JCS 1 (1) pp.

34 Intellect Limited 2012

Journal of Curatorial Studies Volume 1 Number 1

2012 Intellect Ltd Editorial. English language. doi: 10.1386/jcs.1.1.3_2

Editorial
Jim Drobnick anD Jennifer fisher

Curating as a field of study often falls between the cracks of disciplinary boundaries. Until recently, it has been left to curators themselves to theorize upon their practice and the function of exhibitions. The Journal of Curatorial Studies builds upon the pioneering contributions of curators to encourage in-depth investigations from an array of disciplines. Through the examination of current and historical exhibitions, display venues in the art world and elsewhere, and the work of individual curators, the journal inquires into what constitutes the curatorial.1 While curating as a practice of arranging objects remains important, in the current context exhibitions involve more complex and unorthodox conjunctions of rhetoric and methodology. Cultural analysis, collaborative processes, institutional critique, performative interventions, networked interactivity these are some of the strategies that are now regularly employed. This journal will explore these and other issues, such as: How has the identity and authority of the curator shifted in a decentralized artworld? How do exhibitions emphasizing experience and interactivity function as forms of research and knowledge? Beyond the so-called gatekeeping function, what are the new ideological conditions that drive the activity of curating? What connections exist between displays of visual art and those found in culture at large? To this end, the journal will feature thematic and open issues, theoretical explorations, contemporary and historical case studies, interviews with curators, artists and theorists, and reviews of exhibitions, conferences and books. The Journal of Curatorial Studies invites texts from a broad range of perspectives on curating and exhibitions. It intends to serve the international community of curators, academics whose research engages questions of the curatorial whether stemming from the art world or other domains

1.

Maria Lind, The Curatorial, Selected Maria Lind Writing, ed. Brian Kuan Wood, Berlin and New York: Sternberg Press, 2010, pp. 5768.

Jim Drobnick | Jennifer Fisher

of contemporary culture as well as the growing number of curatorial schools and graduate programs. We welcome a readership that encompasses a range of standpoints: scholars in art, art history, visual culture, museology and material culture studies, along with curators, artists, art critics and cultural theorists. We would like to thank our authors for their participation in this inaugural issue, and our Advisory and Editorial Boards for their suggestions and support. Barr Gilmore contributed invaluable design advice, and Lynne Heller kindly allowed the use of Chelsea Girls #1 (2007) for the journals promotional efforts. It is our intention that the Journal of Curatorial Studies provide a forum for analysis and debate about emerging curatorial topics. This issue marks an exciting beginning, and we invite your collaboration.

Editorial

Lynne Heller, Chelsea Girls #1, 2007, 51 76 cm, inkjet print. Photo: Courtesy of the artist.