Curating.info

- Fellowship update! We are on the cusp of announcing who will be the first Curating.info Fellow. Watch this space! There are only a few days left in the online fundraising campaign. If you appreciate this resource, and have not already donated, please do so by clicking "Fuel this Project" here.

- The latest issue of On Curating is out, and it deals with the issues of public art and public space. Download it free. Also, make a note of the fact that Dorothee Richter, director of the curatorial programmes at ZHDK that create the On Curating journal, has started a practice-based curating PhD in collaboration with the University of Reading.

- Hans Ulrich Obrist: "The notion of curating is now used beyond the art world", explains Obrist. "Blogs are being curated, websites, conferences, concept stores, all sorts of things. We live in a digital age characterized by an exponential growth in information. The way we navigate through this huge amount of information and transform it into knowledge is a curatorial issue." (Long-time readers will know that I don't entirely agree with this viewpoint.)

- Marina Abramovic curates for the first time (first time online, anyway).

- Paco Barragán, in a piece that I can hardly believe I have not linked to yet -- PUSH TO FLUSH / The Curator's Paradox says: "...the curator has become an abstract, dubious, un-ideological character, but at the same time wanted and sought-after, like David Guetta. I guess it’s the spirit of our 'curated' times!"

- Following on the "Push to Flush" sentiment: Career Suicide is a very funny blog (by a very good and very funny artist, Alistair Gentry). He recently grabbed my attention with a post entitled "The Deadly Curator". That's all that I'll give away, you have to click to get the rest.

Fellowship update!
The deadline has passed, and we have numerous terrific applications for the inaugural Curating.info Fellowship. We will announce the first Fellow in December.

We're at the mid-point of the online fundraising campaign and still have a way to go towards our goal. A show of support now from the Curating.info community will make the difference in momentum that will spur others to contribute. If you have not already donated, please do so by clicking "Fuel this Project" here. Every little bit helps, and you get cool rewards too!

Spread the word about the campaign by sharing the link to the crowdfunding page on your Facebook Wall, sharing it on Google + and LinkedIn, and Tweeting about it. We've produced sample text for Facebook posts and Tweets below.
Please help us reach our fundraising goal!

Sample Tweet:
I support the inaugural Curating.info Fellowship! Show your support for this new opportunity for curators at RocketHub: http://bit.ly/oWV2G0

Sample Facebook post:
Support this great idea! The Curating.info Fellowship provides a career-changing opportunity for a curator to conduct research and produce an exhibition at the CCA in Glasgow. Contribute to their crowdfunding campaign to ensure this is a success http://rockethub.com/projects/2505-curating-info-fellowship

You can also add the above texts to Google +, and on LinkedIn.
Thanks for your support!

- In Manila, Catholic groups used intense pressure tactics to shut down an exhibition. The curator, J. Pacena III, says: "I am shocked and appalled by how our civil liberties were exploited to satiate the sensibilities of a raucous mob."

- From a report on the British Art Show by Amy Fung: "While their curatorial focus has been on selecting individual works of merit, history cannot be escaped, and motifs cannot be suppressed."

- "If they choose to work in India, young curators will need to use the opportunities provided by the private sector as there is, after all, no corresponding growth in state-run or public museums and galleries." From an interview by Natasha Ginwala with Geeta Kapur on the curatorial context in India.

- In Toronto, plans for a two-year, $420,000 contract for a curator who would choose artwork for a new public transport line have been cancelled. The argument was that the transport agency should "focus on getting the line built". Certainly, although planning how art will be integrated from the start is surely better than retrofitting it later.

- Just found this Feminism and Curating wiki. Looks like the start of a good resource.

- "Art is at a crossroads. It has exhausted its possibilities and needs to expand." - Zhang Ga, Curator of Translife exhibition at NAMOC, China

- Last but most definitely not least! You surely saw our announcement about the first Curating.info Fellowship. Download the application form here, applications are due October 21! Also please consider supporting the financing of the Fellowship with a donation to our crowdfunding campaign. Looking forward to your generous demonstrations of support and your applications for the first Fellowship!

Dear readers:
Just a couple days ago we have released information on an exciting new venture: the Curating.info Fellowship.

The Curating.info Fellowship is a paid opportunity for an individual to conduct curatorial research and produce an exhibition for the 2012 exhibition season at the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) Glasgow, a dynamic organisation in one of Europe's most culturally-vibrant cities. The Fellowship is funded partly by CCA, and partly by the Curating.info community itself through a crowdfunding campaign.

