The 2024 Chicago Seminar brought together emerging, Chicago-based BIPOC curators over eight sessions, inviting participants to collaboratively think through developments in their own curatorial practice to further their unique curatorial voice. Participants engaged in discussions led by ICI staff, guest curators, artists, and other arts professionals, and shared reading; we also conducted site visits at The Floating Museum, The Neubauer Collegium with Dieter Roelstraete, Tala with Francine Almeda, and Sixty Inches from Center with Tempestt Hazel. In addition, each participant held individual advisement sessions with specific mentors identified by participants and ICI staff during the introductory meeting. Over the course of the Seminar, each participant workshopped a proposal for an exhibition or project—a process that began with short presentation on the idea during the first seminar, followed by opportunities for feedback from mentors and the cohort throughout the program. During our eighth and final convening, participants presented their final proposals to the cohort and a small panel of invited guests.
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.
