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"For a profession that is still only really in its infancy, curating has received an awful lot of flak. If would be hard to find a profession more beleaguered by critique and self-analysis, nor one that pays as badly for the amount of expertise generally required. "1
It is usually hoped that conferences will live up to their proposed aims and objectives but (from a jaded perspective) these promises are rarely achieved, possibly because they are too difficult to actually accomplish within the limited timeframes, budgets and administrative conditions available to coordinators. It was therefore a great relief that the Melbourne Curatorial Lab, organised by 200 Gertrude Street, was in most regards a productive and successful conference.
Curatorial lab was a think-tank that offered a formal setting for emerging and practicing curators, artists, exhibition designers and project managers to exchange ideas, research and experiences relating to contemporary curatorial practices. Natalie King, freelance curator and writer, and Max Delany, Artistic Director, 200 Gertrude Street, managed the Melbourne program, selecting speakers with varied professional backgrounds to address issues relating to a range of curatorial contexts: art museums, artist-run-spaces, touring exhibitions, international exchanges, festivals, public art projects and hybrid art events. Substantial discussion, debate and professional networking took place during the initial two weekends of the lab and, over a third weekend, the masterclass provided an opportunity for emerging curators to develop new projects in consultation with Juliana Engberg, Visual Arts Curator, Melbourne Festival, and a panel of other experienced curators.
Amongst the speakers were artists Destiny Deacon and Kathy Temin; Andrew Seaward, Coordinator, Platform Space,Melbourne; Tessa Dwyer, Director, Centre for Contemporary Photography; Wayne Tunnicliffe, Curator, ContemporaryAustralian Art, Art Gallery of New South