The definitive reference text on curation both inside and outside the museumA Companion to Curation is the first collection of its kind, assembling the knowledge and experience of prominent curators, artists, art historians, scholars, and theorists in one comprehensive volume. Part of the Blackwell Companion series, this much-needed book provides up-to-date information and valuable insights on the field of curatorial studies and curation in the visual arts. Accessible and engaging chapters cover diverse, contemporary methods of curation, its origin and history, current and emerging approaches within the profession, and more.This timely publication fills a significant gap in literature on the role of the curator, the art and science of curating, and the historical arc of the field from the 17th century to the present. The Companion explores topics such as global developments in contemporary indigenous art, Asian and Chinese art since the 1980s, feminist and queer feminist curatorial practices, and new curatorial strategies beyond the museum. This unique volume:* Offers readers a wide range of perspectives on curating in both theory and practice* Includes coverage of curation outside of the Eurocentric and Anglosphere art worlds* Presents clear and comprehensible information valuable for specialists and novices alike* Discusses the movements, models, people and politics of curating* Provides guidance on curating in a globalized worldBroad in scope and detailed in content, A Companion to Curation is an essential text for professionals engaged in varied forms of curation, teachers and students of museum studies, and readers interested in the workings of the art world, museums, benefactors, and curators.

DedicationAcknowledgementsForewordIllustrationsIntroductionBrad Buckley and John ConomosAbout the EditorsSection One: An Overview: The origin and provenance of curating1. A Selective History of Curating in Pittsburgh: The Recent Story of the Carnegie InternationalDavid Carrier2. Curating Curiosity: Imperialism, Materialism, Humanism and the WunderkammerAdam Geczy3. Professionalizing the Field: The Case of the United StatesAndrew McClellan4. The Emergence of the Professional CuratorCarole PaulSection Two: Movements, models, people and politics5. Curating as a Verb: 100 Years of Nation-StatesJuli Carson6. Curating without Borders: Transnational feminist and queer feminist practices for the twenty first centuryElke Krasny7. Displacements and Sites: Notes on a Curatorial MethodMaria Lind8. Africa, Art and Knowing Nothing. Some thoughts on curating at the British MuseumChris Spring9. Curatorial CrisisMartha Wilson10. 'We Care as Much as You Pay - Curating Asian ArtThomas J. BerghuisSection Three: The curator in a globalized world11. Museums are everywhere in China, there is no museum in China (or, how institutional typologies define curatorial practices)Biljana Ciric12. Curating the Contemporary in Decolonial Spaces. Observations from Thailand on Curatorial Practice in Southeast AsiaGregory Galligan13. Curated from Within: The Artist as CuratorAlex Gawronski14. Decolonizing the Ethnographic MuseumGerald McMaster15. The Creature from the Id: Adventures in Aboriginal Art CuratingDjon Mundine16. The Impact of Context Specificity in Curating amidst the Forces at Play in a Globalized World of RealmsFato? Üstek17. The Neglected Object of CurationLee Weng ChoySection Four: Beyond the museum: Curating at the frontier18. Parallel processing: public art and new media artSarah Diamond19. Approach to the Curatorship of Virtual Reality ExhibitionsArnau Gifreu-Castells20. Tracing the Ephemeral and Contestational Aesthetics and Politics of the Living ArchiveErik Kluitenberg21. Curating with the InternetSean Lowry22. Arts & Science - the Intersection (re)engineeredMelentie PandilovskiIndex