curatorial Programmes and Initiatives
Events
The Curatorial Committee organises events, both online and in-person, on topics of current relevance in the curatorial field.
Past events have included:
The Future of the Blockbuster: A need for change?
Curating Fast and Slow | Changing Times, Changing Tempos?
Curating Art or Curating Artists | The Thorny Question of an Artist’s Biography
Supporting Curatorial Practice in Museums, Galleries and the Arts
Our events include Curatorial Reflections discussing new displays of museum collections for curators, bespoke skills development events for curators, panel discussions on topical themes and Curatorial Conversations – online discussions hosted by The Warburg Institute.
Details of forthcoming events will be posted here and circulated to our email subscribers. If you would like to be informed of future activities, please sign up here. Details of forthcoming events will be posted on our Events pages and via Eventbrite and circulated to our email subscribers. If you would like to be informed of future activities, please sign up here.
Following the Committee’s recommendation, the Association now awards annual prizes in three categories of curatorial work: exhibitions, interpreting collections, and curatorial writing and publications.
For more information about these prizes, and about how to apply, please see Association for Art History Curatorial Prizes
The Committee has begun a Mentoring Programme for art curators, offering speed-mentoring online and in-person events and a scheme to facilitate longer-term peer-to-peer support. It has also prepared guidelines to help mentors and mentees consider how best to frame their mentorship.
If you would like to be a mentor to colleagues in the field or to be a mentee in our peer-to-peer scheme, please get in contact with us by emailing curators@forarthistory.org.uk
Wellbeing is much discussed in museum circles today, often in relation to the therapeutic value of art and visits to museums. However, the wellbeing of those charged with interpreting art and looking after museum collections is less often considered. We are currently exploring wellbeing in relation to curatorial roles. In 2024 we conducted a survey of museum curators. Read the full report here.
From interpretation to 3-D modelling to project management and leadership, being an art curator today involves many skills beyond art historical expertise. We aim to support the skills development of art curators through listing online resources and organising events.
Many institutions have undertaken their own research about their impact on climate change. However, this information is often not publicly available nor even widely known by curators within these organisations.
The moral, physical, social and economic challenges posed by climate change are likely only to grow in the coming years. We have formed a new working group to help equip curators to address them. We will review how UK art museums, large and small, are responding to the urgent challenges of climate change, and share reliable information and good practice with curators. Read our call for action.
Join us
We welcome the opportunity to work with any curators who are interested in supporting any of the above projects.
If you would like to contribute as a volunteer, please get in touch with us at curators@forarthistory.org.uk conveying your interest and any relevant experience.
Image: Ekow Eshun accepting the 2023 AAH Curatorial Prize for his exhibition, In the Black Fantastic, at the AAH summer event.