Young Curators Workshop on the occasion of the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art

Deadline February 28, 2014

10–12 young international curators will be selected for this workshop. The participants shall carry initial experience in exhibition curating and the group of participants shall ideally be representing a wide variety of countries and continents.

Selection Committee:
María Inés Rodríguez (concept Young Curators Workshop / Director, CAPC musée d‘art contemporain de Bordeaux ), Juan A. Gaitán (Curator 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art), Gabriele Horn (Director, KW Institute for Contemporary Art/Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art), Michael Thoss (Managing Director, Allianz Cultural Foundation), Leonhard Emmerling (Head of Visual Arts Division, Goethe-Institut).

The candidates will be informed as soon as possible about their participation (at the latest by April 1, 2014). With the confirmation they will also receive further organizational details on the general travel planning as well as additional information on the program (panels, seminars with leading curators, artists talks, studio visits related to the 8th Berlin Biennale).

The period specified for the Young Curators Workshop is May 24 to June 2, 2014; however, the exact dates can be subject to change. Flight and accommodation will be covered by the 8th Berlin Biennale/KW Institute for Contemporary Art.

Concept: The Exhibition: Metamorphosis of a Concept

We propose that the exhibition began to establish itself as an autonomous entity with the apogee of the universal expositions in the late 19th century, paving the way for the series of transformations that it would provoke in the field of art throughout the 20th century. Since then, numerous discussions accompany the exhibition, regarding its uses, scope, design, organization, financing, and of course its relationship with the public and with art and artists. As a quickly developing phenomenon and in its proliferating formats, the exhibition has contributed significantly to the reformulation of the museum as a space for culture, reflection, and debate. Today we see it, discuss it, and even experience it as an active aesthetic and political space, where we can confront our individual and collective position vis-à-vis the Real.

We also wish to see it secured as an autonomous space of individual expression that allows for the creation of a “climate”, atmosphere or mental space, where new relationships and analogies between works of art can be tested. Inscribing itself within the conceptual framework of the 8th Berlin Biennale, this new edition of the Young Curators Workshop proposes a space of reflection about the exhibition as an active political space, open to negotiation and experimentation, be it by curators, artists, or the public.

This workshop is directed at young curators interested in the curatorial discourse and practice. It will be a platform for this temporal community to discuss and work through its concerns and perspectives on the necessity to construct places of resistance, critique, and creation from the point of view of art. A series of guests, including curators and professionals from other disciplines will contribute to this debate. The 10–12 young curators will be actively involved in analyzing case studies and readings, and attending and responding to conferences and lectures, all within a working atmosphere that promotes synergy and stimulates discussion and exchange of ideas. The team of the 8th Berlin Biennale and its curator Juan A. Gaitán, as well as some of the artists, will assume an active role in the activities of the workshop.

Contact at the 8th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art: María Inés Rodríguez Concept Young Curators Workshop

Anke Schleper
Project Management Young Curators Workshop
ycw@berlinbiennale.de
Phone: +49. (0)30. 24 34 59 93

Application conditions:

• Language: Candidates must be fluent in English (passive and active). The workshop will be held in English thus candidates must be able to give short presentations in English
• Age: Applicants must be no older than 35 years
• Experience: Candidates must have experience in curating art exhibitions

The application should contain the following documents:
• CV
• Personal statement/letter of motivation why the candidate would like to participate in the workshop
• Contact information: e-mail, phone number, postal address