EXPO CHICAGO Announces Participants and Partners for Expanded Global Curatorial Initiatives

EXPO CHICAGO, The International Exposition of Contemporary and Modern Art, announces participants and partners in the fifth annual Curatorial Forum to take place during the eighth annual exposition (September 19 – 22, 2019). In addition, EXPO CHICAGO presents an expansion of the Curatorial Exchange program through continuing representation from Denmark, France, Italy and the Netherlands alongside new representation from Brazil, Canada, and Spain, allowing international curators to engage with the 135 exhibitors from 24 countries and 68 cities participating in EXPO CHICAGO. In addition to these partnerships, EXPO CHICAGO continues its commitment to fostering international discourse between global cultures and the greater Midwest through the inaugural partnership with Red Bull Arts Detroit to launch the Global Curatorial Initiative—a multi-city, fully funded curatorial program within the artistic and cultural contexts of both Chicago and Detroit.

“EXPO CHICAGO’s unprecedented programs for national and international curators have become cornerstones of the fair’s programming and reflect the fair’s commitment to supporting the curatorial field and fostering international exchange in the Midwest.” said EXPO CHICAGO Managing Director of Partnerships Mia Khimm. “As we continue to grow as an international art fair, we see these unique opportunities for curators to connect with their peers and to the vast network of galleries, institutions and artists convening around EXPO CHICAGO as critical to our continued success.”

Curatorial Forum

Developed by EXPO CHICAGO and Independent Curators International (ICI), the Curatorial Forum offers a group of mid-career and established curators the opportunity to engage with their peers and explore urgent issues related to curating, programming, institution-building and audience engagement. The Curatorial Forum will once again feature invitational sessions focusing on questions critical to contemporary curatorial practice today. These conversations will be facilitated by leaders with international recognition in the field and culminate in a Closing Assembly.

Curatorial Forum Highlights

A keynote discussion for Curatorial Forum participants, Chicago professionals and other visiting curators, will be presented by Zoe Butt (Artistic Director, The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh City), following Jochen Volz (Director, Pinacoteca de São Paulo, 2018); Jesús Carrillo (Independent Curator, 2017); and Sally Tallant (Director, Liverpool Biennial, 2016).

This year, the Curatorial Forum expands upon its ongoing partnership with the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, a collaboration that shapes the forum experience and allows for deeper engagement with citywide art and architecture, coinciding with both the eighth annual exposition and the 2019 Chicago Architecture Biennial. The Graham Foundation will once again host the Curatorial Forum, and will build upon its longstanding partnership by supporting the participation of nine architecture curators in a session focused on architecture led by Executive Director and Chief Curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture José Esparza Chong Cuy.

At the core of the Forum, a series of peer-led breakout sessions explore urgent topics in the field today, including “Race, Gender and Representation,” led by Williams College Professor of Art History and Latina/o Studies C. Ondine Chavoya; “Architecture,” led by Executive Director and Chief Curator of Storefront for Art and Architecture José Esparza Chong Cuy; “Placefulness,” led by independent curator Sara Raza; “Accessibility,” led by Director of the Pulitzer Arts Foundation Cara Starke; and “Modern Museum in the Global Modern,” led by Director of the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Dominic Asmall Willsdon; among others. This year the Curatorial Forum will conclude with an assembly to foster regional professional networks and collaborations across the contemporary cultural landscape.

Considered one of the premiere curatorial training opportunities in the nation, the Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellowship at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is intended to offer an exceptional graduate-level candidate the opportunity to gain professional curatorial experience in a major museum setting. In celebration of the program’s twentieth anniversary, four former Curatorial Fellows will be fully integrated into the 2019 Curatorial Forum and take part in a panel discussion that explores the impact that the Susman Fellowship has had on the professional development and careers of its alumni and on the Museum of Contemporary Art more broadly.

“My goal in creating the Marjorie Susman Curatorial Fellowship at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago was to provide a needed access point for young curators to one of the greatest contemporary art institutions in the world,” said Marjorie Susman. “Twenty year later, I am in awe of the work that these curators have gone on to accomplish, and see no better way to share these experiences with a global community of contemporary art curators than through EXPO CHICAGO’s Curatorial Forum.”

