Hans Ulrich Obrist on an expanded notion of curation

Hans Ulrich Obrist looks to an expanded notion of curating, going beyond the boundaries of the discipline and new ideas on installing exhibitions.

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Hans Ulrich Obrist, co-director of the Serptentine Gallery in London, says it is urgent to protest against forgetting. He believes memory is an essential part of curating. In this tightly packed talk at Design Indaba Conference, he talks about an expanded notion of curating, including its role and how curation can go beyond the museum space.

Curating is a continuously articulated struggle between the past, the present and the future, says Obrist

Obrist begins by talking about his first dialogue with a South African artist, the late Ernest Mancoba, who talks about his exile as a South African artist.

Obrist also discusses his breakthrough inaugural exhibition entitled The Kitchen Show, which was hosted in the kitchen of his own apartment in 1991 when he was still a student.

Art very often can happen where we expect it least, Obrist explains

This intimate exhibition in his kitchen, Obrist's curatorial debut, lasted three months and was attended by just 29 people.

Ever since then, Obrist has curated intimate exhibitions like this, which artists wouldn't produce otherwise.