Curating.info

Curatorial practice as it emerged during the twentieth century is being extensively recast. The tremendous change in the status of the object, of culture, of the various disciplines, or information and education, implies an inevitable transformation of the curator’s role and competencies. A renewed interest for curatorial practice has recently emerged within the field of architecture.

The Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) is an international research centre and museum founded by Phyllis Lambert in 1979 on the conviction that architecture is a public concern. Based on its extensive Collection, exhibitions, programs, and research opportunities, the CCA is a leading voice in advancing knowledge, promoting public understanding, and widening thought and debate on architecture, its history, theory, practice, and role in society today.

The CCA is launching new curatorial opportunities: the Young Curators Program and the Power Corporation of Canada Curatorial Internships Program.

Do you want to realize your own curatorial project at the CCA?

Young Curators Program
The Young Curators Program offers the opportunity to propose and curate a project on the contemporary debate in architecture, urbanism, and landscape design during a residency of up to 3 months at the CCA.

Apply by 15 April 2011 to youngcurator -at- cca.qc.ca.

Do you want to take part in the CCA’s curatorial activities?

Power Corporation of Canada Curatorial Internships Program

The Power Corporation of Canada Curatorial Internships Program encourages students and recent graduates across the design disciplines to become acquainted with the CCA collection, conservation, educational, exhibition, publication, and research programs through an internship of 6 to 12 months in Montréal.

Apply by 15 April 2011 to curatorialintern -at- cca.qc.ca.

For more information, forms, and how to apply please visit the CCA website.

Apologies for a late Pick 'N Mix this month... but I had a great excuse. Like many others in the art world, the beginning of June involved being completely absorbed in the Venice Biennale. You can check out my photos from Venice here.

- While we're on the topic of Venice, the Wall Street Journal posted a short interview with the director, Daniel Birnbaum, who curated the main exhibition spaces at the Biennale. Birnbaum says: "I think if the curator is successful, he becomes invisible in a way." This idea of invisibility may initially seem impossible in this particular case, as indeed Birnbaum's job is a very visible one in a sense, but Birnbaum's work also is made invisible by the sheer scale and grandeur of the event. For me, the dazzle of the preview week prevented real reflection, and it is only upon my return, looking at my many photos, that I can begin to appreciate Birnbaum's curatorial methods.

- Of course, following on immediately after Venice is another major art event (albeit of a different nature) -- Art Basel. The organisers have magnanimously transcribed the talks that have taken place at Art Basel over the years. Browse this archive and see what strikes your fancy. (Coincidentally, the conversation for Art 36 Basel was hosted by Daniel Birnbaum.)

- The credit crunch continues to bite, and Curbed L.A. pronounces that the career path for architecture curators is "looking dodgy", partly on the basis of the recent layoff of L.A. MOCA's architecture and design curator. Personally, I'd hesitate to call it a trend of a scale to make the whole career path 'dodgy', though this individual instance is unfortunate.

- I recently received an email asking about good websites for job hunting. While it's true the best jobs are often the ones that you hear about from friends and colleagues, you couldn't go wrong keeping an eye on Akimbo (Canada-focused), Arts Professional (UK-focused), the Guardian culture section (UK-focused), Museum Jobs (UK-focused), CHIN (Canada-focused), ArtsJobs (US-focused), and the NYFA (US-focused). Of course, I'll continue to post lots of relevant jobs here.