There are very few opportunities to conduct curatorial research and work on curating an exhibition with minimal creative constraints, especially for emerging and mid-career curators. While there is plenty of unpaid work out there, there is a real need for quality career opportunities that are paid and that also offer a real result: your own curated exhibition. This need was the driving force in creating the Curating.info Fellowship.

As a reader, you know that Curating.info is the leading resource for curators of contemporary art on the web, providing information and editorial content to curators free of charge since its inception in 2006. Since 2006, I have never appealed directly to the readership for any funds, simply managing and improving the site as a labour of love. With this new project, I am finally appealing for donations -- though not to run the site itself! -- but to support this great opportunity for one of your colleagues (or, if you choose to apply and you succeed -- an opportunity for yourself!)

All the funds raised through our crowdfunding campaign will go directly to paying the Fellow a professional fee, and any funds in excess of our goal will go towards next year's Fellowship. The site we are using, RocketHub, is not an investment or charity, but just a fundraising platform where supporters can help us provide this Fellowship. Supporters will get rewards ranging from acknowledgement to art publications to mixtapes to stickers, and more, depending on the level of support.

I hope you will donate to this campaign, and I hope you will apply for this opportunity as well! The CCA is a fantastic institution with a long history in Glasgow. At its centrally-located premises on Sauchiehall Street, CCA has multiple gallery spaces, a cinema, cafe/restaurant, bar, meeting/lecture spaces, and bookshop. I partnered with the CCA for this Fellowship because it is an institution I know well and trust; also it is simply an interesting place in the heart of a wonderful city and led by a visionary director, Francis McKee.

Applications for the Fellowship will be accepted until October 21 2011. Get the application pack here: http://curating.info/pages/fellowship.html

Please spread the word, donate generously, and apply to be the first Fellow!

Many thanks,
Michelle Kasprzak
Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Curating.info

Image: CCA Glasgow

- 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.

- Firstly, an exciting announcement: after years of working on building Curating.info into a high quality resource all on my own, I now have a team to help me take this site to the next level. I wish to extend a warm welcome to Katerina Gkoutziouli, Mikhel Proulx, April Steele, and Sophie Williamson. Find out more about them on the "About" page. With the addition of this powerhouse team, expect more content and new developments here at Curating.info.

- Moving on to my usual Pick 'N Mix fare: Augustine Zenakos boldly declares that all curators should just commit suicide. If you have followed Augustine's work you know this declaration is a jolt to get your attention that will be followed up with some substantive and interesting thoughts. We'll keep an eye out for his follow up text, but in the meantime, check out this recent interview with Augustine.

- I imagine many of us are gearing up to go to the opening festivities of the Venice Biennale. Get into the Venice mood by reading this interview with Bice Curiger, the curator of this year's Biennale.

- Remember Shin Jeong-ah, the Korean curator who was quickly shown the door once it was revealed she lied about her credentials? She's back, and has written a book about her experiences, entitled 4001, the number she was assigned as a prisoner.

- I quite enjoyed this article by Rachel Pastan, reporting on a lecture about artists acting in a curatorial capacity by Ingrid Schaffner. Says Ingrid: "It's my job as a curator to minimize the distance between the viewer and the object".

- The latest issue of On Curating is out, themed around politics and community, and you can download it here.

- Lastly: The amount of content here should not suffer, thanks to my marvellous new team, but things are definitely busy, as I recently accepted a post as Curator at V2_ Institute for the Unstable Media in Rotterdam, and am also working hard on an exhibition I'm co-curating with Karen Gaskill that will open at Cornerhouse in Manchester, UK this June. I hope your Spring is as busy and fulfilling as mine has been so far.

- Following the controversy after David Wojnarowicz's work was removed from an exhibition organised by the Smithsonian, and AA Bronson tried to remove his work from the same show in protest, Maura Judkis traces an instance where Wojnarowicz himself tried to remove a work from an exhibition. The case is fascinating and presents counterpoints from the curator's point of view. In 1990, Wojnarowicz tried to remove his work from the exhibition "Art What Thou Eat", curated by Linda Weintraub. In an email interview about both cases she says: "Complying with Wojnarowicz's demand carries a ludicrous implication. It would mean that curators of group shows could only select artists whose sexuality, lifestyles, or political opinions are companionable." and: "An exhibition is a creative expression that deserves the same respect and protection as an individual work of art." Read the full article for a curator's point of view on the removal of artworks from exhibitions.

