The shortlist for The Fifth Curator competition was announced today by the British Council.
This new and unique opportunity for an aspiring curator to select an exhibition of works from the British Council Collection for the Whitechapel Gallery, London, attracted 161 applications from 47 countries from Argentina to Zimbabwe. The resulting exhibition will go on display at the Whitechapel Gallery from 26 March – 31 May 2010.
The selection committee, which included Andrea Rose, Director of Visual Arts, British Council; Diana Eccles, Head of the British Council Collection; Martin Caiger-Smith, Head of the MA programme at The Courtauld Institute of Art; Andrea Tarsia, Head of Displays and Curatorial Studies, Whitechapel Gallery; and Jenni Spencer-Davies, Director of Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea, were impressed by a high standard of applications that offered innovative and diverse insights into the Council’s Collection of 8500 works of modern and contemporary British art.
The six short-listed applicants are:
Fatma Hendawy, aged 23, from Alexandria, Egypt with a proposal titled Flashback/Flashforward, exploring the role played by humans in representations of art.
Latika Gupta, aged 32, from New Delhi, India with a proposal titled The Outsider, looking at ideas of inclusion and exclusion in art and society.
Maya Shimony, aged 33, from Ganey Tikva, Israel with a proposal titled The Empire Strikes Back, exploring the idea of ‘Britishness’ in contradictory notions of tradition and innovation.
Mika Iwasaka, aged 30, from Tokyo, Japan with a proposal titled Close to Me, an exhibition of works related to the East End of London and journeys within the city.
Ntando Ayanda Xorile, aged 36, from Soweto, South Africa with a proposal titled New Beginnings – Old Land, exploring identity and nationhood.
Theo Ringborg, aged 26, from Sweden, with a proposal titled Keep Calm and Carry On, looking at art produced during and in response to conflict and war.
Andrea Rose said: ‘It has been an extraordinary experience to hear the views of young curators from around the world on the art in our Collection. Some of it has been quirky, some it amusing, some completely unexpected. But all of it has been thoughtful and lively, and it’s been very difficult to arrive at a shortlist of only six. The next stage is meeting the finalists in early December, who will have the chance to work with the Collection for real, rather than virtually. We are delighted to be working with this new generation of curators in developing an exhibition for the Whitechapel Gallery that gives the Collection the best finale we could possibly hope for’.
In early December the six finalists travel to London for a week of professional development, giving them the opportunity to refine their proposals with the advice, guidance and resources of the British Council Visual Arts Department. The overall winner will go on to work with the British Council in realising their exhibition, which will open at the Whitechapel Gallery on 26 March 2010. The exhibition forms part of the Whitechapel Gallery’s ongoing programme of opening up important art collections to the public.
The winning proposal will be selected by a panel of leading art world figures in December, announced at a special awards dinner on Friday 4th December.
The Whitechapel Gallery
The Whitechapel Gallery is the artists’ gallery for everyone. The century old institution offers a direct experience of art at pivotal moments. It premiered international artists such as Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Nan Goldin, and brought British artists Gilbert & George, Lucian Freud, Peter Doig and Mark Wallinger to the public for the first time.
The Whitechapel Gallery recently re-opened its doors following an ambitious expansion transforming its spaces and doubling its size. With beautiful new galleries, exhibitions, artists commissions, collection displays, historic archives, education resources, inspiring art courses and a new dining room, the newly expanded Gallery is open all year round, so there is always something free to see.
The Fifth Curator exhibition will be the last in a series from the British Council Collection shown at the Whitechapel Gallery and celebrating the British Council’s 75th Anniversary. The previous exhibitions have been selected by Michael Craig-Martin, Tim Marlow, Jeremy Deller and Alan Kane, and the forthcoming selection by Paula Rego will be on show from 19 December 2009 – 14 March 2010, offering a rare glimpse into one of Britain’s most prestigious collections of contemporary British art.
www.britishcouncil.org/collection
www.whitechapelgallery.org
Press Information
British Council:
For further details about the Fifth Curator please contact
Amy Pettifer, Visual Arts Assistant amy.pettifer@britishcouncil.org
For all press enquiries please contact
Eleanor Hutchins, Head of Press, T +44 (0)20 7389 4981 eleanor.hutchins@britishcouncil.org
Whitechapel Gallery:
For details about the exhibition please contact
Rachel Mapplebeck T 020 7522 7880, 078111456806 E RachelMapplebeck@whitechapelgallery.org
Elizabeth Flanagan T 020 7522 7871 ElizabethFlanagan@whitechapelgallery.org
