It was an overcast Saturday afternoon; the city was rain soaked and caught in the cacophony of blaring horns and raucous commuters. But to a group of 25 people in a quaint room decked with art and filled with warm yellow lights, none of it mattered. The world drowned out as they scribbled notes and nodded along, as Mayank Mansingh Kaul, a Delhi-based textile designer, talked about the art of curatorial writing. The workshop was the first in a series presented by Apparao Galleries, in association with The Hindu Lit for Life.
“After over 10 years of working in this field, I feel like curatorial writing is not just about writing for the arts; it’s also about raising bigger questions about society and culture,” explained Mayank, founder-director of The Design Project India, a not-for-profit organisation working on writing, curatorial and archival projects in Indian design.
To explain this, he brought up the Venice Biennale, and discussed this year’s curator: Okwui Enwezor. “Enwezor’s politics have always been anti-capitalist, but he is functioning in a world made possible by a certain kind of capitalist system.” Citing his introduction to the biennale as an example, he explained that through his writing, filled with rhetoric and abstract terms, the curator critiques the system he is part of, without being overt about it. He shed light on the importance of Enwezor’s words by commenting, “This is an event that addresses the world. Whatever happens here sends out a message that is not just confined to those in the art world.”
Mayank also discussed how curatorial writing changes according to context. “For example, if you are writing something only for the textile community on brocades or kalamkari, you will not have to explain what they are. If the writing is for a lay audience, it has to become simpler,” he says. He drew attention to different curatorial processes at various exhibitions. “In some cases, I don’t do an essay or an article; I just do an interview with the artist. Lengthy captions are also interesting to read.” While Mayank discussed his projects and their processes in detail, he also asked the audience about theirs. “I think events like these are important. There is no question that the cultural art field is developing and expanding — there are more artists, galleries and curators. The opportunities are increasing, but the skills are missing. Research, now, is just Google, but somewhere we need to add depth to the conversation, and that’s where workshops like these come in. They build skills, provide context to what people are doing and form a community
Audience perspective
It is very interesting to find that there is an active dialogue about arts in our city, which I wasn’t aware of. I think Mayank brought us together and highlighted it.
—Samyuktha Ganesh, 23, architect
Apart from the understanding of what curatorial writing should be, the session has also made me more curious about art exhibitions and museums, because of the art we were exposed to during the lecture.
—Ragavendran Ravisankar , 30, student of music
I’m not from this field, so attending this lecture made me realise there is a big group of people writing for the arts. It was also great to meet and connect with them.
— Shruthi D.Prabhu, 26, engineer
Curatorial writing is writing in connection with the subject, the body of art and society at large. You can only do that through constant conversations, and this platform enabled one such.
—Shrishti Ravishankar, 28, art historian
