#Curating - it's trending and trendy

CURATOR:  (ky-rtr, kyr-tr) n.

One who manages or oversees, as the administrative director of a museum collection or a library.

[Middle English curatour, legal guardian, from Old French curateur, from Latin crtor, overseer, from crtus, past participle of crre, to take care of.]

Due in part to the Curatorial Ethics conference taking place (*gasp* without me!) in Vienna, "curating" is trending right now.  Just yesterday, I was talking with my friend who is the curator of Banting House National Historic Site, about just how much we dislike "curate" and "curator" as buzzwords.  The discussion stemmed from one of my tweets:

Ugh. I am so tired of hearing how people 'curate' things. Your Pinterest board does NOT make you a curator. Even if it's pretty. #juststop
— Maya H. (@mambolica) April 9, 2015

Imagine my surprise today when I saw that very subject trending.  I told my friend at Banting House that I might just have to blog about how much the over-use of "curator" irks me.  So here we are.

I'm not sure when the word made the jump into the popular vernacular, but someone latched on and it took off.  It's been gaining popularity over the last few years.  And I hate it. 

I love the idea that people want to be curators, except that most people using the word to describe their audio playlists have absolutely no idea what curation is actually about.  There is this conference going on right now, and they're talking abut big issues in curatorial practice, like ethics, the commercial art market, and politics. Yes, it is terrific you want to take ownership of your expression, and perhaps you're putting a fair bit of thought into it, but there's a whole lot more to curating than an aesthetic or organised display of stuff.  Here's what the Curatorial Ethics conference introductory text says:

The verb ‘curate’ derives from the Latin curare and means to attend to something and thus also to take responsibility – for an exhibition, for the participating artists, for the works etc. In the business world the code of ethics, which defines what is legitimate and what is not, is becoming ever more important. In the curatorial field too, important parameters have been shifting in recent years. We have seen subtle but lasting changes in the relationship between public and private collections, together with the handling of the latter, in the relationship between the institutional art establishment and the art market, and finally in the relationship between curators and artists.

So the time is ripe to talk about a curatorial code of ethics: where are the boundaries, what are the grey areas? The point of departure for this three-day conference, in which international representatives of various sectors of the art world will present their viewpoints, is not so much to discuss deficiencies and problems, but instead to fundamentally acknowledge that these exist.

Being a curator is a practice of intention and responsibility.  Although the role can vary widely depending on whether it is done in an art gallery or museum, whether it's a large or small organisation, public or private, there are certain key aspects that are integral to curatorial practice.  A curator is a keeper or steward of a museum or other collection.  They are responsible for advice on new acquisitions for the collections, the administration of the collections, as well as their documentation, research, and exhibition. 

Professional curators are frequently experts in their field or subject matter.  Very often they have devoted years to reasearching their areas.  Many curators publish their research in academic journals, write texts and articles, present at conferences and symposia.  Not all curators have PhDs, but many of them have devoted enough effort and scholarship to rival the equivalent of  numerous higher degrees.  Curators spend a lot of time considering the selection and placement of objects in their exhibitions and publications to create and enhance narratives, to create dialogues between works of art, to share ideas, to (in)validate arguements.  All the while, curators are expected to work within the ethical parameters of their fields, work within often very strict budgets, share their knowledge, mentor students, and always remain responsible for their collections.  Concerns of marketing, SEO tools, and superficial categories or tags do not enter the minds of most proefessional curators when they're in the midst of curatorial practice. 

Curators are, with few exceptions, committed, dedicated, thoughtful, educated, and trained professionals.  So, next time you talk about curating your iTunes library, or your website, your brand affiliations, Instagram, or whatever else, please consider that curators do a whole lot more than simply hanging pictures, making things look or sound pleasing, and mincing about in white gloves, elbow patches and horn-rimmed glasses. 

What are your thoughts?  Do you agree or disagree with me?  Don't be afraid to weigh in.