatorial practices. He highlights that curatorial practices and discourses are largely dominated by Liberal Humanist ethics: institutions emphasise the ‘social value’ of contemporary art, and so therefore the curator is put in the position of having to realise these ‘socially beneficial’ goals. In the opening essay, Matthew Poole introduces these ideas and suggests that they may be explored and expanded to consider how curatorial practice can continue to have a political role, whilst avoiding becoming a pawn in a Neo-Liberal Post-Fordist Capitalist political agenda.

Contributions by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Maria Lind and Jens Hoffman, originally slated to be part of this issue, didn’t materialise for the final publication, however the journal still has an impressive breadth of focused arguments and debates. The collection of essays build up a strong body of research and thought that reflects the conversations each of the contributing curators have had with Poole and binds all their specialist areas of interest together.

The first three essays - by Buergel, Crone and Beech - each approach the issue of the image and how it is implicated through curatorial practice from different standpoints, and collectively build a persuasive case as to how curatorial practice regularly undermines art work as well as suggesting ways in which this can be avoided.
In the first contribution, Roger M. Buergel discuses ambiguous affiliations between the known and the unknowable in the work of Alejandra Reira and its display, and, in its ability to evoke the subjectivity of history, suggests her work as a case study for anti-humanist exhibition-making.

Bridget Crone further develops this investigation into ambiguity and the image, in her essay ‘The Image; Disaffect in the theatre of representation’. She explores the possibility of the image without a dependency upon a relationship with a human subject or viewer, using the examples of The Otolith Group, Hito Steyerl, Rabih Mroué, Gail Pickering and Tom Nicholson, and subsequently offers a model of curating where structure and methodology are the focus rather than the binding of affective processes usually used to experience the image.

The third essay, written by Amanda Beech, brings together the previous two contributions by exploring curatorial style specifically, proposing further questions about scepticism and doubt that regularly underlies critical curatorial practices today and the subsequent political implications.

Andrew Hunt compares his own experience of curating in locations on the periphery to Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guartttari’s book Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature in order to suggest how ‘minor curating’ could counteract the hegemonic curatorial practice. He argues that an ethical approach to exhibition making that involves affirmative modes of critical humour and humility will encourage critical effectiveness in curatorial practice, as well as help avoid curatorial narcissism and tensions between utopian, social and political thoughts on display.

Jasper Joseph-Lester, taking a looser, but nevertheless poignant, approach to the subject matter, discusses the ‘curation’ of public space, in his essay ‘Non-relational regimes of urban modernisation’. Through an exploration of urban planning proposals for Coventry in the 1940s and again in 2008, he argues that gaining the support of ‘the public’ is imperative for urban development, yet a real socially-engaged dialogue is false; instead urban planning simply embodies a political construct. The inclusion of this essay jolts us into considering the entire curatorial debate in the context of wider political hegemony.

The final essay in the publication, ‘Curatorial counter-rhetorics and the educational turn’ by Mick Wilson and Paul O’Neill, gives an overview of the changing relationships that curators have had towards educational discourse, provoked by ‘moral panics’ throughout Europe and the US since the 1960. Wilson and O'Neill insightfully explore how this ‘educational turn’ has impacted on the programming and rhetoric used by both art and educational institutions, reinforced by a culture of reputational economy, and attempts to counter-act this with experimental educational structures.

Whilst the journal is not widely available, this issue is definitely worth trying to get your hands on. Poole has instigated a thorough discussion of what is an increasingly relevant topic in current curatorial practice throughout Europe and North America as more and more publicly funded institutions have to fight to prove their public benefit. Poole’s essay and dialogue with the contributors is only an introduction to a much larger research project which we will no doubt expect more from in future.

