Curatorial Activism: Towards an Ethics of Curating

by Maura Reilly, Lucy R. Lippard (Foreword)

Current art world statistics demonstrate that the fight for gender and race equality in the art world is far from over: only sixteen percent of this year’s Venice Biennale artists were female; only fourteen percent of the work displayed at MoMA in 2016 was by nonwhite artists; only a third of artists represented by U.S. galleries are female, but over two-thirds of students enrolled in art and art-history programs are young women.


Arranged in thematic sections focusing on feminism, race, and sexuality, Curatorial Activism examines and illustrates pioneering examples of exhibitions that have broken down boundaries and demonstrated that new approaches are possible, from Linda Nochlin’s “Women Artists” at LACMA in the mid-1970s to Jean-Hubert Martin’s “Carambolages” in 2016 at the Grand Palais in Paris. Profiles key exhibitions by pioneering curators including Okwui Enwezor, Linda Nochlin, Jean-Hubert Martin and Nan Goldin, with a foreword by Lucy Lippard, internationally known art critic, activist and curator, and early champion of feminist art, this volume is both an invaluable source of practical information for those who understand that institutions must be a driving force in this area and a vital source of inspiration for today’s expanding new generation of curators.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, Museums, Activism, Theory, Design

240 pages, Hardcover

Published April 17, 2018

Reviews

[Lieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Interesting survey of (possible) curatorial activist exhibitions in the 80s until the early noughties – mainly in the US and UK. Calling female, non-white and LGBTQ artists 'Other' felt like I was reading a book from the 90s though.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devoured it.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maura Reilly does not just tell, but also show, with extensive use of photos. I am not sure splitting up the book into different social themes that curators followed is always the best route to go, as maybe some more intersectional and interdiscriplinary practices of curating and exhibitions might then be ignored or only one aspect of them emphasized? On the other hand, this book is primarily an overview, an introduction, featuring the most ambitious and known exhibitions that display curatorial activism, pre-occupation with how art (and life in society) is political. And as such, it is an amazing and informative conversation starter.

[Celien · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eentje om op terug te vallen ter inspiratie. Toch miste ik iets. In het begin was ik onder de indruk, maar misschien had ik over het algemeen meer extra context of diepgang verwacht? De schrijfstijl voelt na een tijd opsommend omdat de hoofstukken altijd hetzelfde zijn opgebouwd (opbouw tentoonstelling, kunstenaars/werken, receptie).

[Maisie Jepson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 and it only took me a year to get through it

[Aurelia Littlepage · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great survey!! A book I come back to when I need it

[Nikki Omes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired to take action in my curatorial practice after reading this! The examples of exhibitions in history that took a revolutionarily inclusive approach I felt were well-selected. Sometimes I missed a paragraph or pictures about the curatorial approach in the exhibition space(s), but overall a great read.

[Rebecca McNamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must-read for all curators and arts professionals. Maura Reilly's Curatorial Activism is a history lesson in the last five decades of efforts toward ethical, inclusive, activist art exhibitions.

The opening line of the final chapter reads: "This book is, in part, a celebration of curatorial activists, and of the stellar exhibitions they have held to address the sexism, racism, homo-/lesbo-phobia, and Western-centrism that is endemic in the art world." Curatorial Activism succeeds in spotlighting these initiatives. However, as the subtitle, Towards an Ethics of Curating, suggests, we still have a long way to go; many concerted efforts at curating shows with a diverse group of artists still included significantly more white, male artists than female artists and artists of color—and the author does not shy from applauding one aspect of a show while highlighting areas where it fell short. The work is not done, but the case studies provided give inspiration, important lessons, and demonstrate at once the simplicities and complexities of ethical curating. I will return to this book again and again.

[Laura Falésia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este é um guia para entender por que razão a arte deve ser política e as escolhas artísticas e de artistas a expor são relevantes. Maura Reilly traça um panorama de exposições relevantes para o activismo curatorial desde os anos '70 até 2018, divididas por temas, que têm como objectivo combater o racismo, o machismo, a homo-lesbofobia e o preconceito. Trata-se de tornar visível aquilo e aqueles que sempre estiveram presentes.

É um livro básico, simples de ler, introdutório qb a uma forma de fazer activismo dentro da cultura.

[Rhona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was going to give this 2 stars because it was so badly written (someone please tell writers that filling up chapters with quotes from reviews doesn’t count), but I conceded to 3 stars because I guess the exhibitions were cool. Although I’m pretty pissed off at the paper waste from only placing text on half of each page for no reason.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Indeed. There are ethics committees to stop medical research, to stop robotics research, to stop most aspects of life, so why not someone who can decide a priori what is Halal and what should be killed in the field of art?

[Danielle Ma]

For class AHIS 401: Topics in Curatorial Projects–Curator as Activist Edition

RESIST
masculinism and sexism

CONFRONT
white privilege and Western-centrism

CHALLENGE
heterocentrism and lesbo-homophobia

[Marta Espiridião · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most activist thing in this book (a 6 month reading club of Das Kapital) is shrugged off with an unfortunate commentary on the connection between Marx , Stalin and the left’s imagined tendency for absolutism.
Never gets free of the shackles of imperial propaganda

[Brea Duymich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic for anyone interested in the arts, curating, museums, and activism. Dr. Reilly is a brilliant woman. Highly recommend!

[Georgia Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for research
Borrowed from library but will hopefully buy a copy soon

[Catson S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Made me rethink how I interact with museums, interesting read!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great survey of recent art exhibitions from the 70s- the mid 2010s. I flew through it but would have liked some more analysis, definitely a starting point for further studies

[queen carrasco]

i’ve been looking for something to put into words why i want to curate, as well as the connection curation has to activism and this is it.