The Curator’s Handbook is the essential handbook for curators and curatorial students, mapping every stage of the process of putting on an exhibition, no matter how traditional the venue, from initial idea to final installation.
An introduction explores curatorial work from its origins in the seventeenth century onward and outlines the various roles of the curator today. Twelve chapters then trace the various stages of the exhibition process in clear, informative language and using helpful diagrams and tables, from developing the concept to writing contracts and loan requests; putting together budgets and schedules; producing exhibition catalogues and interpretation materials; designing gallery spaces; working with artists, lenders, and art handlers; organizing private views; and documenting and evaluating a show.
With advice and tips from a cast of international museum directors and curators—including Daniel Birnbaum (Moderna Museet, Stockholm); Aric Chen (M+, Hong Kong); Elizabeth Macgregor (Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney); Hans Ulrich Obrist (Serpentine Gallery, London); Gao Peng (Today Art Museum, Beijing); Jennifer Russell (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); and Nicholas Serota (Tate, London)—this volume is a crucial guide for anyone involved in, or studying, the dynamic field of curation.
Reviews
Informative …Readers are taken through the curation process with precise writing and a formidable wealth of experience. Any student or novice curator will find this a vital part of their curriculum; it is a resource that should be on the shelf of any curator working in a museum in the 21st century.
— Library Journal
Informative…Readers are taken through the curation process with precise writing and a formidable wealth of experience behind each inquiry and instruction. Frequent observations by the contributing museum directors add a personal touch and offer beneficial perspectives about the job. Any student or novice curator will find this a part of their curriculum; it is a resource that should be on the shelf of any curator working in a museum in the 21st century. A much-needed manual for contemporary practitioners of the fine art of curatorship, written with an eye to the everyday applications necessary for the evolution of an exhibition.
— Library Journal
Contributors
Adrian George
Author
Adrian George is a curator, commissioner, writer, and educator with over twenty-three years' experience working in some of the most influential art institutions in the world, including the New Museum, New York; Tate Modern; Tate Liverpool; and the UK Government Art Collection. He is currently director of programmes, exhibitions and museum services at ArtScience Museum, Singapore.
