Beyond Boundaries: Rethinking Contemporary Art Exhibitions

Abstract

In the past decade curators throughout the world have developed a range of innovative models for presenting contemporary art, both within and outside of institutional spaces. They have developed these models in response to changes since the end of the Cold War in the shape of contemporary art itself; the institutions in which it has traditionally been presented; and broader social, political, and economic structures. In spite of their differences, they have also shared an often passionate commitment to the belief that contemporary art has the potential to play an integral role in society by opening up spaces in which individuals may reexamine their own lives and their relationship to the world—a process that has entailed the reconsideration of the very categories of curator, artist, exhibition, and audience, as well as the relationships among these categories.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Valerie Cassel

Valerie Cassel is Director of the Visiting Artists Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She served as a member of the curatorial team for the Whitney Museum of American Art's Biennial 2000, and was previously Program Specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts.