Thank you to Toby Chapman, assistant curator from 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and the artists Marya (Marsha) Elimelak, Jess Bradford, Bryden Williams, Maryam Goodarzi and Nicola Morton who came together for this session of acuratorvisits. Also, thank you Stephen Burstow for your behind the scenes genius and the super entertaining PA announcements throughout the day. Looking forward to our next visit....next week!!!
Jessica Bradford and Toby Chapman in the studio
Excitedly today we held our first curator visit.
Elizabeth Pulie, Claire Conroy, Rebecca Shanahan, James Nguyen, Stephen Burstow and Sean O'Connell met with curator Melissa Keys.
Thanks so much to Melissa for her time, great input and conversation, and many thanks to the artists.
Our first pre- A Curator Visits coffee
So excited to be working on our inaugural Curator Visit. Our First curator is now confirmed, and we are in the process of spreading the word so that post-grad students can prepare and get involved.We will hold an Information Session for our first group of artists to prepare for the meetings on Wednesday 15 April 2015.
Send TEMPLATE below to acuratorvisits@gmail.com asap:
NOTES FROM INFO SESSION WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2015 (TIPS/THINGS TO CONSIDER)
Don’t clean/tidy your studio
But do prepare – have on hand what you want to talk about
Be prepared technically – if you are showing videos pre-load them and be ready to go
Artists and curators like the same things – it’s interesting to see source images, materials and tests as much as more completed works
If relevant, have copies of catalogues on hand
Think about how you want to run the meeting
Focus on something in particular rather than running through your entire practice, which is to be avoided!
Provide a little background to your practice
Present a range of projects 4-5 max
Present projects at different stages of completion
Present work that you are doing now
Speak of the theoretical/critical framework of the project/work – do so in a digestible manner
Talk about your work succinctly – learn to distil, discuss and present
Always take things back to the work and focus on the work
Look for conversation and points of access and ask for an opinion: ‘This is where I’m at with this project/work, what do you think?
Be honest about the work
‘We all want to impress our parents’- that is we want our work to be liked, but be weary of ‘pleasing’. You can’t predict what a person you have never met might respond to, so keep it honest and let the work speak for itself rather than trying to present what you think the other person might like...you can’t know this.
Be open to dialogue and let the conversation go where it will, allowing the curator to input, so that it is a conversation and not a presentation. You might not get to cover everything that you planned to speak of, and that is fine
Get advice on the work – throughout the course of your practice you’ll meet many people: it’s good to make yourself a bit vulnerable and be open to suggestions and feedback
Ask about the commercial aspect of the practice – that is the commercial viability of the work
Ask about the institutional framework and where the curator thinks your work would fit – ask for advice.