The journal can be bought from: http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Journal,id=131/view,page=1/



Preceeding the Journal of Visual Art Practice’s invitation to Matthew Poole as guest editor, two related seminars were held where the issues were thrashed out. They are definitely worth a listen:

Seminar #1:
Held at Goldsmiths College in July 2010, before the publication, Poole introduces his research and writer and critic, Robert Garnett presents his paper, ‘Humour, Deleuze, and the possibility of a Curation of Humour’, followed by a discussion with the audience.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20688258/AHC%20Goldsmiths%208thJuly2010.mp3


Seminar #2:
The second seminar was held at Whitechapel Gallery, in conjunction with the launch of the publication with Roger M. Buergel, Bridget Crone, Anselm Franke, and Matthew Poole in discussion:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/20688258/AHC%20Whitechapel%2025thNov2010.m4v

IKT, the International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art, held its annual congress in Luxembourg, Metz, and Dudelange from 28 April - 1 May 2011.

It was a special Congress, as it was Enrico Lunghi's final one as President of the IKT. Enrico is highly regarded, his managerial competence keeping IKT as an organisation on an even keel, and his personal warmth and generosity making each IKT member feel genuinely welcomed at each Congress. It therefore seemed fitting that Enrico hosted this Congress at home (he's current Director of Mudam, and former Director of Casino Luxembourg), where he was able to reveal the cultural gems of Luxembourg and region to us. The congress participants visited Mudam, Casino Luxembourg, Carré Rotondes, Fondation de l'Architecture et de l'Ingénierie, FRAC Lorraine, Faux Movement, Centre Pompidou Metz, Centre d’art Nei Liicht, and the Centre National de l'Audiovisuel.

The Congress kicked off in beautiful Luxembourg with the traditional introductions, or Members' Forum as it is officially known. These introductions are quite something: it takes up nearly the entire morning, but every attendee (about 150 curators or so) stands up and introduces themselves briefly to the room. It is a deceptively simple thing, but it really helps to cement the names and faces of your colleagues in your mind, as well as allowing people to quickly reveal a little something of their personality (even in just two minutes, there's time for jokes, name-dropping, charming references, etc). After this Members' Forum, the Congress launched right into exhibition tours for the afternoon in Luxembourg, before swiftly moving on to Metz for more exhibitions. A very full day culminated in a behind-the-scenes tour of Centre Pompidou Metz. The highlight was definitely taking the world's nicest and smoothest freight elevator up to the top floor where artist Daniel Buren was waiting for us. He kindly chatted with us about the exhibition he was installing for several minutes before we went to the Town Hall of Metz for a welcome from the Mayor and a buffet dinner. Here's a short clip about Buren's show (in French):



On Saturday we were in charming Dudelange. The discussion panel was entitled "What is the good of Mediation in contemporary art?" for this year, and was introduced by Maria Lind, featuring presentations from Jorge Munguia Matute, Gabriel Pérez-Barreiro, and Sally Tallant. Their presentations absolutely raised the problems of mediation, though they proposed some solutions too: notably, Pérez-Barreiro's example of the deep integration of audience development and education into the Mercosul Biennale that he curated (read a great interview with him in this PDF here). Jorge Munguia Matute cited several inspirational examples of creating public dialogue, such as with the Pase Usted project in Mexico City, and Sally Tallant took us under the bonnet of the Centre for Possible Studies, part of Serpentine Gallery's engagement with the communities living around Edgware Road in London.



The annual General Assembly also took place in Dudelange, and it was a little more exciting than usual, with plenty of discussion around the choice of venue for next year's Congress (Tel Aviv, Israel), new members being elected to the Board, and of course, the election of the new President: Friedemann Malsch, Director of the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein. The fact that the Presidency of IKT passed from one tiny country (Luxembourg) to an even tinier one (Liechtenstein) was pointed out by Enrico Lunghi, to laughter from the assembly. The evening's party at Casino Luxembourg was also wonderful and memorable, taking place in the cavernous, damp stone basement of the building and with enough delicious Crémant de Luxembourg to fuel us well into the evening.

