Abstract

There has been a growing attention to the curatorial field, in particular since the 1980s with the emergence of independent curating and what is described as the curatorial turn, and more currently with its focus on knowledge production. Linked to the wider transformation of contemporary art since the 1960s–the broadening of contemporary art praxis and a growing need for mediation of art practice in expanding art markets – this process has shaped new ways of understanding the curatorial field, beyond traditional institutional models of practice and beyond the practice itself. This is partly as a consequence of the diversification of curatorial methodologies and models of practice, and partly as a consequence of the expansion of international networks and globalized art markets through which the activity of curating circulates, attention turns to the increased visibility and agency of the individual curator.