Other Type of Creative Curator : the Artist-Curator collaboration in Theory & Practice

Abstract

In this thesis I look at the artist-curator collaboration as a creative practice, focusing on curation as a form of caretaking and curating on the grounds of the artwork and artist. I attempt to define the key aspects of how to care for art and artist which I believe involves trust, mutual respect, meeting on equal grounds and knowledge producing conversation. I define care according to Jane C. Tronto who believes that the conceptions of care perpetuate gender, class and racial structures of power privilege through the construction of “otherness”. Fighting these conceptions, I am certain that care should be of higher value and important to every curator. Alternatively, this thesis is an attempt to define and shape my curatorial practice. I look into the historical context of the curator as a creative force and it‘s criticism and consequently make room for my own practice as a type of creative curator using dialogue as a methodology with an emphasis on trust and care. For this thesis I used a form of qualitative research based on interviews with curators with different backgrounds. In qualitative research, knowledge is a collective understanding that has evolved through communication between the researcher and the participant. In this way, reality is perceived though interpretations which are ever-changing. Lastly I look at the recent projects in my practice and put them in the context of my developing methodology. In conclusion, applying dialogue and caretaking in a collaboration between artist and curator, allows the curator to be creative and partake in the creative journey of the artist without overstepping their boundaries.