Abstract
This paper examines the emergence of the post-curator – a term which was born out of my recent MA research – in response to the limitations of traditional curatorial practices and the evolving needs of diverse museum audiences. Unlike conventional curators, bound by institutional constraints, the post-curator navigates the intersections of curation, criticism, and activism to extend the impact of exhibitions beyond their spatial and temporal boundaries. Through a relational activist approach, post-curators use dialogue as a tool for transformation and healing, not merely critiquing exhibitions but envisioning alternative curatorial practices that sustain engagement and foster a more equitable future. By recognising the visitor as a co-creator of meaning rather than a passive audience member, post-curation reframes exhibitions as participatory spaces that challenge the neutrality and objectivity often ascribed to museum knowledge. In amplifying non-institutional and marginalised voices, post-curators advocate for narrative-driven, politically engaged practices that counteract the risk of exhibitions becoming static in the archival record. As a key post-curatorial method, creative writing offers an embodied, affective means of capturing and extending exhibition encounters. In this paper, I explore this method as an embodied approach to making sense of my auto-ethnographic experience at the State of Fashion: Ties that Bind Biennale 2024 to sustain the exhibition’s social impact. Ultimately, post-curation emerged not as a rigid framework but as a dynamic philosophy—one that redefines museums as sites of collective ideation and activism while navigating the complexities of public trust, social responsibility, institutional sponsorships, and the evolving expectations of edutainment.
Presenters
Madison HoughStudent, MA Fashion Curation and Cultural Programming, University of the Arts London, London, City of, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Visitors, Exhibitions, Post-curation, Curatorial Activism, Critical Museology, Autoethnography, Affect
