Özet:

In the 1960s, the art world witnessed the concept of independent curatorship, which is not only within the limits of the general acceptance of the institution they work for but also alternative exhibitions carried out by these curators. The biennials, which gained momentum especially in the 1990s, caused curators to develop a new interface in terms of artists and audiences and in the context of national, international, local and universal aspects. This changes the description of the job offering a field of experience that introduces a phenomenon of the ‘creative curator’ and it causes re-evaluation of the position of curators. Therefore, the curators discussed here are contemporary art curators who are professionally autonomous from a certain job description, whose working profile has been updated and have an act within the body of new meanings attributed to them. On the other hand, contemporary art curators have an active role in the art world, but they are also in the centre of the main points of many chronic problems related to art. In the 1960s, the definition of curating of classical museology was out of question because a new curator emerged. While the concept of making independent exhibitions was within the national borders in the beginning, it started to be made international after the 1960s. New definitions such as “curators as designers” or “curators as critics” were attributed to the independent curators after this process. Each curator has a unique way of working and handling the exhibition. One of the most important factors in maturing this method is the curators’ journeys of cultural discovery. Curators may encounter some difficulties such as lack of support of resources and institutional constraints during the organisation of exhibitions. However, managerial skills such as risk management and effective decision-making are extremely important in overcoming these difficulties. Biennials are the organizations where curators may encounter these situations the most. In this research, the contemporary curatorial discourse that developed within the global art network that has been carried to the present day after curators’ transformation, the main elements that constitute the building blocks of this central discourse, the point of curators, their purpose as independent curators, the working systems within institutions such as museums, the areas of experience within the scope of mega exhibitions and some questions such as the arguments about the boundaries of the profession have been tried to be explained. Additionally, terms such as curatorial, postcuratorial, paracuratorial and curator as a flâneur, which make the curators’ discourse more comprehensible, are discussed, and contemporary curators’ approach to exhibitions and their methodology are examined as well. In this paper, general scanning type of observation and documentary screening method have been applied. From this point of view, contemporary curatorial thought is discussed and the controversial role and visibility of the curators in the network of multiple relationships are explored. As a result of all these determinations, it will be concluded that curatorial praxis transforms curators into culture producers and that curators are the integral part of the contemporary art world.

Anahtar Kelimeler: