After battling against stiff opposition, Theodor Ringborg has won The Fifth Curator international competition. The competition was for curators under the age of 40 to select and present an exhibition of works from the British Council Collection at a major gallery in Britain. This first edition of the competition attracted 161 applications from 47 countries. Six candidates were shortlisted and came to Britain for a week-long study visit in November during which they refined their proposals and presented them to the competition jury. The shortlisted candidates came from Japan, India, Israel, Egypt, South Africa and Sweden.
Theodor Ringborg’s winning submission is based on the theme of war and conflict. Ringborg said: "The British Council’s immense collection is a pure joy to work with and it will be an honour to conclude the wonderful series of British Council exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery. The collection is one-of-a-kind and I couldn’t imagine a greater pleasure than to delve deep into its history and works of art. It is truly a wonderful opportunity that the British Council has given me."
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; Jenni Spencer-Davies, Director of Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea and Roger Malbert, Senior Curator of National Touring Exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery, London 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.
Andrea Rose said: “We were impressed by all of the finalists. They each cast new light on our Collection and shook things up for us. Fatma Hendawy from Alexandria was only 23 and had never been out of Egypt before, but she presented as subtle and sophisticated show based on installations and sound pieces. Ntando Ayanda Xorile from Soweto juxtaposed domestic and religious themes within a striking framework. Maya Shimony from Israel put together a show called ‘the Empire Strikes Back’. Looking at how we present ourselves overseas, with some sharp observations and tradition and innovation. It was difficult to select a final winner but Theodor Ringborg’s selection was specially strong and pertinent. It brings together works that result from two world wars, as well as from more recent conflicts such as Argentina, Iraq and Afghanistan. It will highlight an aspect of the British Council’s Collection that hasn’t been on display yet at the Whitechapel, and is sure to be both timely and fascinating.“
Theodor returns to Britain this week to continue working with the British Council and its advisors on developing his proposal. His will be the final exhibition in the programme of British Council Collection exhibitions at the Whitechapel Gallery.
