Mid-career and established Curators at the 2016 Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum attentively listen to a presentation at the Graham Foundation.

ART NEWS: Art lovers should pay particular attention to this year’s Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum where mid-career and established curators will discuss curating for non-concrete senses such as scents, tastes and aural forms in space.

BY KAZAD

CHICAGO- When Expo Chicago opens on September 27, one of the programs art lovers should pay attention to is if the Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum. Organized in conjunction with Independent Curators International (ICI), the forum brings together mid-career and established curators, working independently or with an institutional affiliation to discuss new developments and the future of the curatorial practice.

The Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum is an opportunity for curators from across the world to examine and explore significant issues relating to curating, programming, institution building, and audience engagement. The keynote speaker for the 2018 Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum is Jochen Volz, Director at Pinacoteca Estado de São Paulo.

Volz has an amazing resume in the curatorial practice. In 2017, he curated the Brazilian Pavilion at the 57th Biennale di Venezia. He was also the chief curator of the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo (2016).  Between 2012 and 2015, he was Head of Programmes at the Serpentine Galleries in London. Jochen Volz’s long history of curatorial practice and has held different offices.  He was a curator at the Instituto Inhotim, Minas Gerais. There, he served as General Director between 2005 and 2007, and Artistic Director between 2007 and 2012. An art critic and writer, Volz’s writings have appeared in magazines and catalogs. He is contributing editor to Frieze.

As with other years, this year’s Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum will include series of sessions. Each session is focused on critical questions relevant to contemporary practice and context. Internationally recognized leaders in the curatorial field will lead each session of the forum.

Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum /Dialogues Panel

The Dialogues Panel slated for Saturday, September 29 at 4:00–5:00pm is bound to be insightful because curators will confront some uncharted region of the curatorial practice. Titled On Immersion and Senses, the panelist will include Andria Hickey (Senior Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland); Sean Raspet (Artist, Jessica Silverman Gallery); and Jo-ey Tang (Director of Exhibitions,  Beeler Gallery at Columbus College of Art and Design). A major question for this group of seasoned curators is “How do you curate non-concrete senses such as scents, tastes and aural forms in space?”  

The panelists will discuss different curatorial approaches to displaying pieces whose primary sensual interaction deviates from pure sight. From perfume installations to sonic experiences and edible artworks, the conversation will investigate the impact of senses and immersive practice on recent exhibition histories.

Session Leaders at the Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum

Several Session Leaders will help panelists and other curators navigate new trends in curatorial practice.  Here are the session leaders:

Dean Daderko

Discussion Topic: Accessibility

One of the session leaders is Dean Daderko. He will address the topic of Accessibility. Daderko is the Curator at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Over the years, he has worked on projects with Jérôme Bel, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Joan Jonas, Matt Keegan, Klara Lidén, César Martinez, MPA, Gina Pane, Paul Ramírez Jonas, Kay Rosen, Wu Tsang and Fred Moten, and Haegue Yang. In addition to his curatorial practice, Daderko is also an avid writer. He has contributed to numerous publications, including CAMH catalogs, Art in America and Mousse magazines. He has also contributed to publications produced by the Studio Museum in Harlem and The Americas’ Society.

Candice Hopkins

Discussion Topic: Race, Representation, Social Justice

A graduate of Bard College Curatorial Studies, Candice Hopkins is a curator and writer. She will take on the issue of Race, Representation, and Social Justice during the Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum. Originally from Whitehorse, Yukon, she is presently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is co-curator of SITE Santa Fe biennial, Casa Tomada, which opened August 3, 2018. The show runs until January 2019.  Hopkins is also co-curator of the Canadian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale opening May 2019. The project will feature the media work of Isuma Productions, a collective based in Igloolik and Montreal, Canada.

Amy Sadao

Discussion Topic: Labor Conditions

Amy Sadao is the Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia. She was appointed Director in September 2012. The topic of discussion is absolutely fitting for this contemporary art writer, juror, and lecturer. Since her appointment, Sadao has focused on extending equity to overlooked and underrepresented artists, ideas, and the public. In seven years, she has forged connections with institutions across the city and dramatically increased ICA’s budget and staffing. Before her position at ICA, Sadao served for ten years as Executive Director of Visual AIDS in New York City. There, she expanded the organization’s resources and public awareness of its mission by utilizing contemporary art to provoke dialogue about HIV/AIDS and supporting HIV-positive artists.

Katie A. Pfohl, PH.D

Discussion Topic: Critical Regionalism

Katie Pfohl brings a world of experience to the topic of Critical Regionalism. With a Ph.D. in American Art from Harvard University and a wide range of curatorial experience, her presentation is bound to be discerning. Since June 2015, Katie Pfohl has served as the Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Her curatorial experience includes positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  In 2006, she completed the Whitney Independent Study Program in New York. One of her notable projects includes a solo presentation of the Puerto Rican artist Carlos Rolón entitled Carlos Rolón: Outside/In at Projects at NOMA.

Although Participation in the Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum is by invitation only, there is no doubt that participants will have a great opportunity to shape the future of the curatorial field. Below is a list of participants in the 2018 Expo Chicago Curatorial Forum:

Michael Anderson,  Oklahoma City Museum of Art Director of Curatorial Affairs
Mara Baldwin,  Handwerker Gallery Director
Andrea Barnwell Brownlee, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art Director
Rachel Cook, On the Boards Artistic Director
Eric Crosby,  Carnegie Museum of Art Richard Armstrong Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Dean Daderko,  Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Curator
Ryan Dennis,  Row House Projects Curator and Programs Director
Sally Frater,  Ulrich Museum of Art Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Elizabeth Gessel,  Museum of the African Diaspora Director of Public Programs
Marcela Guerrero,  Whitney Museum of American Art Assistant Curator
Andria Hickey,  Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland Senior Curator
Candice Hopkins,  Independent Curator
Henriette Huldisch,  MIT List Visual Arts Center Director of Exhibitions and Curator
Naima Keith,  California African American Museum Deputy Director, and Chief Curator
Lucy Mensah,  Detroit Institute of Arts Assistant Curator of Post-1950 Contemporary Art
Srimoyee Mitra,  Stamps Gallery Director
Sofía Gallisá Muriente | Beta-Local Co-Director
Kim Nguyen,  CCA Wattis Curator and Head of Programs
Kaela Saenz Oriti,  Phoenix Art Museum Education Director
Karen Patterson,  John Michael Kohler Arts Center Senior Curator
Katie Pfohl,  New Orleans Museum of Art Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art
Gabriel Ritter,  Minneapolis Institute of Art Curator of Contemporary Art
Amy Sadao,  Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Daniel W. Dietrich II Director
Frank Smigiel,  Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture Director of Arts Programming & Partnerships
Ana Torok, The Museum of Modern Art Curatorial Assistant
Jochen Volz,  Pinacoteca de São Paulo Director
Joey Yates,  Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft Curator

Will you be at this year’s Expo Chicago? Share your experience.  Send photos and notes.