A true highlight was the tour of private corporate collections that took place for those who decided to stay until Sunday. Enrico really worked some magic to get these collections open to us not only on a Sunday, but a Sunday on a holiday weekend! We toured the Deutsche Bank Luxembourg, Arendt & Medernach, and the European Investment Bank. It was a well-balanced combo: wealthy international bank, medium-sized legal business, and the largest multilateral lending institution in the world. At the European Investment Bank, it was interesting to hear of their plans to ship some of their collection to Greece for an exhibition. We were told they almost never send works out in this way, but that holding a small exhibition in Greece was a kind of expression of solidarity with Greeks in their difficult financial time.



As always, it was a great opportunity to meet and interact with curators from all over the world. I'm already looking forward to next year in Tel Aviv.

Photos by Elke Krasny

Job Title: Curator
Institution / Organization: Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba
Location: Brandon, Manitoba
Closing Date: August 08, 2011
E-Mail: director(at)agsm.ca
Fax number: (204) 726-8139
Web link to Institution http://www.agsm.ca

Job description:
As Manitoba’s second largest public art gallery, the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba is committed to contemporary art programming as a vehicle for community transformation. In keeping with this commitment to contextualize regional art practice within the larger Canadian art discourse, we are seeking to fill the key position of Curator.

The Curator will possess significant knowledge of contemporary Canadian art, be committed to collaborative work methods, understand the value of regional art practice, and share in the Gallery’s vision to actively engage diverse communities and cultures with the visual arts.

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Curator is responsible for developing and producing contemporary art exhibitions and related publications, and working collaboratively with other staff to provide innovative public programs and effective communications strategies. Responsibilities also include actively engaging relevant community groups and members of the regional arts milieu.

Qualifications include an advanced degree in a relevant discipline and at least one year related experience, with a sound knowledge of contemporary art history. Comprehensive knowledge of funding requirements and relevant funding agencies is mandatory. Excellent interpersonal, administrative and organizational skills, demonstrable writing skills, and proven publishing ability are also required.

Salary commensurate with experience. Excellent employee benefits package.

The Savannah College of Art and Design seeks an assistant curator. The person in this position must possess a strong knowledge of modern and contemporary artists as well as SCAD artists. He or she must monitor artist activity, research artists for exhibition consideration, and develop comprehensive proposals for exhibitions featuring SCAD and visiting artists that further the mission, vision and values of the university.

The assistant curator will work with M.F.A. candidates to guide them in scheduling, planning and installing M.F.A. exhibitions in accordance with SCAD guidelines; develop exhibition checklists for approved exhibitions; communicate effectively and professionally with prospective artists about exhibition spaces, logistics and deadlines prior to the exhibition; oversee layout and installation of exhibitions as needed with the exhibitions operations team; prepare itineraries for visiting artists and host as needed; and conduct studio visits with artists as needed.

The assistant curator will research art fairs, national and international calls for entry, and other opportunities for SCAD artists; write show summaries, catalog texts (and preparatory research) and invitation/ marketing texts for each exhibition; travel, as needed, to conduct research and/ or promote SCAD and its exhibition program; and gather images and other artist press materials for publications, docent preparation and press needs.

The successful candidate will develop relationships with SCAD faculty in various departments, fostering dialogue to create shared goals for programming; develop and execute community-based and educational programs to complement major exhibitions; present curatorial talks and tours of exhibitions to the SCAD community, patrons and public; conduct class visits as requested; and network with local arts organizations and media as required.

This position requires at least three years related experience in a museum or gallery setting; a Master of Arts or Master of Fine Arts degree from an accredited institution in art history, allied art, general art or education.

