Showing posts with label Future Perfect (Internship). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Future Perfect (Internship). Show all posts
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Journal | Once more with feeling
Shamelessly, I'll jump on the bandwagon here with Kent and Rachelle's posts on the 'liberal' use of the word "curate" recently. Much like how markers like "indie" and "artisanal" seem to be thrown around these days for 'intelligent marketing', there's this fear now that "curate" might just suffer the same fate of becoming the buzzword (unless it already has?) Can we afford to be nonchalant about this and who cares about curating? I suppose we do.
I'll go back to Kent's brilliant point here:
Most of us would be familiar with the etymology of the word "curate" pointing to the rather curious verb of "care" - which, as Kent pointed out, used to refer to the caring for a collection of objects. What has changed or evolved is this notion of caring; what do we care for? how should we care?
And it is precisely these two questions posed by curating today that we ought to come back to this rather flippant use of the word "curate" today. Of course, we can always argue for it on the basis of 'poetic license' as such with the liberal use of the word - as I suspect those guilty of it would. Yet, we need to and ought to be aware of how the word is being thrown around, and for what purposes. In short, we need to care about the concept of curatorship here. While others may be comfortable using the word liberally in a non-reflexive manner, I doubt that those of us with an investment in the concept of curatorship can. That is to say that one of the ways in which we can care for the use of the word here is to constantly be reflexive about it and to critique others about their (flippant) use of the word here - even to the extent of unpacking their agendas: What is the context and conditions in which they are pushing the word "curate" in our faces? Why? To what end?
If we can concede that every curatorial gesture is also a kind of ideological force, I would venture to say that every liberal iteration of the word "curate" today is also guilty of reifying certain ideas about curatorship and we ought to be on our guard against that. This is for me perhaps one of the roles of curatorship - which is to care for the concept of curating itself. To take poetic license with the word is one thing (and an excusable one at that), but to remain nonchalant about the ideological context(s) within which such utterance of "curate", to let it pass without a care, so to speak, is perhaps akin to (intellectual) suicide for those of us with an investment in curatorship.
I'll go back to Kent's brilliant point here:
From the keepers of a collection, whose job was to care for the collection, the role and definition of the curator has expanded greatly to what it is today. Contemporary curating presents new context or experiences to approach existing conditions or perspective (emphasis mine)
Most of us would be familiar with the etymology of the word "curate" pointing to the rather curious verb of "care" - which, as Kent pointed out, used to refer to the caring for a collection of objects. What has changed or evolved is this notion of caring; what do we care for? how should we care?
And it is precisely these two questions posed by curating today that we ought to come back to this rather flippant use of the word "curate" today. Of course, we can always argue for it on the basis of 'poetic license' as such with the liberal use of the word - as I suspect those guilty of it would. Yet, we need to and ought to be aware of how the word is being thrown around, and for what purposes. In short, we need to care about the concept of curatorship here. While others may be comfortable using the word liberally in a non-reflexive manner, I doubt that those of us with an investment in the concept of curatorship can. That is to say that one of the ways in which we can care for the use of the word here is to constantly be reflexive about it and to critique others about their (flippant) use of the word here - even to the extent of unpacking their agendas: What is the context and conditions in which they are pushing the word "curate" in our faces? Why? To what end?
If we can concede that every curatorial gesture is also a kind of ideological force, I would venture to say that every liberal iteration of the word "curate" today is also guilty of reifying certain ideas about curatorship and we ought to be on our guard against that. This is for me perhaps one of the roles of curatorship - which is to care for the concept of curating itself. To take poetic license with the word is one thing (and an excusable one at that), but to remain nonchalant about the ideological context(s) within which such utterance of "curate", to let it pass without a care, so to speak, is perhaps akin to (intellectual) suicide for those of us with an investment in curatorship.
Saturday, 25 August 2012
Journal I on awareness of the curatorial
Picking up from Rachelle's post, personally I'm not too concerned with the proliferation of the word, "curate". Admittedly, I think there are moments when the adoption of the word had seemed a tad odd. Case in point, the change in designation from film programmer to film curator in the local film scene, seemingly just to keep in sync with the changing art trends. Despite the fact that the programming of films, its context and most importantly, its experience (within the theatre) remain unchanged.
