Rotterdam Dialogues: the CuratorsSymposium
5, 6, 7 March 2009
Witte de With presents a program of three symposia, titled Rotterdam Dialogues: Critics, Curators, Artists. Structured to establish a lively platform for debate and exchange, they create space for a range of voices, and explore the practice of three of the central protagonists of the contemporary art world: the critic, the curator and the artist. Critics were the subject of the first symposium, held last October. This highly successful event is now followed by The Curators on 5, 6, 7 March 2009. The series will conclude with The Artists later this year. A publication will follow, bringing together elements of each symposium.
Speakers
The practice of curating is much discussed within the art world, but often neglected by the media and thus remains largely invisible to the broader public. With our selection of speakers, we aim to put a wide range of faces to the often elusive and contested title of «curator». The speakers are: Jamila Adeli, Anke Bangma, Bart De Baere, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Pablo León de la Barra, Ute Meta Bauer, Lorenzo Benedetti, Iwona Blazwick, Nicolas Bourriaud, Sabine Breitwieser, Adam Budak, Ann Demeester, Barnaby Drabble, Mai Abu ElDahab, Zoran Erić, Bruce Ferguson, Juan Gaitan, Hou Hanru, Jan Hoet, Jens Hoffmann, Manray Hsu, Renske Janssen, Stefan Kalmár, Xenia Kalpaktsoglou, Emmanuel Lambion, Enrico Lunghi, Raimundas Malasauskas, Gerardo Mosquera, Sophie von Olfers, Paul O’Neill, Livia Páldi, Philippe Pirotte, PiST, Irit Rogoff, Beatrix Ruf, The Salford Restoration Office, Brigitte van der Sande, Kitty Scott, Seth Siegelaub, Saskia van Stein, Adam Szymczyk, Andrea Viliani, Rein Wolfs, and What, how and for whom.
Topics
The full program is available to download from http://www.wdw.nl. Each day has an overarching theme, subdivided into more precise questions:
Thursday – Expectations, looking at the personal expectations of individual curators, of audiences and of artists, and how these expectations might influence curatorial practice.
Friday – Positions, focusing on the importance of building a reputation, the power of curators to shape the canon, and the influence of the market on the profession.
Saturday – Contexts, exploring the conditions and ideas underlying curating, and the increasingly international practice of exhibition making.
Masterclass
On Sunday 8 March, a curatorial masterclass will be given for young professionals and postgraduate students by Jan Hoet (founding director of SMAK, and director of MARTa Herford, 2001-2008). Hoet will speak from his own practice and extensive experience, putting key questions to the masterclass participants for them to resolve together during the course of the afternoon. To participate, please email reservations@wdw.nl
Workshop
From Wednesday 4 to Saturday 7 March, a group of invited students will take part in a workshop by Raimundas Malasauskas (former curator at CAC Vilnius, current curator at Artists Space, New York). Elaborating upon some of the questions raised by the symposium, Malasauskas will give these students an insight into the issues faced by contemporary art curators.
Practical information
Time: Registration daily from 12:30 p.m.
Program starts daily at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets: Reduction for -18, +65, students, Friends Witte de With
Reservations: reservations@wdw.nl
Language: English
Location: Witte de With, 3rd floor
Rotterdam Dialogues: Critics, Curators, Artists is conceived by Zoë Gray, Nicolaus Schafhausen and Ariadne Urlus.
Support
Rotterdam Dialogues: Critics, Curators, Artists is generously supported by the Mondriaan Foundation, VSBfonds and SNS REAAL Fonds. Witte de With is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Culture and the City of Rotterdam.
Also at Witte de With
Witte de With’s solo exhibition of Edith Dekyndt, titled Agnosia, is also open during the symposium and runs till 26 April 2009.