Border politics in contemporary curatorial practice

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

My curatorial research focuses on the knowledges, tensions, and alternative futures created in response to cultural borders. Over the course of the year, I develop my independent curatorial practice at the intersection of border politics and art, applying “border thinking” as a curatorial framework. This transdisciplinary methodology imagines practical strategies and intellectual tools of critical practice for grass-root and collaborative artistic production. The public-facing component of my research culminates in three group exhibitions, a workshop, and a public event. Each exhibition is curated site-specifically, extending beyond the gallery and engaging with the public space. The artworks connect urban infrastructures with the exhibition, imagining counter-actions and contamination between the two. The shows address alternative modes of participation in response to various barriers, such as hostile architecture, censorship, normative education, and surveillance in public urban environments. Each exhibition is accompanied by curated soundscapes and live performances, activating the artworks and deepening public engagement. In parallel, I expand my research into the themes of risk, abolition, crip theory, and feminist decolonial practices. My exploration of these critical frameworks develops in dialogue with artists, curators, and researchers, and I aim to involve my work in support of local and transnational activist communities. This colloquial methodology is fundamental to my practice and learning. The purpose for this year is to mature and politicise my work, establish new collaborations and contacts, support the practice of fellow art workers, and initiate conversations around participation and migration through high-quality and accessible artistic productions. My professional goal is to individuate ways to produce complex spaces for art collaboratively, speaking an accessible language while hosting spontaneous interactions and nuanced conversations.