ECG 2020-2021
The third group, now named the Emerging Curators Group, were active from November 2020 to October 2021, with a yet broader range of practices both within and outside of institutions.
The group met for workshops online with a mix of peer-to-peer interaction and discussions with a wide range of colleagues including individuals from Tate, Chatsworth House, Southbank Centre, Parafin Gallery, Curatorial Research Centre, Black Curatorial Labs, Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums. Group members were then able to come together for a two-day workshop in Liverpool in October 2021, visiting Tate Liverpool, Bluecoat and the Walker Art Gallery, and also meeting colleagues from FACT and Open Eye Gallery.
For the first time, the group received an extra layer of support from three members of the British Art Network Steering Group, who acted as Emerging Curator Group ‘Liaison Representatives’. In 2020-21 these were:
Pauline de Souza, Director of Diversity Art Forum and Senior Lecturer, University of East London, Sophia Yadong Hao, Principle Curator, Cooper Gallery, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, University of Dundee and Marcus Jack, Independent Curator and Founder of Transit Arts (ECCG 2019-20 member).
Members again undertook individual research projects, supported by the British Art Network Convenor, Martin Myrone. Topics and approaches ranged widely, including projects aimed at revising art histories of eighteenth and nineteenth century British art through to activity exploring how drawing can support non-verbal interpretation of artworks, research addressing the under-representation of Central and Eastern European art in the British creative economy and reflections on ‘British art today’ drawing on interviews with documentary photographers and filmmakers based in Britain. You can access some examples of the group’s research projects here.
Members of the group also worked on a collaborative takeover of the British Art Network’s newsletter, for winter 2021-22. This special edition of the newsletter can be accessed here.