The participating Susman alumni include Grace Deveney (Assistant Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago); Diana Nawi (Independent Curator and co-curator of Prospect 5, New Orleans); Heather Pesanti (Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs, The Contemporary Austin); and Abigail Winograd (Curator, Smart Museum of Art MacArthur Fellows Program 40th Anniversary Exhibition).

“The Curatorial Forum is a rare opportunity for curators from across the United States to convene during EXPO CHICAGO, sharing knowledge and experiences among peers and to discuss some of the most urgent questions faced by American art institutions today,” said ICI Executive Director Renaud Proch. “Last year, the forum brought together 30 curators from 18 states. We are proud to continue building on this collaboration with EXPO CHICAGO, and to expand it this year with a partnership with the Graham Foundation to engage the field of art and architecture.”

In addition to the session leaders and keynote speaker, confirmed 2019 Curatorial Forum participants to date include:

Wassan Al-Khudhairi | Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis Chief Curator

Mark Beasley | Hirshhorn Museum Curator of Media and Performance Art

Joseph Becker | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Associate Curator of Architecture and Design

Giovanna Borasi | Canadian Centre for Architecture Chief Curator

Maite Borjabad | Art Institute of Chicago Assistant Curator of Architecture and Design

Anthony Carfello | Independent Curator

C. Ondine Chavoya | Williams College Professor of Art History and Latina/o Studies

Dina Deitsch | Tufts University Art Galleries Director and Chief Curator

Don Desmett | Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Interim Curator

Grace Deveney | Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago Assistant Curator

Jose Esparza | Storefront for Art and Architecture Director

Catherine Futter, Ph.D | Nelson Atkins Museum of Art Director of Curatorial Affairs

Beatrice Galilee | Metropolitan Museum of Art Associate Curator of Architecture and Design

Kimberli Gant | Chrysler Museum of Art Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

Jia Gu | Materials & Applications Director and Curator

Mary Heathcott | Blue Star Contemporary Executive Director

Carmen Hermo | Brooklyn Museum Associate Curator of Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Kaytie Johnson | San Diego History Center Bruce Kammerling Curator

Storm Junge van Rensberg | Savannah College of Art and Design Head Curator

Emily A. Kuhlmann | Museum of the African Diaspora Director of Exhibitions & Curatorial Affairs

Leslie Laird Luebbers | Art Museum of the University of Memphis Director

Diana Nawi | Independent Curator

Bill North | Salina Art Center Director and Director of Education & Programming

Monica Obinski | Milwaukee Art Museum Demmer Curator of 20th and 21st Century Design

Meg Onli | Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia Assistant Curator

Marina -Teresa Otero Verzier | Architect, Het Nieuwe Instituut Director of Research

Heather Pesanti | The Contemporary Austin Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs

Sara Raza | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Curator Anne-Claire Schmitz | La Loge Director and Curator

Claudia Schmuckli | Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Curator-in-Charge of Contemporary Art and Programming; de Young Museum Curator for Contemporary Art

Cara Starke | Pulitzer Arts Foundation Director

Irene Sunwoo | Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Director of Exhibitions

Valentine Umansky | Contemporary Arts Center Curator of Lens-Based Arts

Max Weintraub | Aspen Art Museum Senior Curator

Dominic Willsdon | Institute of Contemporary Art Virginia Director

Abigail Winograd | Smart Museum of Art MacArthur Fellows Program 40th Anniversary Exhibition Curator

Tanya Zimbardo | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Assistant Curator of Media Arts

Support of the 2019 Curatorial Forum is provided by Heritage Auctions; Marjorie and Ambassador Louis Susman/the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Art; the Tremaine Foundation; Willis Towers Watson; and Terry Dowd Incorporated.

Curatorial Exchange

EXPO CHICAGO’s second annual Curatorial Exchange is a leading international initiative developed in partnership with foreign consulates and cultural agencies. The Curatorial Exchange offers select mid-career and established curators based around the world the opportunity to engage closely with their peers, convening as part of a four-day program that includes access to exhibitions, top private collections, artist studios, museums and institutions during EXPO CHICAGO.

Curatorial Exchange Highlights

Over the four days, visiting curators will have the opportunity to engage with the more than 135 international exhibitors and organizations participating in EXPO CHICAGO, fostering new insights on gallery programs and artists’ practices from around the world. Curators will also have the opportunity to engage Chicago’s broader artistic community through individual artist studio visits, institutional meetings, and a closed-door workshop at the Art Institute of Chicago.

