Paula Marincola

Fourteen essays by leading curators and art historians address the most pressing issues surrounding exhibition-making today. Contributors include Glenn Adamson, Iwona Blazwick, Lynne Cooke, Detlef Mertins, Mark Nash and Robert Storr.

What Makes a Great Exhibition?

Dave Hickey

Robert Storr

Kathy Halbreich

In a time which one critic characterized recently as the era of the curator, it is not only relevant but absolutely necessary to thoroughly question the current state of curatorial practice, its professional values, and the assumptions implicit in them. Curating Now gathers together the thoughts of a diverse group of internationally recognized, influential curators, comments presented for the benefit and examination of their peers at a weekend-long symposium held in October 2000. Questions regarding curatorial power and authorship, as well as how external pressures and challenges shape exhibitions, were addressed by participants including Robert Storr, Senior Curator, The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Thelma Golden, Deputy Director of exhibitions, the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Curator, Musee d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris; and Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate Gallery, London.

Imaginative Practice, Public Responsibility

Curating Now

For better or worse, museums are changing from forbidding bastions of rare art into audience-friendly institutions that often specialize in “blockbuster” exhibitions designed to draw crowds. But in the midst of this sea change, one largely unanswered question stands out: “What makes a great exhibition?” Some of the world’s leading curators and art historians try to answer this question here, as they examine the elements of a museum exhibition from every angle. What Makes a Great Exhibition? investigates the challenges facing American and European contemporary art in particular, exploring such issues as group exhibitions, video and craft, and the ways that architecture influences the nature of the exhibitions under its roof. The distinguished contributors address diverse topics, including Studio Museum in Harlem director Thelma Golden’s examination of ethnically-focused exhibitions; and Robert Storr, director of the 2007 Venice Biennale and formerly of the Museum of Modern Art, on the meaning of “exhibition and “exhibitionmaker.” A thought-provoking volume on the practice of curatorial work and the mission of modern museums, What Makes A Great Exhibition? will be indispensable reading for all art professionals and scholars working today.

Paula Marincola

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