- More on the evolution of the word curator from a recent article on Visual Thesaurus: "...curators of the ironic might want to make an addition to their lists: the fact that a word which once defined those who looked out for others, now also refers to those who look after themselves."

- I noticed a great initiative on Gabrielle Moser's blog: She's compiling lists of influential "Canadian curated moments". In her words: "...ground rules for the lists are flexible, but I’m looking for exhibitions that were mounted between 1980 and 2010. These could be group or solo shows, and you don’t need to necessarily have seen them "in the flesh", but they need to be curated by a Canadian and include Canadian artists. [...] Though I have started by asking a group of curators I know personally and invited them to submit their lists, the "archive" is open to everyone." You can send your lists to Gabby by contacting her via her website.

- The Are Curators Unprofessional? summit held recently at the Banff International Curatorial Institute has generated quite a bit of online discussion. I found these posts about it particularly illuminating (and have grabbed a few teaser quotes to encourage you to click through!):
Amy Fung at Akimbo: "The almost unanimous rejection of moving information such as catalogues online then is the total fear of losing what little power curators and artists have in the tangible world."
Nancy Tousley at Canadian Art: "This idea of subversion is an exciting notion. It suggests that contemporary artists and curators are closer in their aims than might initially be thought, and that there is potential for curators to participate in substantive change by adopting a strategic "unprofessionalism." "
Ginger Scott at Art in Practice: "The overarching cry from the symposium was to please keep curating unprofessional! It can operate with the freedom it does precisely because it is indefinable."

- Paul Lang is the newly-appointed curator at the National Gallery of Canada. At the job interview, he was asked by National Gallery Director Marc Mayer: "Were I to hire you for this job, who do you work for?" Lang replied: "I work for the public and so do you."

- "...it [curating] seemed to suit my personality better than being an academic, because you're always starting new projects. A curator is different in the sense that one of your main responsibilities is communication -- how you translate what you see in the artwork, what you feel is important about it, to an audience." - Shamim Momin

- "One of the most powerful functions that I have as a curator at a major art organization such as Creative Time is the power to legitimate phenomena. [...] The sad fact is that while critics still worry about whether things are art or not, the big game of cultural production has left the art arena and is now at the disposal of the capitalist machine of cultural production. If art is to challenge the present condition, it must make the scope of its questions and audience much broader and more exacting. For those that take this task seriously, I want to legitimate their efforts." - Nato Thompson

- Witte de With recently held Act X of the Rotterdam Dialogues: Morality. The Witte de With has posted audio files of the talks, including talks by curators Tirdad Zolghadr, Adriano Pedrosa, Clémentine Deliss, Dessislava Dimova, Candice Hopkins, and others.

- Two new book reviews up, and more to come! Check out my reviews of A Brief History of Curating by Hans Ulrich Obrist and New Media in the White Cube and Beyond, edited by Christiane Paul.

- Karen Love (Manager of Curatorial Affairs at Vancouver Art Gallery) has written this excellent primer for emerging curators, the Curatorial Toolkit. (PDF download). It's very interesting to look over the bones of our profession, see what the essential, common sense information that we should be imparting to younger generations is. Especially since, with the proliferation of curatorial studies in academia, there may be an emphasis on theory rather than what I would call craft.

- But, lest you think I am anti-theory, I recently was delighted to see (and blogged a quick announcement about) the launch of the Journal for Curatorial Studies, which will be edited by Jim Drobnick and Jennifer Fisher. The first issue of this journal is forthcoming, but I am certain it is one to watch.