In 2019, the Curatorial Exchange will include more than eight curators representing Brazil (supported by Red Bull Arts Detroit), Canada (supported by the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago), Denmark (supported by the Ministry of Culture of Denmark and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark), France (supported by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Chicago), Italy (supported by the Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago), The Netherlands (supported by the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York) and Spain (supported by Red Bull Arts Detroit).

Confirmed 2019 Curatorial Exchange participants to date include:

Max Andrews & Mariana Cánepa Luna | Latitudes Co-Founders (Spain)

Marcella Beccaria | Castello di Rivoli Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Rivoli-Torino Chief Curator and Curator of Collections (Italy)

Zippora Elders | Kunstfort Vijfhuizen Curator and Artistic Director (Netherlands)

Sébastien Faucon | Musée d'art contemporain de la Haute-Vienne - Château de Rochechouart Director (France)

María Inés Rodríguez | Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) Curator-at-Large (Brazil)

Julia Paoli | Mercer Union Director of Exhibitions & Programs (Canada)

Roberta Tenconi | PirelliHangarBicocca Curator (Italy)

The exposition will also welcome additional curators hailing from France, as part of the Étant donnés Contemporary Art Program, an initiative of the French American Cultural Exchange Foundation and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York. Thanks to the generous support of the FORD Foundation, the 2019 program offers a new cohort of French curators opportunities to become more familiar with the African American art scene through studio visits, meetings with curators, visits to collections and museums, among others, in Chicago and New York.

This year, EXPO CHICAGO is expanding upon the Curatorial Exchange program by introducing the inaugural Red Bull Arts Detroit Global Curatorial Initiative, a multi-city, fully funded curatorial initiative taking place surrounding the eighth annual exposition (September 18 – 23, 2019). Conceived as a two-part professionalization and cultural immersion program engaging Chicago and Detroit, the fellowship provides 3 international curators the opportunity to participate in EXPO CHICAGO’s 2019 Curatorial Exchange program, followed by the opportunity to visit Detroit and engage the city’s artists, galleries and institutions. The program, supported by Red Bull Arts Detroit alongside EXPO CHICAGO's consular partners, places an emphasis on the artistic and cultural contexts of both Chicago and Detroit. The program will allow the exposition to expand its reach, securing a more in-depth opportunity for dialogue between global cultures and the Midwest. The inaugural participants of the Red Bull Arts Detroit Global Curatorial Initiative include Latitudes (Spain) Co-Founders Max Andrews and Mariana Cánepa Luna; and Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP) Curator-at-Large María Inés Rodríguez (Brazil).

Support of the 2019 Curatorial Exchange is provided by Red Bull Arts Detroit; Italian Cultural Institute in Chicago; Consulate General of Canada in Chicago; Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York; the Ministry of Culture of Denmark and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark; the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Chicago; and the University Club of Chicago.

About Curatorial Forum Keynote Speaker

Zoe Butt is a curator and writer based in Vietnam, and currently Artistic Director of the Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s first purpose-built space for contemporary art. Her curatorial practice centers on building critically thinking and historically conscious artistic communities and fostering dialogue among countries of the global south. Zoe formerly served as Executive Director and Curator, Sàn Art, Ho Chi Minh City (2009–2016); Director, International Programs, Long March Project, Beijing (2007–2009); and Assistant Curator, Contemporary Asian Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2001–2007), where she focused on the development of its Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. Her work has been published by Hatje Cantz; ArtReview; Independent Curators International; ArtAsiaPacific; Printed Project; Lalit Kala Akademi; JRP-Ringier; Routledge; and Sternberg Press, among others. Recent exhibitions include Sharjah Biennial 14: Leaving the Echo Chamber - Journey Beyond The Arrow,(2019); Empty Forest: Tuan Andrew Nguyen (2018); Spirit of Friendship and Poetic Amnesia: Phan Thao Nguyen (both 2017); Dislocate: Bui Cong Khanh (2016), Conjuring Capital (2015). Zoe is a member of the Asian Art Council for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and in 2015 was named a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.

About Independent Curators International (ICI)

ICI produces exhibitions, events, publications, research and training opportunities for curators and diverse audiences around the world. Established in 1975 and headquartered in New York, ICI is a hub that connects emerging and established curators, artists and art spaces, forging international networks and generating new forms of collaborations.