The exploratory life of an art curator

Art curators spend months and sometimes years working on an exhibition. In this week’s Saturday Story, a curator takes you on a guided tour of how she goes about her work.

Growing up in Germany, I spent weekends and holidays visiting museums. I was the kid who was more excited about the past than the present, who read a lot, and who bugged her grandparents to talk about their childhood. It may sound like a cliche, but exhibitions are all about storytelling, about understanding the present or oneself through the past, or through objects. I was always fascinated by how people could connect through these stories, across barriers. 

I naturally gravitated towards art and artefacts, and ended up becoming a curator.

But what does it mean to be a curator, especially as a resident curator of an art gallery? “To curate” is a common buzzword today — you can curate just about anything really, your wardrobe, content on social media, or your circle of friends (apparently). Initially, in Roman times, it referred to officials responsible for the upkeep of public buildings, including bathhouses. In the mediaeval period, the term “curate” described a priest who cared for the souls of parishioners. By the 18th century, “curator” had evolved to denote individuals responsible for managing and overseeing collections of art and artefacts.

In the West, where institutional curation is a profession that has existed for some time, some curators are involved in fundraising and donor relationships, others work more closely with the collection, object care or selection of new art works in order to grow the collection. In India, many of the institutions were built post Independence and the profession of the curator is still a relatively new one. Many are art historians, artists or writers. The main task for me remains to create context around a work of art, for the viewer to engage with it.

Opening day

For me the most rewarding moment is when an exhibition opens and the audience walks in. I observe how people react to the work that they encounter — whether they are repulsed, excited, if they feel emotionally moved, or just feel like they’ve learned something new. A lot of the work of a curator is about building relationships — with audiences, artists, and other institutions. 

The role of a curator encompasses administrative tasks and a lot of planning, research and writing. Often it is difficult to juggle all of these tasks simultaneously, especially when a curator is working on multiple exhibitions at the same time. I also think within the field, there is a lack of a cohort, or a platform for curators to come together to learn from each other and to share best practices. 

An interesting challenge is to incorporate technology into exhibitions. I am not a purist, but sometimes I would just like to see art in frames on walls, and let art do its job. But in today’s time we do consider technology as a way of engaging audiences with art in a deeper way and to look at technology as a way to enable learning. At Museum of Art and Photography (MAP), Bengaluru, where I work, we use the Bloomberg Connects app. It allows people to read about the artworks, look at reproductions of the works and view videos. It is a great tool, but at the same time I am terrified of visitors looking into their phones instead of at the art.

The curatorial process

My curatorial approach is based on identifying the relevant story to tell, building context, familiarising people with new ideas, and creating collective experiences. 

Museum exhibitions are often based on the collection of the museum. The first step would be to identify an artist, a theme or concern that is either a strength of the collection or where there is a lacunae in research. Sometimes you have treasures that have never been shared with the public — like the folios of the dispersed Ramcharitmanas manuscript that were exhibited in the show titled ‘Book of Gold’. You then research the art works, conduct interviews with scholars or artists and identify a narrative and its relevance to the audience. 

For the exhibition ‘Outside In: Meera Mukherjee and Jaidev Baghel’, which is currently on at the museum, we travelled to Kondagaon in Chhattisgarh, researching metal casting, and the state of this practice today. Meeting local artists who share their lived experiences allows a curator to bring a different depth to any exhibition. Of course it is not always possible to do this, and sometimes you have to rely on books and conversations. 

Sometimes the best idea for an exhibition comes out of a shared meal, a fleeting moment, or a photograph. These moments are special, and I think they matter more to me than to the people who are kind enough to share their knowledge with us. You end up facing the question of what it is that you can do for them, and that’s a haunting one. You observe, take notes, record, photograph and at the same time you can sense how expectations rise. I suppose this is something that some documentary filmmakers or anthropologists feel too. 

In Kondagaon, the news of researchers looking into metal casting had made its rounds. Within hours strangers greeted us, and offered help and advice. But they also shared their expectations — that we do something for the crafts in Chhattisgarh. 

Back at the museum we then work our research into a narrative that is relevant for the audience, and ask ourselves: Why would somebody care about a painting, a sculpture or a photograph? Sometimes there could be a direct connection to their life. Or it could be an exciting discovery.

The collections team and conservators prepare the works for display. Then the layout — the plan of the works in the exhibition — is prepared. After that, the text that goes with the exhibition is written. The designers work on the mood and the journey through the exhibition, and we think about interesting features for young learners and people with disabilities. And then we instal the show, which includes building temporary walls, painting the gallery, handling and placing the works. 

For ‘Outside In: Meera Mukherjee and Jaidev Baghel’, we picked a deep purple/plum colour for the walls in order to make the metal sculptures shine, the partitions and temporary walls are round to give a sense of fluidity, and the text is printed on kora cotton to give it a nice texture. 

We also created a film for the exhibition. When we visited Jaidev Baghel’s workshop in Kondagaon, we found a lot of uncast moulds. We asked his son Bupendra if he would like to cast one of them. A wax covered crucible inside the mould had been kept in the workshop for over 16 years. There was a good chance that it would not turn out in its intended form. But for the purpose of the film, we thought it would be nice to narrate the process of metal casting. Luckily the sculpture, Raodeo, turned out to be quite beautiful with just minor damages. You can see it across the film in the exhibition. Raodeo is a guardian deity, carrying swords in both his hands and is seated on a horse. 

Long days and nights

Installing exhibitions can very easily run into late nights for days on end. I think it was before the ‘Book of Gold’ opening day that we installed until 6 am, went home, got ready and were back at the museum by 10 am to meet the press. At the same time it is a very exciting phase. When you finally see the work going up in the space, you know whether you took the right decisions regarding the wall colour and materials used.

Telling apart fakes

Distinguishing real art from a fake involves expertise, scientific analysis, and historical research. Provenance is crucial; authentic works usually come with a documented history of ownership, clear records of previous sales. Expert opinions from specialists or artist foundations add another layer of credibility. Scientific and stylistic analysis involves comparing the work’s style, technique, and composition with authenticated pieces. Close attention is paid to signatures and unique markings. Legal considerations, including certificates of authenticity and clear return policies, provide additional security. 

However, it is also worth considering the artistry behind faking art and the value of artworks intended for mass production. The skill required to create convincing forgeries can be seen as an art form in itself, challenging our perceptions of originality and authenticity. Moreover, art meant for mass production, like prints and reproductions, play a significant role in making art accessible and democratising its appreciation.

Future of Indian art 

The art scene in India faces challenges like limited infrastructure, insufficient art education, and a lack of public funding. Access remains an issue, with most galleries and museums concentrated in major cities. To foster growth, there needs to be increased government support, better art education programmes, and initiatives to make art more accessible to the broader public, including in rural areas. There is a lot of talent in India, but there are not enough opportunities to grow. Things are slowly changing, but the art world is terribly small, largely English speaking and most people know each other. In such a closely knit network it is difficult to emerge.