- Last but not least, a little personal note. I was recently being interviewed by some university students who wanted opinions from a curator for an imaginary smartphone app they were developing that would allow curators to "shop" for work, and much more. I daydreamed out loud with them about looking at artist profiles and work, and then being able to organise it like a mind-map, developing my own categories and tags. I have such a ragtag collection of notes (both digital and analogue) on art and artists that I want to file away for later, that some kind of application like this seemed like a wonderful dream. Quite suddenly in the middle of the conversation I realised this was a terrible idea -- if it was all public. "I wouldn't want to share that information," I said, to their mild dismay. I realised that if I added a tag such as "dark" or "poetic" or "layered" to an artist or work, (terms that might be a shorthand for so many other things in my own mind) to the artist, or to others, it might not seem merely simplistic, but actually offensive. It might ruin some of the mystery involved in curatorial choices as well (which was a lesser concern). I ended up blurting out to the students, "you wouldn't want to know how sausage is made, either", but that isn't quite what I meant. I meant something nicer, like you wouldn't want to know how much work it was to erect the Eiffel Tower, or something similar. Maybe that is food for thought for you. What would be your dream digital tool? How much sharing would be involved in this tool -- some, none, a little bit? Do you feel like you are making sausage, or building the Eiffel Tower? All I know is that I would love an app that would intelligently record my mind maps of art and artists as I see them or otherwise encounter them -- if it's totally private, and with a self-destruct button too, perhaps.

Welcome to the latest edition of Pick 'N Mix.

- It's not easy to put together a show," says Manish Pushkale. "Being an artist I understand the limitations of other artists and the discussions could extend to techniques as well. An artist-curator has that advantage, even though they might not have studied curating."

- Holland Cotter: "The subject of what is gained and lost in art in the age of mechanical reproduction is ancient by now. But the question of what art’s future might be on the accessible, untamable Internet is still a bit new. And cyberspace remains, so far, a curator-challenging frontier."

- Alex Kleiman: "In order to be a good curator, generally, you have to be quite flexible and responsive, and in order to curate interestingly and engagingly you have to be multifariously aware, impressionable and analytical."

- Who Cares? 16 Essays on Curating in Asia, commissioned by Para/Site Art Space, is an anthology that compiles 16 essays on curating art in and of Asia. One of the themes addresses the politics of care, commonly understood as the basic role of curators, with regards to art and artists, across time and contexts. Another theme revolves around markers of success in the realm of contemporary curating. A third recurring theme deals with curating in the globalised art world of advanced travel and communication technologies. A fourth theme reconsiders the audience as active producers in a curated experience. Through a variety of perspectives and literary styles, these texts constitute primary notes towards 'curatorial criticism,' a subfield of art criticism that identifies the new in curating today.

- Issue 6 of On Curating is available for download, focusing on exhibition making. The issue features interviews with Nikolaus Schaffhausen, Zoe Gray, and Paul O’Neill, an essay by Hito Steyerl, and much more.

- David Barrie recently gave a thought-provoking lecture entitled "A Bigger Picture: why contemporary art curators need to get out more". He describes why a heritage-oriented mindset can result in constrained collections, noting that: "Despite our long colonial history and our rich links with countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean [...] visitors to museums and galleries in the UK have remarkably few opportunities to see art that is being produced in countries that lie outside the narrow confines of the so-called 'international contemporary art world'." He also skewers the myopic tendencies of some curators who "... neglect art that does not fit comfortably into their intellectual categories". He calls for curators to "get out more", escape the bonds of insularity, and be brave by broadening their own horizons. The text is simultaneously a call to action and an examination of conscience.

- A great interview with Carolee Thea by Richard J. Goldstein that reveals some of her thoughts on the biennial ("an exhibition structure beyond itself, an event that allows for very difficult subject matter"; "Its function, as defined by planners and curators, is to add intellectual capital"; "a component in spreading visual literacy"; etc) and the art market ("artists and curators are unavoidably affected by the onslaught of art fairs and consumerism"). (Thea's recent book of interviews with prominent curators, On Curating: Interviews with Ten International Curators also looks quite good.)

- "I'm not against the market. It's just that I'm against the way the market is overdetermining the art complex at the moment," Vasif Kortun says. "At the same time, we know full well that we provide almost a recruitment ground or a research and progress for the market at the same time. It would be quite ridiculous to say that the biennale is completely alien and independent of the market and its interests."

- Francesco Bonami once said "In theory now you could curate a whole Venice Biennale using only the Internet". The Guggenheim takes a few steps in that direction with YouTube Play, a contest to find the best online video works. Submitted videos will be assessed by a jury and the winners will be exhibited at Guggenheim Museums around the world, and of course, on YouTube.

- An article by Janine Armin on the New York Times articulates the current precarious position freelance curators find themselves in, and identifies the growth of biennials as a particular bright spot in opportunities for freelancers. I found Nicola Trezzi's article describing the growth of artist-curated exhibitions in FlashArt a good complement to Armin's article. While Armin's article quoted established curators explaining why freelancers are still very much necessary (even if it is difficult to be one), Trezzi's article can be viewed as taking those statements even further, reminding us of the multiplicity of reasons why or how someone would curate an exhibition, how it's a creative act in itself, and the value of the artist-curator viewpoint.