For further information and to apply, please visit:
https://scadjobs.com/applicants/jsp/shared/frameset/Frameset.jsp?time=1310126649174

Curatorial Internships at The Power Plant

Deadline: Ongoing

Reporting to the Curator & Head of Programs and other members of The Power Plant's Curatorial team, the Curatorial Intern provides a range of administrative and research assistance related to The Power Plant's exhibitions, publications and editions, public programs, and website.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Administration

• Contributing to grant applications
• Preparing packages for couriers/mailing
• Processing material for the reference library
• Managing the catalogue exchange database
• Coordinating the submissions review program
• Compiling exhibition checklists and didactic panels
• Assisting with the promotion of events, publications and editions
• Assisting with artist and speaker travel, hotel arrangements and hospitality
• Assisting in compiling departure packages for artists, galleries and lenders

Research

• Compiling exhibition reading packs and bibliographies
• Sourcing images and captions for publicity material and publications
• Researching funding sources for exhibitions, programming and publications
• Identifying publications to sell in the bookstore and include in the reading room
• Researching artists for exhibitions, participants for public programs and writers for publications

Writing and Editing

• Assisting with proof reading and copy editing
• Preparing material for the website and Facebook
• Preparing texts on artists, public programs, exhibitions, catalogues and artists' editions

Public Interaction

• Assisting at events
• Responding to enquiries from the public
• Preparing and leading a Sunday Scene gallery tour with another Intern

Requirements and Timeframe

Internships are unpaid and are open to anyone with a serious interest in contemporary art. Applicants have typically completed an undergraduate degree in the visual arts, art history or the humanities, but we consider all applications. We also encourage Interns to bring their own projects/initiatives to the table, and we strive to work with Interns' specific strengths and interests.

We require a minimum of 2 days per week for 3 months, during office hours of 9 AM – 5 PM, or the equivalent number of hours or days over a shorter period of time.

How to Apply for an Internship

Please send the following materials by email to info(at)thepowerplant.org with the subject line "Curatorial Internship."

• CV
• Letter outlining why you would like to intern at The Power Plant and your past experience in the field of contemporary art. Include details of when you would seek to start/finish and confirm your ability to meet the necessary time requirements.
• Contact information for two referees (one academic, one previous employer, if possible)
• Writing sample (a class essay, a published text or an article you intend for publication)

There is no strict deadline for applying for a Curatorial Internship. However, we suggest that you contact us at least four months in advance as they are highly competitive – typically we take on 8-10 per year and they are confirmed several months in advance.

The Power Plant
231 Queens Quay West
Toronto, ON M5J 2G8
416.973.4949
thepowerplant.org

- It's a grim moment in the art world. Ai Weiwei has been released from custody, though few find this cause for optimism. Culture budgets are being slashed in all the most unlikely places: first and foremost a savage attack by a Culture Minister in a fragile minority cabinet here in the Netherlands who, in implementing the cuts he was assigned with vicious zeal, garnered the putdown of being "more Catholic than the Pope." The head of the Dutch Arts Council (Raad Voor Cultuur) has resigned in protest at the carnage. Canadians are being warned to expect the same; the UK has already cut all the fat and is now sawing into bone. It's important to keep calm and carry on, but hard not to wonder what can really be done to counter this global tailspin. Signing petitions and going to marches (check, check) seems to have little impact where it matters. Making the economic case has also failed us, as Canadian culture pundit Mark Jones has recently noted. It certainly feels like we are all groping along in the dark together, signing e-petitions and preparing placards, meanwhile fervently hoping for a better strategy to emerge. If the economic argument (which is solid) won't work, then what will?

- Of course, it's also important to keep things in perspective and continue to laugh at ourselves a little. These posts at Hyperallergic and William Powhida's blog (scroll down a bit) should do the trick.

- Also on a lighter note, John Waters, famed director of pre-Jackass gross-out classics such as "Pink Flamingos", is now trying his hand at curating. ""I want to clean house, reward troublemakers and invite crashers," he wrote in an introductory wall panel that raises unusual curatorial questions."

- And last but not least, Issue 8 of ONCURATING is up, after the symposium Institution as Medium. Curating as Institutional Critique?, organized by the Kunsthalle Fridericianum and the Zurich Postgraduate Program in Curating. Contributions by Dorothee Richter, Rein Wolfs, Oliver Marchart, Maria Lind, and more.