Curating Difference – Different Curating? A short topical introduction

By Dominique Grisard and Andrea Zimmermann

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Cultural labor is only possible under certain conditions: The ability to thrive in the visual arts, for example, still depends on the successful separation of private life/family and work/art and on invisibilizing the former. Recently, the Swiss transdisciplinary initiative art+care challenged this separation. They form part of a growing number of people and institutions committed to working towards more gender equality and diversity in the arts. Similar initiatives in the German speaking context are Mehr Mütter für die Kunst, Kunst + Kind Berlin and K&K – Bündnis Kunst & Kind. Their goal is to raise consciousness for the need of structural change and solidarity in the art world.

The manifesto “The Last Days of Patriarchy” by Karin Karinna Bühler goes a step further. The artist not only draws up a catalog of concrete measures of gender parity to be taken by art institutions. She also holds the director and the curators of the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen accountable by having them sign her manifesto. Interestingly, Bühler’s manifesto does not address artists’ lives outside of the arts, e.g. the gendered division of labor in the family, nor does she call for relations of care among cultural producers. This notwithstanding, its spirited title and manifesto-style, paired with its insistence on accountability, cultivate critical hope.

The manifesto aims to raise awareness of androcentric legitimation patterns, using the example of the art museum to uncover and delegitimate them as well as create new values. In a collective process, the question will be clarified of where and in what form the patriarchy is at work in the institution in order to define how the concrete situation can be improved.”

Karin Karinna Bühler

Persisting inequalities as well as a growing openness to change – this is one of the main findings of our pilot study «Gender relations in the Swiss cultural sector» (Zimmermann et al. 2021). In our ongoing research, experts have shared important observations on this topic:

Motherhood is a structural problem. (…) This has not yet been resolved. (…) We support a lot of women in the curatorial field, and we see that when family comes into the mix, it [the support] no longer works; unavailability, not compatible with travel, need for family life.”

These are typical ascriptions, at times even accusations, that artists with care responsibilities are confronted with on a daily basis. The message is clear: family life is incompatible with the hegemonic ideals of the genius-artist, artistic quality and production schedules. These insights are echoed in the Visarte study Kunstberuf & Familie 2023. The study focuses on exclusion mechanisms in the visual arts:

Only seven percent of the funding institutions based in Switzerland espouse a family-friendly practice when awarding studio grants to artists.”

Visarte study, abstract

What if we give up the image of the solitary genius-artist and in his stead center the relationality and collaborative work of cultural producers? The public event “Curating Difference – Different Curating?” is designed as an interactive format to discuss questions just like these: In four parallel public long table discussions, experts and important players in the art world will reflect on persisting challenges when it comes to care and recognition of difference, changing notions of leadership and curation, and necessary coalitions and supportive structures.

There will be three rounds of discussions of 20-minutes each. This will allow the audience to participate in three discussions on different topics. Participants can also decide to stay at one thematic table and delf into one topic in depth. Moderators and the audience may jot down anything noteworthy to the conversation on the paper tablecloth. Our guiding questions for the evening are: What is needed on our way to more gender equality in the arts? What would be helpful and useful right now? How can we support each other?

“Curating Difference – Different Curating?” seizes this moment of increased awareness of inequality and openness to transformation in the arts. Assembling these critical experts in the art world and encouraging them to share their experiences and visions is an important step towards building the necessary network and support structures on the path to more equality and diversity in the arts.

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Please join us for the Long Table Discussions at Kunstmuseum Basel, Vortragssaal (entrance Picassoplatz) on Dec. 4, 2023, 18.15–20.00, in English. Free entry!

Image: Collage based on a photograph by Efe Kurnaz on Unsplash.