'Traces Unveiled'
Curatorial Collective
Supported by Anna Clough, the graduate teaching assistant, a collective was formed to learn methods of curating through the curation of our own exhibition. Collaboratively, we constructed a cohesive open call, leased with artists and installed work within the exhibition space. The show 'Traces Unveiled' explored the tactile and sensory through intimate and delicate curation methods.
Creating a cohesive theme and releasing an open call poster
Advertising through social media and posters
Preparing the space
We worked within a group to curate the show, whilst thinking about the themes, work and space to create a cohesive outcome
Reflections
MSOA Curatorial Collective Exhibition 1 ‘Traces Unveiled’ Reflective Summary
Responsibilities
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managing the social media
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liaising with artists over email and in person
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receiving and giving back artworks
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painting the space
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overseeing the booking of AV equipment
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invigilating
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Main access to submissions and artist information to relay back to the group
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helping set up and pack away
Challenges
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Working with a large group, communication between all members
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Receiving a sculpture piece broken
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Fair delegation of tasks
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Technology and access to the joint email
What/how can we improve
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Releasing the poster earlier, putting more up and doing targeted advertisement (in briefings)
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Pushing the open call more to get a higher number of submissions
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Delegate tasks more
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Set deadlines for ourselves and create a timeline
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Having a clearer theme, perhaps having a statement or piece of writing written for a better understanding (can be included in the open call)
In our first meeting we split off into groups where we were to each come up with a theme, an object and a curatorial idea. We were then to merge them together to find a common theme and later discuss and merge with the group. This method was effective in generating ideas however, it overcomplicated the process and made us make connections that weren’t necessarily there. The addition of an object, “shoes’ in my group’s case, added confusion. I believe this led to an overcomplicated open call and might have deterred people from submitting work. This led to our themes including ‘in the shoes of’, tactility, sensory, traces, heritage. Through seeing the submitted works we were able to
The open call was advertised through posters put up around the art school and on Instagram. The poster design, create by Luke, was professional and playful to maximise submissions. Whilst most of the information was contained on the Instagram and google docs form, I believe an open call needs to contain more information regarding themes or a punchier succinct sentence explaining what the show is about. In the future, this can be pushed more through more posters, a greater social media presence, earlier release and targeted advertisement.
I fell into the role of social media management as it was a role left free. This worked well as I have experience of running the MSOA Screenings Instagram. If this was an assigned role, I would have been more conscious in having a greater social media presence. To decide what pieces were to be accepted the group went through the submissions and considered what which would work in the space and fit the theme. We also considered what relationships pieces have to each other to generate curatorial ideas.
During set up it was extremely useful to hear Anna Clough’s input into how best to position the works and made us consider aspects we never did before. Due to not having a great number of artworks, we were able to be more thoughtful in placement and had space to play with. We weren’t battling to cram work in. Due to the pieces being smaller we ran with the delicate curation and matched it with soft warm lighting achieved by bedroom lamps places around the room. In addition, the number of sculptural and ceramic pieces required us to book out furniture from the theatre to place the work on. These worked in the space better as the dark wood matched the wood of the lamps and added another layer of texture to the room.
We considered the flow of the space, the walkways and where the audience’s eyes would gravitate to first. In addition, it was important to be mindful of the balance of vertical and horizontal lines so as not to make the show look awkward. Height was used as a curatorial method, with some pieces placed barely off the floor and other above eyeline. We decided to place Taz’s ‘Act as Sanctuary’ outside the space as it was too big to fit inside and would have overwhelmed the room. This worked well as the artist’s intention was to
