[artinfo] Curator without a parachute

[Art&Education]

"Curator without a parachute"

Tuesday 18 November 2014, 14-18h 
Free entry with reservation: 
<mailto:accueil at fracbretagne.fr>accueil at fracbretagne.fr 

Frac Bretagne
19 avenue André Mussat
35011 Rennes
France

  Independent curators invited to create biennales 
or large exhibitions are often described 
(somewhat pejoratively) as having been 
"parachuted" into a project. What is the impact 
of this practice on the local art scene, on the 
exhibitions they create, and on their curatorial 
practice?

Six international curators-working in 
institutions and as freelancers-are invited to 
Rennes on the occasion of Les Ateliers de Rennes 
- contemporary art biennale, to discuss together 
this profession that is simultaneously 
delocalized and rooted in a specific territory.


Panel discussion 1 (in French)
"Guest curators - traveling with their shells on their back"

In Dutch there is an expression that guests, like 
fish, stay but three days fresh. What is the 
"best before date" for guest curators? How long 
are they welcome in the institutions that host 
them? Looking at the interaction between these 
hosts and guests, this panel discussion explores 
the dynamics of the invited curator and the 
different formats that such an invitation can 
take.

Participants: 
Laurence Gateau (Director, Frac des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou)
Florence Ostende (independent curator & adjunct curator at Dallas Contemporary)
Émilie Renard (Director, La Galerie, Noisy-le-Sec)

Moderator:
Sophie Kaplan, Director, La Criée centre d'art contemporain


Panel discussion 2 (in English)
"Curators from near or far?"

Many biennales adopt the model of inviting a 
different curator for each edition. What is the 
reasoning behind this approach and what are its 
implications? Bringing together curators with 
experience of being the invitee and the inviter 
for such a situation, this panel discussion looks 
at possible alternatives to parachuting 
"international" curators into "local" biennales. 

Participants: 
Nav Haq (curator, MuHKA, Antwerp)
Xenia Kalpaktsoglou (co-director of the Athens Biennale)
Ralph Rugoff (Director, Hayward Gallery, London 
and curator of the Lyon Biennale 2015)

Moderator:
Zoë Gray, curator of PLAY TIME, 4th edition of 
Les Ateliers de Rennes - contemporary art biennale


What is an IKT Lab?
IKT Labs are a series of events initiated by 
members of 
<http://interspire.e-flux.com/link.php?M=2690&N=10480&L=7512&F=H>IKT, 
the international association of curators of 
contemporary art. They are discursive platforms 
designed as moments to share ideas about 
professional practice. Open to IKT members and to 
the general public.

This IKT Lab is a collaboration between PLAY 
TIME, Les Ateliers de Rennes - contemporary art 
biennale (4th edition), Frac Bretagne and La 
Criée centre d'art contemporain.

Conceived by Catherine Elkar (director, Frac 
Bretagne), Zoë Gray (curator of PLAY TIME, 4th 
edition of Les Ateliers de Rennes - contemporary 
art biennale), and Sophie Kaplan (Cirector, La 
Criée centre d'art contemporain).