For the first time, the 2024 Curatorial Forum presented a public curatorial conference around the theme of Curating and the Commons, where we explore both the civic nature and civic possibilities of art and curatorial practice.
We live in a time where each passing day only lays more bare the magnitude of the global challenges before us. In the face of that overwhelming vastness, the only logical response is to turn to our neighbor, and ask what our responsibility is to one another, or better yet, what it can be. Division and individualism have led us here, so perhaps the way out lies in what we have in common. This turn towards one another will play out in every realm of our life, but especially within our labor.
These themes and more formed the focus of Curating and the Commons. Curatorial Forum participants—a group of 40 invited curators from across the United States—were joined by members of the public for a two-day program of talks. Writer and curator Miguel A. Lopez opened the conference with a keynote lecture that focused on his many experiences advancing the role of art in politics and public life, collective work, and collaborative dynamics. Then, three panel discussions focused on three key topics from some of the curators and art spaces who are defining new standards in the field:
- Common Knowledge reaches into our past to explore how archives, collections, and libraries can shape our collective memory. How, and to what ends, can curatorial work uncover, protect, and disseminate our rich and varied histories so that we may learn from the knowledge contained in them?
- Common Space is invested in how we physically shape our present. How can curatorial work reframe how we think about public space in an increasingly privatized environment?
- Common Future examines what may lie ahead, and the civic role that the arts can play in not only imagining, but actively creating a better future. How can our practices move organizations to prioritize the values we hold over the economic value they protect?
Participants also had the opportunity to visit the ICI touring exhibition Actions for the Earth: Art, Care & Ecology, curated by Sharmila Wood, on view at the Block Museum at Northwestern University. Curator Sharmila Wood held a conversation with the Block consulting curator Stephanie Smith and Lisa Corrin (Ellen Philips Katz Director, Block Museum) on the exhibition, and aritst Katie West conducted a guided meditation, which she developed in collaboration with composer Simon Charles, that took place within her installation, Clearing (2019).
