Please join us on Thursday 23 June 2022 - 17:00-18:30 BST for a lecture and discussion with Dr Lilian Cameron (Sotheby's Institute of Art): 'Who curates (whom): Artist-curators in institutions'.

Artist-curated exhibitions in museums and biennales have become more prevalent since the early 2000s. This seminar will examine several examples of this practice with a focus on artist-curated exhibitions in the UK, analysing to what extent these exhibitions challenge curatorial conventions and institutional norms. The work of Goshka Macuga at Gasworks, Elmgreen & Dragset at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Anthea Hamilton at the Hepworth Wakefield, Grayson Perry at the British Museum and Tacita Dean at the National Gallery, London will all be discussed. Our speaker, Dr Lilian Cameron, will explore the approach to artwork selection, curatorial and artistic research, and the exhibition display strategies entailed in these projects. She will also highlight the slippage between artistic and curatorial roles in these exhibitions, the creation of alternative narratives and modes of audience engagement, and the generation of distinct curatorial permissions. This seminar will suggest that the careful institutional framing of these projects only allows for a partial manifestation of their radical potential. With reference to broader debates around curatorial autonomy, agency and risk, this seminar will also discuss a selection of artist-directed biennales and their differing impacts from artist-curated exhibitions in museums. This research seminar contribution is drawn from Lilian's most recent book, Curating Art Now (Lund Humphries, 2022).

Please note this session will be a hybrid event, both live in person in London in Bedford Square, and hosted via Zoom. Once registered for the event, you will receive one week prior to the event a link/login details to join the session via Zoom, if joining remotely is preferred. If you are joining live, you are warmly invited to a wine reception to follow. As part of this event, attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase Lilian's book at a discounted rate.

Dr Lilian Cameron was most recently Course Leader for Art Museums, Galleries and Curating at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. She holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia and has worked in galleries and museums throughout London and the UK, including Tate Modern and Britain and the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia. Her research speciality is in gallery and museum memory environments and she has a particular interest in the ways modern and contemporary artists intervene in and converse with historic or traditional gallery spaces. She also has extensive experience in museum and gallery education and a research interest in socially engaged and participatory art practice. Her BA (Hons) is in literature, history of art and museum studies. She has taught at the University of Melbourne and the University of East Anglia.

Image details: Anthea Hamilton Reimagines Kettle's Yard at The Hepworth Wakefield, 2016. Photo by Stuart Whipps. https://hepworthwakefield.org/whats-on/anthea-hamilton-reimagines-kettles-yard/

'Hot Topics in the Art World' Research Seminar Series