- Robert Manchester, curator at the Yellowstone Art Museum, was recently fired. Some tensions: "Manchester said he was asked by Peterson [the Executive Director] to have Apfelbaum [the current artist exhibiting] change her installation and he refused. "You don’t tell an international artist to make something else. I just said I wouldn’t do it. Because I defied Robyn, I had to go. I hadn’t abdicated my curatorial responsibilities," he said. Manchester said he hung 44 shows during his tenure at the museum while he watched the number of staff members decline. Peterson said the YAM currently employs the equivalent of 17 full-time employees. She said the past year has been a financial challenge for the museum, which closed its café and museum store in the past year." Reading between the lines, and extrapolating this situation (a closed cafe and store, alleged increased demands/stringencies on curatorial action), I wonder how many similar situations are unfolding at institutions worldwide: curators asked to trim in the face of dismissed cafe staff, a shuttered store; curators asked what they are doing (still working the old-fashioned way?) personally with artists to commission new work? I don't envy anyone's position (ambitious curator; financially-pressured director) in this situation, though I sympathise most with the curator trying to defend the artist. We are all just trying to make something remarkable happen, for artists, for ourselves, for the public.

- A power couple (Art historian Libby Lumpkin and art critic Dave Hickey) are leaving Las Vegas, and the article detailing their departure is an interesting short study in what makes an art scene. In this case we are talking about an art historian and a critic, but curators are often expected to be this force. In a recent edition of the Edinburgh Salon I used to co-produce with curator Kirsten Lloyd, we discussed "art scenes", and this sounds like a frivolous topic, but as the article about Lumpkin and Hickey details, it is deadly serious when the intellectual centre of gravity leaves town. What makes or breaks places, "scenes", is the people, and curators are in a particularly prime place to shape dialogue and provide leadership.

- Issue 05 of On Curating is out, and this edition, The Making of... focuses on development processes and production conditions of exhibitions. Central issues are: collaborative processes, expectations by artists / curators and working conditions, with contributions by: Sabeth Buchmann, Marina Coelho, Sønke Gau, Juan Francisco Gonzalez-Martinez, and many more.

- Independent Curators International (ICI) are doing a really interesting series of talks at the New Museum, and independent curator Bisi Silva is one of their most recent guests. In the podcast of the talk, Silva discusses the mission and history of the Centre, her career as a curator, and the various political, social, cultural and artistic notions that CCA, Lagos' exhibitions have examined.

- A great upcoming event in beautiful Edinburgh for your diaries: Radical Complicities, Curating Art in the 21st Century. Saturday 1st May 2010, speakers include: Beatrice von Bismarck (Academy of Visual Arts, Leipzig), Nav Haq (Arnolfini, Bristol), Maria Lind (Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, USA), Sarah Lowndes (Independent Curator, Glasgow), Bojana Pejic (Independent Curator, Berlin). Introduced and chaired by Angela Dimitrakaki and Kirsten Lloyd (The University of Edinburgh). Organised by The University of Edinburgh and presented in partnership with the National Galleries of Scotland, this conference brings together leading figures in the field to consider the potential and limitations of recent and emergent curatorial paradigms in contemporary art.

- Two new issues of "On Curating" are out, featuring interviews with Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Paul O’Neill, Simon Sheikh, Mary Anne Staniszewski, Ian White, Katerina Gregos, and many more. The issues are themed around curating film, and the political potential of curating.

- If you are based in or happen to be in New York, see if you can catch up with the fine folk of CRUMB as they promote their new Rethinking Curating book with talks and high tea.

- More interviews and news stories I found around the web: a great story about boom and bust times in the art world with Neville Wakefield, one of the three-person curatorial team behind "Greater New York 2010" which opens on May 23rd; an interview with Victoria Lynn, visual arts curator of the Adelaide Arts Festival (click on "Show Transcript"), discussing her favourite artwork and art trends; and a story on Creative Time's plans for expansion and a focus away from "biennialism", with great quotes from both Anne Pasternak and Nato Thompson.

- "Curating as institutional critique?", an event at the Documenta Hallen in Kassel last month, was a symposium to discuss critical curating, how curating can be relevant in a socio-political sense, and how it can change or re-shape structures. This report gives insight into the discussions that happened there.

