Constant Redistribution: A Roundtable on Feminism, Art and the Curatorial Field

Abstract

This discussion between nine curators, theorists and art historians addresses some of the contemporary issues related to feminism and curating. Topics include the role of the geographical and geopolitical in curatorial projects; the place of canons and canon-making in feminist approaches; the nature of contemporary feminist collectivities; the importance of the museum and its context of capitalism within politicized curatorial practice; and the status of the object and aesthetics in feminist-oriented curatorial practice

Politics of all-women exhibitions today: The case of Poland

“…feminist curating underwent a transformation with regard to its politics of visibility. It was converted from being the practice of a gender-conscious minority into a substantial theme of institutional attention’ (Dimitrakaki and Perry 2013: 220). What the future of feminist politics in the exhibition will be is hard to predict.…”

“…This was the naïve belief of post-feminists in the 1990s – that gains in equality had been permanently achieved and would not require revisiting, that it would just be there for future generations. (Dimitrakaki and Perry, 2013: 238)…”

“…feminist curating underwent a transformation with regard to its politics of visibility. It was converted from being the practice of a gender-conscious minority into a substantial theme of institutional attention' (Dimitrakaki and Perry, 2013). This was followed by concerns on how to 'translate the radical politics that inform exhibitions into more lasting institutional change' and how to react to institutions that 'risk/aim to corrupt and co-opt the revolutionaries' (Dimitrakaki and Perry, 2013).…”

“…It was converted from being the practice of a gender-conscious minority into a substantial theme of institutional attention' (Dimitrakaki and Perry, 2013). This was followed by concerns on how to 'translate the radical politics that inform exhibitions into more lasting institutional change' and how to react to institutions that 'risk/aim to corrupt and co-opt the revolutionaries' (Dimitrakaki and Perry, 2013). These problems are of high importance but what I find problematic is the choice of examples: that is, the concentration on exhibitions whose authors declare themselves as feminists and which are situated in the centres of the art world.…”

Teoría del cuidadoen en el arte del siglo XXI. Propuestas de creación artística y gestión cultural en el sur de Europa durante el periodo 2000-2023

“…La figura del comisario como autor se ha visto reflejada en la creciente fama de autores como Harald Szeemann, Hans-Ulrich Obrist o Nicolas Bourriaud como autores de exposiciones con firma (Dimitrakaki y Perry, 2012). Se produce un paralelismo entre el comisario estrella y la figura del artista (masculino) genio (Buurman, 2016;Richter, 2013) como figuras que aglutinan la genialidad y la capacidad creativa de forma casi innata.…”