Conceived by ICI in partnership with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, our first Detroit Curatorial Seminar provided a platform for emerging curators to develop an idea into an exhibition or project proposal with feedback from hand-selected mentors, who offered a unique perspective on the participant's curatorial practice. Through this process, the Seminar sought to build an affirming network of peers around shared values and support the sharing of knowledge among early-career curators.
The Detroit Seminar consisted of three two-day workshops, held at the Wright and led by ICI and Wright staff, guest curators, and arts professionals that focused on theoretical and curatorial case studies as well as pragmatic logistical training. In the first workshop, participants visited the Zimbabwe Cultural Center and met with artist and founder Chido Johnson (whose work is also featured in ICI's exhibition States of Becoming) for a discussion on alternative cultural spaces and community-building curatorial work. The second workshop visited Cranbrook Art Museum, where Chief Curator Laura Mott offered insights into her collaborative, research-oriented curatorial frameworks, and The Shepherd Detroit and Modern Ancient Brown, a residency program started in 2019 by artist McArthur Binion where we were joined in group critique by Executive Director and Co-Curator Michael Stone-Richards. Throughout the Seminar, participants refined their exhibition and project proposals with feedback from one another and one-on-one mentorship sessions tailored to their individual needs. Group readings, studio visits, and other site visits encouraged exchange among the curators. The Detroit Seminar concluded with a trip to Chicago in April 2024 to meet with their Chicago Curatorial Seminar counterparts and attend the Curatorial Forum programming.
About the Curatorial Seminar
ICI's Curatorial Seminar is a free professional development program that supports emerging curators to advance their practice. It centers a first-person approach to curating, and focuses on strengthening curatorial practices that support overlooked artists and engage with local art communities while working outside of a large institution. This unique program offers opportunities to gain knowledge and resources through ICI’s network, share ideas, and think through developments in one's own curatorial practice. Through this process, the Seminar seeks to build an affirming network of peers who connect around common values, and support the sharing of knowledge among early-career curators.
Credits
This program is made possible through an exclusive partnership with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, with additional support from Teiger Foundation. Special thanks to Gwendolyn Hatten Butler for her generous support of the Detroit Seminar participants' participation in the Curatorial Forum in Chicago.
