The role of the curator in the modern art market

The role of the curator in the modern art market

Anastasia Gorbunova

Based on my personal experience

Hello everybody, my name is Anastasia Gorbunova; I am 21 years old girl, a Ukrainian independent journalist, and an art curator. 

You have already got to know my first activity because of the inspiring essay article “A cultural connection for a bright future!” in Mahabahu.

Now I want to continue the art theme, the tool that best reveals the cultural power and its historical context.

And most likely, your first question is — all of the aforementioned is an explanation of an art curatorship? Not really.

If I have already addressed the subject of “historical context,” it would be correct to get back to the basics of this topic and recall a famous person, Harald Szeemann. He is the first independent art curator. His diligent work began in 1969, when Harald, as an art historian, founded the “Agency for Intellectual Guest Labor” in Berne.

The agency that provided services for developing ideas for exhibitions was engaged in the design of galleries and the solution of all organizational issues. 

Many of you can imagine the figure of a curator, as an organizer/coordinator, and maybe an art producer too. Of course, these are all essential features of curatorship, but this activity is much more complex than you might expect. It carries lots of responsibility, decisions, and personal knowledge, which gives you the right to be professionally responsible for the artist and the project at different stages. One of the main tasks of this art role is to determine the topic he wants to explore with the voice of art, the artist’s talent who gives visual form to the ideas.

Realize the cultural and historical value of this thought, and understand how it reflects today’s world (for example) and what its value brings. And to fulfill this mission successfully, you need to rely on a considerable amount of your knowledge and experience.

 Now everyone says it like  “watchfulness.” A word includes all the films you have watched, the music you have listened to, the books you have read, and the paintings you have already enjoyed. This is also an experience that becomes the basis for a talented creator.

As you already understand, an art curator is an important figure in the international art system. Nowadays, this role is more concerned with creative issues than commercial issues, and the main task is to create an exhibition with a unique artistic meaning which can change the whole perspective of the audience.

 I wish I’d put the main secret of this role — the art of communication and respect for the artist and the audience. It’s challenging to work with the creators, especially when you want to say something like: “it’s a deadline time.”

That’s why you must find a form of connection that can be useful for both of you. And as I’ve already said, an art curator has to be well educated to understand the cliché of this: “I am an artist, and this is how I see my art.” No. 

Interest in curetting came into my life at Kyiv Art Week in 2017. That’s where I started talking with Andrey Trilisskiy, co-founder of the iconic ‘RA Gallery’ in the center of Kyiv. In 2019 I entered the school of curators at this gallery and opened my first exhibition in December 2020.

A lot has changed; I have worked with exhibition spaces and independent institutions. It took me two more projects to realize that this kind of work is very “conscious,” and the least you can do is to sign the finished work of the artist.

For me, this is very unfair because such an action does not carry in-depth analysis and novelty, which the symbiosis of creativity and culture should bring. All these mistakes led me to my most loved project, “Road to changes.”

The exhibition opened on January 21, 2022, as part of the “naibudekino,” an independent Ukrainian film festival. The main goal was to attract public attention to the historical building, the Cinema House in Kyiv, which played a cult role in the capital’s cultural life.

The building was falling apart and urgently needed reconstruction and the proper respect for itself, so it was essential to draw attention to the problem in an informal way, with the voice of art.

The main idea of my curatorial exhibition “Road to changes” was the study of the Ukrainian film heritage, an artistic analysis of the problems of our modern cinema, and what the future holds for us if we continue to be cold towards our cultures and historical values. 

A month later, the war began in Ukraine, and how painful it would not be to write now; I know this road leads to a very bright change!

Today I am in France, and my main task is to realize how creatively and culturally I can help the development of my country, especially when I am not physically there. Culture and art have tremendous power because, significantly, they influence human awareness and understanding of the reality around us. Among the immediate plans is to open an exhibition in Paris with Ukrainian artists. 

The central theme of the exhibition is based on the cultural connection between France and Ukraine, two free democracies that have a rich shared history. An artistic voice can correctly reveal this exciting process of connection. But the main rule I set for myself as a curator who starts working in a new country is to respect the values and traditions here. 

I hope that after reading this article, you were able to understand the role of the curator in the modern art market, the main tasks, and the requirements before the start of working on the international market. 

But the main idea always remains the same, do not be afraid to realize the voice of your creativity because it is one of the leading forces that move our world, undoubtedly influencing the process of human development.

(The headline photo for the article from the personal art exhibition of Anastasia Gorbunova, “Energy in color” with a Ukrainian artist Valentyne Metyk in May 2021)

[Writer Anastasia Gorbunova is from Ukraine, living in France, and work with media for years. images from different sources]

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