Curating and the Educational Turn

In recent years there has been increased debate on the incorporation of pedagogy into curatorial practice - on what has been termed “the educational turn” (“turn” in the sense of a paradigmatic re-orientation, within the arts). In this new volume, artists, curators, critics and academics respond to this widely recognized turn i n contemporary art. Consisting primarily of newly commissioned texts, from interviews and position statements to performative text and dialogue, Curating and the Educational Turn also includes a small number of previously published writings that have proved primary in the debate so far. This anthology presents an essential cultural question for anyone interested in the cultural politics of production at the intersections of art, teaching and learning.
In this important and timely book, valiant and urgent arguments are put forward regarding the 'educational turn' in recent curatorial practices. Through reasoned and attentive debate, the possible or potential or passing course of curatorial development is analyzed from both empirical and theoretical methods. The lack of consensus and passion of the discussion clearly identify that something important and vital is taking place and its consequences are many and thoughtfully expressed here on an arc from careful embrace to cautious skepticism. This is required reading for anyone who cares about curating, exhibitions and the meanings that art engenders. (Bruce Ferguson)
The anthology Curating and the Educational Turn introduces twenty-seven critical essays describing this phenomenon and represents an extremely helpful tool for anyone interested in the future of curatorship and exhibitions. The book shows huge potential for art institutions to be laboratories and places of knowledge production. (Hans Ulrich Obrist)
Curating and the Educational Turn is essential reading for anyone interested in curating, art practice, and pedagogy as creative, engaged, and potentially transformative activities. This timely and important collection provides a forum for what has been described as the 'educational turn' in curating and its more broad-based manifestations in art, education, and culture. (Mary Anne Staniszewski)
16 Beaver Group; Peio Aguirre; Dave Beech; David Blamey & Alex Coles; Daniel Buren & Wouter Davidts; Cornford & Cross; Charles Esche; Annie Fletcher & Sarah Pierce; Liam Gillick; Janna Graham; Tom Holert; William Kaizen; Hassan Khan; Annette Krauss, Emily Pethick, & Marina Vishmidt; Stewart Martin; Ute Meta Bauer; Marion von Osten & Eva Egermann; Andrea Phillips; Raqs Media Collective; Irit Rogoff; Edgar Schmitz; Simon Sheikh; Sally Tallant; Jan Verwoert; Anton Vidokle; Tirdad Zolghadr In recent years there has been increased debate about the incorporation of pedagogy into art and curatorial practice, about what has been termed the 'educational turn'. In this companion volume to the critically acclaimed Curating Subjects, artists, curators, critics and academics respond to this widely recognised sense of art's paradigmatic re-orientation towards the educational. Consisting primarily of newly commissioned texts, from interviews and position statements to performative texts and dialogues, Curating and the Educational Turn also includes a small number of previously published writings that have proved pivotal in the debate so far. This anthology presents an essential enquiry for anyone interested in the cultural politics of production at the intersections of art, teaching and learning.