18 Things Curators Actually Do

Image via Complex Original

Professional curators are paid for their talents at recognizing what new work will be popular in the future. Their trained eyes sift through trends and fads to find what items will stand the test of time. In the 21st century, the curator is anyone from an art fair programmer to a fashion stylist who puts together a capsule collection. Many people these days are also obsessed with curating everything in their lives.

Curators engaged in modern and contemporary art must have an understanding of critical theory and art history. By looking to the past, they are better informed about the implications of the artwork they deal with in the present and its place in history.

According to Serpentine Galleries' curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, a curator is responsible for safeguarding the heritage of art. One of the things a curator should do, therefore, is engage in the act of preservation on some level.

In order to feel "a sense of connection to the motion and beauty of history as expressed through objects," curators should be familiar with the history of exhibitions such as Documenta and various biennials. Most curators also have some knowledge of the theory, history, and practice of object collection and display. With this background, they can bring the history of art into their present day work.

A curator displays and arranges works of art in exhibitions with an overall theme in mind. In 1983, the curator Harald Szeeman displayed works by Gaudi, Beuys, and Schwitters for a show called "The Tendency Towards the Total Work of Art." Szeeman envisioned his exhibition as a toolbox. Through this theme, he wanted to display the idea that "these artists had created all-embracing environments."

A curator is responsible for setting up an exhibition so that it's an extraordinary experience for its visitors. For the artist David Shrigley, curating is less about showing good art to its best advantage, and more about making a really good exhibition.

In order to create exhibitions that shape, provoke, or contribute to an argument, be it about the definition of art or a particular art movement, curators work closely with museum collections and artists over an extended period of time.

A curator's interpretation helps visitors engage with modern and contemporary art pieces. By acting as mediums for challenging works, curators inspire conversations about complex ideas. At the same time, curators try to avoid dictating what the viewer sees and feels.

Eliciting this response is the "best thing a curator can do," according to artist John Baldessari. 

Many have looked to Jean-François Lyotard's 1985 exhibition "Les Immatériaux at the Pompidou" in Paris for curatorial inspiration. Hans Ulrich Obrist, for one, was most interested in how, rather than writing a book, Lyotard communicated his philosophical ideas in the form of a labyrinth. Lyotard was not illustrating an idea, but producing it before your eyes through his exhibition.

The curator's role is to help their artists create their fondest works. In the process of enabling an artist, the curator has to make sure that the artist's work is not subordinated to the curator's own vision.

The curator-artist relationship is a delicate balance. A hands-on artist like Yoko Ono, who prefers to execute almost the whole show on her own, wants a curator who gives her the protection and encouragement that she needs without taking control of the exhibition.

Yoko Ono explains that Hans Ulrich Obrist is more than a curator in the straightforward sense of someone who arranges works in an exhibition. Obrist's duty, like that of many curators, is "to nurture his own knowledge and tastes as much as the artists he works with." Ono believes that this curatorial responsibility empowers the artist.

Part of surviving as a curator in a massive, commercial art institution is the ability to stand out from other professionals in the field through individual creativity. This extends beyond the working world to all facets of a curator's life.

There are many curators who aren't just curators. There are "artist-curator-bartender-whatevers" types, who "just put it all together to make it work." Curators want the freedom to make things up along the way, and many have found this freedom by taking on other jobs and identities.

Artist David Shrigley defines "good curation" as the curator's ability to collaborate with someone who can do something he or she can't.

When Emilia Galatis, a curator from Perth, Australia, visited New York, she made an effort to connect with other curators in the city. This gave her a better sense of her position in the field. By talking to other curators from around the world, she was able to understand how her expertise, obscure aboriginal art, fits in the contemporary art world.

Despite their other roles, curators are inevitably part of the art market. What they choose to hang on walls can determine what sells in auctions and through galleries. Yet, they are not art dealers, so they must work to exist outside the commercial side of art. Su Wei, and independent curator based in Bejing, has said that this is an issue she faces in her home country: “It’s very hard for people doing this in China to find the right kind of place, that doesn’t feel like just a part of the market.”