What is the role of the curator in the Middle East? - March 2009
By Jyoti Dhar
Although a much debated subject in the contemporary art world, ideas surrounding curatorial practices have recently become a hot topic in the UAE.
During the week of the fairs and Biennial event openings (March 15th-22nd), several new programmes held discussions on the roles and functions of a curator. Both Bidoun and SB9 hosted curator’s workshops, the inaugural Abraaj Capital Art Prize concentrated on the significance of artist-curator collaboration and The 2nd March Meeting addressed the notion of ‘Curating in the Arab World.’
One reason for this resurgent interest includes the advent of a rise in international curators being brought in for large-scale art exhibitions and institutions such as Emirati Expressions, the Sharjah Biennial and the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi. Add to this gallerists and corporations in the UAE progressively using regional curators to facilitate their art events and manage their growing collections.
Before trying to understand what this change signifies for art in the UAE, it is important to determine firstly what the term ‘curator’ in itself means. The more traditional, Western view of the curator may be taken as the ‘keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection’ which is the definition given in The Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
Many Arabic speakers however, looking for an equivalent, use the word ‘mukayem’ or ‘kayem’. At The March Meeting, a ‘mukayem’ was described as someone who ‘gives value to artworks’ or who ‘has the authority to select artists and artworks.’
Other Middle-Eastern art experts at the meeting said they preferred the word ‘commissar’ which is widely used in Egypt, Syria and North Africa. This was a term also used by Christine Tohmé, a cultural organiser from Lebanon, when presenting at Bidoun’s curatorial workshop. She said she saw her role as one of a ‘facilitator, diffuser, collaborator and most importantly, negotiator’ when curating in the Middle-East.
From these above mentioned discussions, it seemed the general consensus about the role of a contemporary curator may be divided simplistically into past, present and future concerns:
1) Past: Role of Caretaker/Art historian – concerned with the preservation of art and its research.
2) Present: Role of Mediator/Educator - creating a connection between artist and audience and guiding individual artistic process/progress.
3) Future: Role of Activist/Developer - furthering the arts in the region and challenging current thinking and practice in a wider sense.
In reality a curator in the Middle-East may assume a number of practical roles depending on the given situation. Often, due to market pressure, there is a large cross-over of roles between artists, critics and curators in the region.
This situation has raised questions about the tools available for curators in the Arab world, in terms of lack of curatorial schools. When a New York based art historian speaking at the Bidoun workshop raised this issue of formal training, Christine Tohmé argued in favour of hands-on experience and gaining an understanding of the Middle-Eastern context instead.
Another concern, voiced at both the Bidoun workshop and The March Meeting, was over the importance or power currently being attributed to curators in the region. As curators are so pivotal in emergent artistic practice, it was felt that guidance from them ought to come in the form of dialogue and not dictation. One Egyptian artist even went as far as to describe this relationship as one of ‘power-sharing’.
Whilst many of these areas under discussion will be influenced by private and governmental initiatives in the UAE in the next few years, it is also vital to remember the role of the audience. Growing public awareness and interaction, in the form of art appreciators and students, will also determine progression and direction of art in the region. Perhaps this will also in turn shape the role of the newly significant curator?
Intended as a continuation of these discussions, we welcome your comments on the subject. Please do post them below and contribute to the forum!
One Response to “What is the role of the curator in the Middle East? - March 2009”
I thought the March Meeting was great for covering such a range of issues relevant to what is happening here and in the region in general. Not only on the specifics of curating but also on the need for arts education in the widest possible sense meaning institution management, arts administration, fundraising and gallery development. These are all essential skills, particularly for the UAE, if the plethora of institutions anticipated in the next 10 years is to be successful.
Related discussions on art history and criticism were also very interesting with panellists noting how developing regions and nations tended to look out while available scholarly material was brought in. As a consequence knowledge of these fields is based very much on an external interpretation that is not necessarily applicable to the specifics of the currently developing context. It seems increasingly important that mechanisms are found to assess art history and criticism in a more locally rooted and culturally relevant way.
I actually left the sessions thinking that there needs to be a website or ideally, a Journal, to publish articles on all of these subjects from academics, curators, artists, critics and others involved in this emerging network of international arts development. This would provide a central location (and permanent archive) towards which ideas, experiences and ongoing assessments and discussions could gravitate. So …. any takers for The Sharjah Journal?? Published out of AUS perhaps?? I’ll do the editing for free … if it happens in my lifetime
By NSB on Apr 2, 2009