Art and Culture

Visual presentation of a theme is also an important aspect of the curator’s job. According to Page, curatorial work is about the visual presentation of an idea that might have already formulated in an artist’s work or can be included in a broader theme which includes other artworks too.

 

“The aesthetic (visual) content and the theoretical (idea) need to both be strong and communicable to audiences. A good exhibition will bring new ideas, new associations or evocations to the fore” said Page.

 

“For something like the Asia Pacific Triennial (APT), which has been occurring since 1993 and whose most recent iteration, APT8, drew 605,000 visitors you need to plan three years in advance,” explained Page. “The last one had over 83 different artists from across the Asia Pacific region so travel is essential to begin one-to-one communication and understand the context from which the works are created.”

 

“The entire Gallery then works on the APT, from the Registrars, to the Designers to the Gallery Services Officers to the Marketing team, to finally deliver the project across our two buildings. It’s a massive undertaking!”

 

Talking about her experience at the Experimenter’s Hub in Kolkata, she said, “It was fantastic. I have always found the Indian contemporary Art scene extremely advanced, informed, travelled and ready for a challenge. The conversations were very serious and interesting but also full of generosity, both from the speakers and from the large and dedicated audience that attended the three days. It was a very worthwhile event and I am grateful to the Australia Council of the Arts to have supported my involvement.”