Independent Curators International (ICI) supports the work of curators to help create stronger art communities through experimentation, collaboration, and international engagement. Curators are arts community leaders and organizers who champion artistic practice; build essential infrastructures and institutions; and generate public engagement with art. Our collaborative programs connect curators across generations, and across social, political and cultural borders. They form an international framework for sharing knowledge and resources — promoting cultural exchange, access to art, and public awareness for the curator’s role.
Francis McWhannell
Francis McWhannell is a freelance writer and curator from Aotearoa New Zealand currently based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Museums and Cultural Heritage from the University of Auckland, where he is currently completing a Master of Arts in Art History. He has written for various arts and culture magazines and websites, including Art New Zealand, Art News New Zealand, and The Spinoff. He contributes regularly to The Pantograph Punch, where he was Visual Arts Editor from 2016 to 2017.
Francis has contributed essays for exhibitions at public and commercial galleries, including Painting: a transitive space (ST PAUL St Gallery Three, 2016) and Denys Watkins: Dynamo Hum (Gus Fisher Gallery, 2017). He is co-author of two books on historical photography, Bitter Fruit: Australian photographs to 1963 (Michael Graham-Stewart, 2017) and Early West African photography (forthcoming). His exhibitions include Postcards from Papatoetoe (Old Papatoetoe mall, 2016), Fluid structures: Watercolour group show (Parlour Projects, 2017), and Projects 2019: Whanaungatanga (Auckland Art Fair, 2019).
involved in:
2019 Curatorial Intensive in Auckland: Public Symposium
The Curatorial Intensive participants of the 2019 Auckland program will each present their project proposals that they have been developing over the course of the program.
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In collaboration with Artspace Aotearoa, ICI presents the first Curatorial Intensive in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. This Intensive draws upon the diverse cultural environment from Auckland and the greater te Moana Nui-a-Kiwa Pacific Ocean region. This Intensive anticipates Artspace Aotearoa’s new programme ‘The Drift,’ which will examine and respond to alternative approaches to artistic education.
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