James Ballantyne

Its Liminal Everyday

Half In Wood, Half In Iron

Garmisch

Paris

The Curating Experience - Setting Up

If you have never curated an exhibition before but are undertaking a curating role, this blog might be of some assistance. This is a reflection of my time curating for my 2nd year photography exhibition at huddersfield. What is covered in this blog is the process of curating and how to navigate it. I know when I undertook this role, I didn't know how to navigate it. Within this blog I will use they/them pronouns to keep the blog anonymous and to maintain a level of professionalism. This blog exists because I was asked by my lecturer to give a talk recently to a group of 2nd years about the experience.

Setting Up The Exhibition

Setting up the exhibition was difficult, as when I had planned it, a piece of work was going to be on this huge wall.

The wall ate up the pieces.

Made it look insignificant and small.

We had to change it.

We change it.

This threw me out of the loop. To cover the huge wall I moved a piece from a smaller wall that didn't belong there as it was too big. It needed room to breathe and did not correspond with the pieces in that room. The change was appropriate for the type of piece.

After this I set up name tags on the places where people would hang their work. I had changed it a few times eventhough I had a plan. The name tags felt off, but I didnt know why. The people that had brought work I told them to leave it in here and we will sort it out tomorrow.

I was overwhelmed and tired, my mind wasn't at full capacity, I knew if I was feeling like this, others would be too. Luckily it was quiet, not many people had turned up to hang. The people who were there I told to go home and come back tomorrow.

Day 2

After having needed rest I came in early to set up the space and instantly I saw an issue with the taped names. They were too close and so I spread it out.

Having clarity in these situations is pivotal. Regular breaks are a must.

This day was the busiest. Around 7 people I had to help.

How can you be in 7 places at once?

You can't.

To manage this, you ask people to get their work out, some people need to put photos in frames and other things. Whoever was doing this you would go to someone else you can help, spend time with them discussing how the work will sit on the wall. After the discussion and things, you move onto the next.

It's like being an octopus balancing spinning plates on all your arms.

This part of the process is managing people. It's being strategic with the people.

Every single person deserves your time, and you have to give them that time. But when you manage and make a change you have to provide a reason because without reason it might as well be a dictatorship.

Before I spoke about moving a big piece from a small wall onto a big wall to better suite the work. When the person found out they were annoyed, I was met with hostility, because in their mind the wall they chose most suited their work.

When this happened I had to diffuse by explaining my decision to move the piece. But first I heard their pleas.

I explained the work was too small on that wall, on the bigger wall it has more room, it suits the theme of this room and if you think about it, this is the first piece people will see.

When I gave the lecture to the 2nd years, I referred to this situation as people managing but also stroking an ego. The aim isn't to please people, it's to make the exhibition the best it can be, and having people on your side makes that process far easier.

The Days Proceeding

The next 2 days were long days. First in, Last to leave. I spent time with people disucssing how they wanted their work laid out.

This is frustrating.

They should have this figured out already.

However they didn't.

In this situation you can be angry but it doesn't solve the situation, or help them. Really you can't say they should have it sorted. You have to approach it with kindness and recognise they now need help now. This part is good, because you sit and discuss what is most suited to the work.

It's trial and error. When things seemed to stop in terms of arranging and they came to a decision on what they wanted, I would ask them to take a picture. I would do this and say

“Right we know what it is, but what can it be”

It was a way to challenge them creatively to push the work, just out of curiosity. I would prompt them to take one out, add one in, find pairings, and really push and nurture them until a conclusion was found.

I must admit I think they found it annoying, but it was never met with anger or real hostility. More frustration within their own indecisiveness.

In terms of actual work on the wall, I used anchor points and worked around them. This was work that had to have a designated space, simply due to the nature of the work. Anchor points help create structure which helps make a flow. Once I had my anchor points it became an artistic game of filling in the blanks.

Overall this experience I very much enjoyed and found myself striving in. What has to be said is, there was another curator in this process but they never made an effort. I chose to leave them with their decision and push myself forward and claim that position, if I didn't, it wouldn’t have been done. In this experience it requires a strong will. People will not always do their jobs, if this happens, do it yourself.

The more you put in the more you get out of it.

At the beginning I said I gave a lecture for the 2nd year about this experience. At the end of it, my lecturer asked me,

what was the most important takeaway from this experience?

It took a few seconds, as I very much didn't expect it. After a few moments i said

“I saw it as an opportunity to treat myself like a professional in the real world”

Real people will see the exhibition, treat it as such.

To Recap

- You are people managing

- When changes are made, provide a reason why

- Expect things to change

- Take regular breaks to avoid burnouts