From the keepers of a collection, whose job was to care for the collection, the role and definition of the curator has expanded greatly to what it is today. Contemporary curating presents new context or experiences to approach existing conditions or perspective (be it about the past, present or future). Through a combination of artefacts, artworks, situations, etc. they provide that encounter.
Perhaps a thin line that exist between an artist and a curator is that the former creates, whereas the latter orchestrates? But even then, this is a bit of a generalization. While turning to design, the often cited distinction between art and design is that; design was made with specific purposes and functions in mind, while art's purpose was merely for itself and the artist. While the former largely holds true, the latter is flimsy at best. Particularly in contemporary art making, with the growth of art institutions and market. In a related manner, while economics was once predicated upon production, it is now defined by consumption.
To draw an example, I saw a talk by one of the founders of this company: http://www.ideo.com/
In the About Us, they described themselves as "uncovering latent needs, behaviors, and desires". Evidently, there is a distinct consumer angle, but this doesn't undermine the fact that the way they approach design (at the macro level, which is for whole companies) is by and large the same as curating. They curate a costumer experience, they re-interpretate the context of consumer service and at the core of their practice, is impeccably aware of the consumer's (audience) behaviors and desires.
As the boundaries of art making and design practices (and also other practices) expand, they collide and overlap with the curatorial. I think what's interesting is the arrival upon and identification with the curatorial - the very moment when the practice of curating enters the public sphere, which it inevitably has, as neither sphere (institutional and public) exist in isolation of each other.
Similarly, over the last few decades we have seen plenty of examples of art making gaining awareness within the public sphere, particularly the appropriation of pop art aesthetics into mainstream aesthetics. Of course and thankfully, this appropriation is never just one-sided. In many ways, this trafficking provides a form of acknowledgement to the relevance of both spheres.
That being said, to what purpose this relevance serves, is of course, for each and everyone to decide.
From the keepers of a collection, whose job was to care for the collection, the role and definition of the curator has expanded greatly to what it is today. Contemporary curating presents new context or experiences to approach existing conditions or perspective (be it about the past, present or future). Through a combination of artefacts, artworks, situations, etc. they provide that encounter.
Perhaps a thin line that exist between an artist and a curator is that the former creates, whereas the latter orchestrates? But even then, this is a bit of a generalization. While turning to design, the often cited distinction between art and design is that; design was made with specific purposes and functions in mind, while art's purpose was merely for itself and the artist. While the former largely holds true, the latter is flimsy at best. Particularly in contemporary art making, with the growth of art institutions and market. In a related manner, while economics was once predicated upon production, it is now defined by consumption.
To draw an example, I saw a talk by one of the founders of this company: http://www.ideo.com/
In the About Us, they described themselves as "uncovering latent needs, behaviors, and desires". Evidently, there is a distinct consumer angle, but this doesn't undermine the fact that the way they approach design (at the macro level, which is for whole companies) is by and large the same as curating. They curate a costumer experience, they re-interpretate the context of consumer service and at the core of their practice, is impeccably aware of the consumer's (audience) behaviors and desires.
As the boundaries of art making and design practices (and also other practices) expand, they collide and overlap with the curatorial. I think what's interesting is the arrival upon and identification with the curatorial - the very moment when the practice of curating enters the public sphere, which it inevitably has, as neither sphere (institutional and public) exist in isolation of each other.
Similarly, over the last few decades we have seen plenty of examples of art making gaining awareness within the public sphere, particularly the appropriation of pop art aesthetics into mainstream aesthetics. Of course and thankfully, this appropriation is never just one-sided. In many ways, this trafficking provides a form of acknowledgement to the relevance of both spheres.
That being said, to what purpose this relevance serves, is of course, for each and everyone to decide.
Journal I everyone is a curator
at future perfect's second session, we discussed how the term 'curating' is pretty loosely used these days ... and thrown around in a variety of contexts - anything and everything can be curated, from fashion to music playlists yadda blah. it's almost as though the word 'curate' has become a trendier replacement for anything that means 'organise'. recently, at work, i also came across situations where architects are starting to use phrases like 'curating space' when they actually just mean 'designing space'.
we also talked about curators' rite of passage to becoming one, and if getting a curatorial education is actually a healthy thing for the scene. david's view was that most good curators are not made by attaining degrees, they just become better at their craft by doing, and making mistakes, and then doing better. i'm not so sure if i agree entirely with him because events like this one gets off the hook pretty easily.
