Curatorial Seminar Istanbul 2013

Jun 25, 2013 – Sep 25, 2013

Istanbul, Turkey

Developed in collaboration with SAHA, the Curatorial Seminar offered a small group of curators the opportunity to engage closely with mentors and their peers to explore pertinent issues relating to exhibition-making, commissioning, running non-profits, and other activities curators are now regularly expected to perform. The Curatorial Seminar focused on Istanbul as a case study, exploring a number of key issues that challenge our understanding of what constitutes an emerging art scene, the strengths and pitfalls of working within such a context, and questions of how to develop a curatorial practice that supports artists and local infrastructure within the international art world.

The Seminar was primarily conducted online, through Skype lectures with curators and online discussions, as well as reading groups and workshops. Between September 21 and 25 the seminar was held in person in Istanbul, and included site visits to artists’ studios and selected venues, seminar sessions with guest curators, and an in-depth study of the 13th Istanbul Biennial, Mom Am I a Barbarian?, curated by Fulya Erdemci.

Participants

Özge Ersoy

Özge Ersoy is Public Programmes Lead at Asia Art Archive, Hong Kong.

Mónica Espinel

Monica Espinel is an independent curator and writer specializing in Modern and Contemporary Art from Latin America.

Nazli Gurlek

Nazli Gurlek is an independent curator and writer based in Istanbul, where she is Vice President of AICA Turkey.

Olga Hatzidaki

Olga Hatzidaki is a curator and cultural producer based in Athens.

Claire Shea

Claire Shea is the Deputy Director of Para Site, Hong Kong.

Kate Brehme

Kate Brehme is the founding director of Contemporary Art Exchange in Berlin, a curatorial and arts education platform that produces international projects and exhibitions of young and emerging artists.

Anna Santomauro

Anna Santomauro is an independent curator based in Andria, Italy, and is the Co-Founder and Chief Curator of Vessel in Bari, Italy

The activities were led by Zoe Butt (Executive Director and Curator at Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh), María del Carmen Carrión (Associate Director of Public Programs & Research, ICI, NY), Colin Chinnery (Artistic Director of the Wuhan Art Terminus (WH.A.T.), Wuhan, China), Fulya Erdemci (Curator, 13th Istanbul Biennial), Kate Fowle (Chief Curator at Garage, Moscow, and Director-at-Large of ICI, New York), Hou Hanru (Curator of the 5th Auckland Triennial), Vasif Kortun (Director of Research and Programs, SALT, Istanbul), Julian Myers (Associate Professor at California College of the Arts, San Francisco), Georges Pfruender (Head of the Wits School of Arts, Johannesburg, South Africa), Andrea Phillips (Curator of Public Programme, Istanbul Biennial 2013), Sally Tallant (Director of the Liverpool Biennial), and Fatos Ustek (independent curator and art critic).

Facilitators

Kate Fowle, Vasif Kortun, María del Carmen Carrión, Hou Hanru, Zoe Butt, Sally Tallant,

Colin Chinnery, Fatoş Üstek, Andrea Phillips, J. Myers-Szupinska, Georges Pfruender, Fulya Erdemci

About the Curatorial Seminar
The Curatorial Seminar evolved from ICI's successful short-term, low-cost training program, The Curatorial Intensive. This new model emphasizes the importance of curatorial research and writing. In contrast to the fast pace and rigorous concentration of our Curatorial Intensive model, this one proposes a longer duration in which to conduct in-depth analysis of a single topic that will spread out in time. Taking advantage of the tools available for online knowledge sharing and collaborative work, the Curatorial Seminar enables participants to remain at their workplaces and still engage in an international dialogue. The purpose of the Curatorial Seminar is to offer a small group of curators the opportunity to engage closely with mentors and their peers to explore pertinent issues of contemporary curatorial practice.

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Credits

The Curatorial Seminar is a new initiative developed in collaboration with SAHA. ICI Public Programs and Research Initiatives are made possible by grants from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the Dedalus Foundation, the Hartfield Foundation, and the Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation, and by generous contributions from Toby Devan Lewis, the ICI Board of Trustees, and the supporters of ICI’s Access Fund.