Welcome to another edition of Pick 'N Mix, my collections of links and news relevant to curators.

- Let's start with the slightly strange: On Yahoo! HotJobs, an article with the headline "Starving Artist? Not with These Well-Paid Creative Jobs" rhymes off a list of jobs deemed appropriate for artists to do in order to remain "creative" but also put food on the table should earnings from their artwork be a bit scant. Listing "Museum Curator" as a job that could net you $48,300 USD per year, it also characterises the job as "...unlike personality-driven jobs like interior design or fashion design, this is an area where introverted types can really excel." Visual arts career coach Rod Berg backs this up by saying, "Your personality doesn't have to be as bubbly. You can be more studious." This article seemed to be attempting (and in my view, failing) to put a positive spin on the "curator as failed artist" cliche that I also noted was present in the interview with Francesco Bonami in the last Pick 'N Mix. While it isn't the case that curatorial careers are the only ones that end up becoming stereotyped, the stereotypes that do surface in connection with curatorial work are pretty tired and in line with grave misconceptions around the accessibility of contemporary art in general.

- Of course, the stereotype of the reclusive, eccentric and bookish museum curator is one side of the coin, and the brash, self-promoting, celebrity curator is the opposite end of the spectrum of stereotypes. Or, you can shortcut directly to the celebrity part of that equation. Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal was invited to curate an exhibit entitled "Size DOES Matter," on view at New York City's FLAG Art Foundation through until May 27. PBS has produced a short clip on the exhibition, "which explores the concept of size through art, [and] features pieces such as Ron Mueck's "Big Man" sculpture and tiny versions of O'Neal and the Obama family in the eye of a needle, conceived by artist Willard Wigan. Other artists represented include Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Elizabeth Peyton, Corban Walker and Cindy Sherman." The bio on the FLAG Foundation website lists Shaq's many accomplishments, however, a passion for art is not among them. Which begs the question: if you are going to engage a celebrity with no art credentials to curate for you, was it not possible to find one who at least is publicly noted as being passionate about contemporary art?

- "Art fairs are becoming more curatorial and biennials more commercial." Fons Hof, Director Art Rotterdam.

- File under diplomacy in action: Julie Jacobson, the wife of U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson, has struck out on her own, and curated (the Globe and Mail says "put together") an exhibit combining Canadian and American landscape artists for the official residence. "The guidelines state that art in official residences must be works by U.S. citizens, either native or naturalized. Ms. Jacobson says she was interested in building on some of the political themes of President Barack Obama, seizing on his idea of "finding common ground with our neighbours." She asked for special dispensation from State Department officials – saying that the way to find common ground was to also display Canadian artists. They agreed. The result is a 17-piece collection – eight of which are paintings from Canadian artists – called Common Ground: American and Canadian Landscape Painting. Ms. Jacobson says she chose to focus on the period around the 1920s when Canadian and American artists were beginning to discover the beauty in their own backyards." I thought this was a sweet gesture on Ms Jacobson's part.

Welcome to another edition of Pick 'N Mix, my collections of links and news relevant to curators.

- There are two events coming up in March that I'd like to highlight. Friends and compatriots CRUMB are launching three books on Friday March 5 in Gateshead, UK. CRUMB's co-founders, Sarah Cook and Beryl Graham, are launching their new book Rethinking Curating: Art After New Media, published by MIT Press, and two new volumes of CRUMB dialogues published by The Green Box, Berlin. Find out more on their Facebook event page. A few time zones over in Philadelphia, USA, on Saturday March 13, a symposium entitled "Curating and Risk" will be held at Moore College. The event is the fifth in a series of public conversations about issues and ideas in contemporary curatorial practice. Admission is free but RSVPs are requested, find out more on Moore's website.

- Two new must-reads: The Exhibitionist is a new journal on exhibition making that looks like essential reading, especially as it is made by curators for curators. Also Independent Curators International has just launched Dispatch, which will host a range of curators around the world on a monthly basis. This month, the host is Sofía Olascoaga, an educational curator based in Mexico City.

- Whitney Biennial curator Francesco Bonami was recently profiled in New York Magazine. A quick read, and interesting merely to see the slightly lazy "curator as failed artist" trope trotted out. The quote from Bonami I liked best was: "It’s a myth that curators change the career of an artist. The work of an artist changes the career of an artist."