Collaborative Curating: Democratising Inclusion. Issue 2 (2nd September 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Crawshay-Hall, Jayne
• Is Part Of: De arte. Volume 56:Issue 2/3(2021)
• Page Start: 4
• Page End: 28
• Publication Date: 2021-09-02
• Subjects: collaborative curating -- collective curating -- mega-exhibition -- exhibition -- inclusion -- Trade Routes -- ; Art criticism -- Africa -- Periodicals; Art, African -- Periodicals; Art -- History -- Periodicals; African poetry -- Periodicals; 705
• DOI: 10.1080/00043389.2020.1815951
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0004-3389

Abstract

Abstract: In this article, I discuss the perceived failure of the second Johannesburg biennale, Trade Routes: History amd Geography, curated by Okwui Enwezor in 1997. Although curating can be used as a socio-critical tool, Enwezor's authorial curatorial model as witnessed in Trade Routes is criticised for being non-responsive towards issues the South African public was actively dealing with in 1997, which contributed to its perceived failure. As a seminal mega-exhibition in South Africa, I consider the influence Trade Routes may have had on subsequent South African curatorial practice and discuss whether Trade Routes may have acted as a catalyst for local curators to consider alternative curatorial methodologies. I argue that South Africa has witnessed a shift towards group, participatory, and community-driven curatorial approaches. I review Portia Malatjie's group curatorial strategy as evidenced in, exhibited in 2012, and the advantages obtained thereby. I discuss how group curatorial strategies subvert the inherited manner of conceptualising, theorising, and organising an exhibition and how this provides opportunities to democratise access and pluralise inclusion. I propose that post-apartheid curatorial practices require caution with regard to valuing one group or individual over another and that collaborative curatorial approaches may foster a method of continuous self-reflection and regulation.