How to be a Good Witness: The Architecture Curator

Burns, D

How to be a Good Witness: The Architecture Curator

Burns, D

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Publisher:: The University of South Australia
Publication Type:: Conference Proceeding
Citation:: Critique 2013: 2013 Conference Proceedings, 2013, pp. 279 - 294
Issue Date:: 2013-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Burns, D	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Brisbin, C	en_US
dc.contributor.editor	Thiessen, M	en_US
dc.date	2013-11-27	en_US
dc.date.issued	2013-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Critique 2013: 2013 Conference Proceedings, 2013, pp. 279 - 294	en_US
dc.identifier.isbn	978-0-9923943-0-1	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/27932
dc.description.abstract	This paper describes a unique role emerging in architectural criticism: the curator. The first section will examine the status, relevance and location of contemporary curatorship in architecture, seeking to frame a specific curatorial position. It will define the lineage of this position historically and map out a contemporary constellation of practitioners and projects, from Hans Ulrich Obrist to the global profusion of architecture pavilions. Curation can be understood as a critical spatial practice in which social, political and, cultural theories are enacted through spatial investigations. By distinguishing the characteristics of this curatorial practice, the authors begin to frame the agency and opportunities of this role within architectural and spatial discourse. The second part of this paper will focus on the Australian Architecture section of the 2011 Prague Quadrennial for Performance Design and Space, curated by the collective N. N is a collective made up of David Burns, Sam Spurr and Adrian Lahoud, who are determined to build new kinds of public using unique formats and pedagogical models drawn from art, architecture and politics. Using public education programs and social networks as an artistic medium, the collective creates original, non-institutional spaces for practice, knowledge and social action through events and forums related to art and architecture. Believing that socio-political activity can only emerge from a rich milieu and the supportive tissue it provides, N works to glue disparate creative practices together by intensifying their moments of engagement and providing new and experimental forums for their expression. This paper seeks to frame the projects by N as defining an innovative trajectory for architecture curation.	en_US
dc.publisher	The University of South Australia	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Critique 2013: 2013 Conference Proceedings	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Critique 2013: An International Conference Reflecting on Creative Practice in Art, Architecture and Design.	en_US
dc.title	How to be a Good Witness: The Architecture Curator	en_US
dc.type	Conference Proceeding
utslib.location	Adelaide, South Australia	en_US
utslib.location.activity	School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia	en_US
utslib.for	1201 Architecture	en_US
dc.location.activity	School of Art, Architecture and Design, University of South Australia	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building/School of Design
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.place-of-publication	Adelaide, South Australia	en_US
pubs.start-date	2013-11-27	en_US

Abstract:

This paper describes a unique role emerging in architectural criticism: the curator. The first section will examine the status, relevance and location of contemporary curatorship in architecture, seeking to frame a specific curatorial position. It will define the lineage of this position historically and map out a contemporary constellation of practitioners and projects, from Hans Ulrich Obrist to the global profusion of architecture pavilions. Curation can be understood as a critical spatial practice in which social, political and, cultural theories are enacted through spatial investigations. By distinguishing the characteristics of this curatorial practice, the authors begin to frame the agency and opportunities of this role within architectural and spatial discourse. The second part of this paper will focus on the Australian Architecture section of the 2011 Prague Quadrennial for Performance Design and Space, curated by the collective N. N is a collective made up of David Burns, Sam Spurr and Adrian Lahoud, who are determined to build new kinds of public using unique formats and pedagogical models drawn from art, architecture and politics. Using public education programs and social networks as an artistic medium, the collective creates original, non-institutional spaces for practice, knowledge and social action through events and forums related to art and architecture. Believing that socio-political activity can only emerge from a rich milieu and the supportive tissue it provides, N works to glue disparate creative practices together by intensifying their moments of engagement and providing new and experimental forums for their expression. This paper seeks to frame the projects by N as defining an innovative trajectory for architecture curation.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/27932