Monday, 4 June 2012
phase 2. Internship
PROGRAMME
Singapore Art Museum (SAM) advocates and presents contemporary art practices of
Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. Opened in January 1996 as a museum
under the National Heritage Board of Singapore, SAM has amassed one of the world's
largest public collections of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian artworks, with a
growing component in international contemporary art. Since 2009, SAM has focused its
programming and collections development initiatives around contemporary Southeast
Asian art, and art practices. Through strategic alliances with arts and cultural institutions
and community organisations, SAM facilitates visual arts education, exchange, research
and development within the region and internationally. SAM also organised the
Singapore Biennale 2011.
Future Perfect works with an international roster of contemporary artists. With extensive
knowledge and experience in the Asian region and beyond, Future Perfect provides
international promotion and representation for contemporary artists, as well as research
and advice for collectors, institutions and curators. The gallery boasts extensive
international networks in Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. It is committed to
advancing the practice of the most dynamic and innovative contemporary artists, working
across a wide range of traditional and non-traditional media.
________
Dates
13 August- 2 November 2012 (12 weeks)
NUS Museum I Thursday 5-8pm
Singapore Art Museum I Tuesday 6-8pm and/or Thursday 6-8pm
Future Perfect I Wednesday 5-7pm and/or Friday 5-7pm
13 August- 2 November 2012 (12 weeks)
NUS Museum I Thursday 5-8pm
Singapore Art Museum I Tuesday 6-8pm and/or Thursday 6-8pm
Future Perfect I Wednesday 5-7pm and/or Friday 5-7pm
(The internship is not a full-time commitment. It will require a minimum of 3-5 hours/ week contact-time with the respective institutions' curator-mentor. However it is to be noted that you may be expected to meet outside official hours to work on assigned projects.)
Concept
With the completion of the workshop, programme participants will embark on a 3-month Internship programme where they will be afforded the opportunity to work closely with practitioners across different spectrums of the arts and heritage industry, developing practical work skills to build upon the theoretical foundations from the workshop. Participants will get to join in on-going work and develop a new project under the auspices of the institution, and according to its mandate.
Concept
With the completion of the workshop, programme participants will embark on a 3-month Internship programme where they will be afforded the opportunity to work closely with practitioners across different spectrums of the arts and heritage industry, developing practical work skills to build upon the theoretical foundations from the workshop. Participants will get to join in on-going work and develop a new project under the auspices of the institution, and according to its mandate.
Participating Institutions
NUS Museum's mission is to actively facilitate the intellectual and cultural life of the NUS
community. Focusing primarily but not exclusively on Southeast Asian art and culture, the
Museum contributes to and facilitates the production, reception, and preservation of
knowledge through collections development and curatorial practice, developing
partnerships within NUS, the cultural and heritage industry, and the global knowledge
community.
NUS Museum's mission is to actively facilitate the intellectual and cultural life of the NUS
community. Focusing primarily but not exclusively on Southeast Asian art and culture, the
Museum contributes to and facilitates the production, reception, and preservation of
knowledge through collections development and curatorial practice, developing
partnerships within NUS, the cultural and heritage industry, and the global knowledge
community.
Singapore Art Museum (SAM) advocates and presents contemporary art practices of
Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. Opened in January 1996 as a museum
under the National Heritage Board of Singapore, SAM has amassed one of the world's
largest public collections of modern and contemporary Southeast Asian artworks, with a
growing component in international contemporary art. Since 2009, SAM has focused its
programming and collections development initiatives around contemporary Southeast
Asian art, and art practices. Through strategic alliances with arts and cultural institutions
and community organisations, SAM facilitates visual arts education, exchange, research
and development within the region and internationally. SAM also organised the
Singapore Biennale 2011.
Future Perfect works with an international roster of contemporary artists. With extensive
knowledge and experience in the Asian region and beyond, Future Perfect provides
international promotion and representation for contemporary artists, as well as research
and advice for collectors, institutions and curators. The gallery boasts extensive
international networks in Europe, Australia and Southeast Asia. It is committed to
advancing the practice of the most dynamic and innovative contemporary artists, working
across a wide range of traditional and non-traditional media.
________
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