Share this Article

Curating Borders | Reflection on Curatorial Residency by Jade Foster

14th August 2020

I am currently developing an online platform or digital ‘exhibition’, which documents my research during the residency. This website will be open publicly in October 2020.

Special thanks to Adelaide Bannerman, Ain Bailey, Jamila Johnson-Small (Last Yearz Interesting Negro), Raju Rage, Sepake Angiama, Whiskey Chow and LADA for having conversations full of candour with me during the residency. All of the invited people gave advice, resources and discussions around their practice and/or reflected on ‘Curating Borders’ as a theme. 

Thank you to Adelaide Bannerman (Never Done) for the unwavering continued support and mentorship. Thank you to Alessandra Cianetti and Xavier De Sousa (performingborders) for providing the opportunity and space to think without the pressure for an outcome.

As curators, we are viewed as always being in contact with people be that publics, artists or other curators. Many forms of curatorial practices beyond traditional exhibition-making are about creating and holding discursive, community and educational spaces. An important aspect is also developing and sustaining relationships with people and spaces which can exist ephemerally or long-term. The constant awareness and engagement with the moment, in a public-facing capacity, is what I am suggesting makes curatorial practice ‘live’. Curating can be a series of happenings that are responsive, generative and embodied.

Therefore, in short, my residency was a culmination of dynamic vibes and a series of energy exchanges – interconnected, visceral and live.

The video is an alternative to a curatorial statement and reflects on my intentions for the residency and the satirical term I am coining called Academic Porn. Academic Porn is a satirical commentary on intellectual indulgence and the excessive, irresistible desire for or interest in academic terminology within the art establishment. I wanted to reflect on it from the perspective of a curator but I also have plans to develop an art work.

You might also like