Visiting Arts Curators’ visit
Visiting Arts Curator Research Visits enable UK-based curators to travel to different regions of the world, offering opportunities to encounter contemporary artistic practices within specific contexts and to build cultural links and mutual understanding. Previous research visits organised by Visiting Arts include trips to China, Colombia, Egypt, and Russia, each resulting in sustained artistic exchange and activity.
Visiting Arts maintains a long-standing cultural relationship with Iran, working across visual and performing arts since 1999. In 2000, the organisation plays a key role in supporting the first major exhibition of Iranian art in the UK in over two decades, presented at the Barbican Art Centre in London.
Building on the UK’s reputation for presenting international contemporary art, a group of curators from major UK art institutions participate in a research visit to Tehran. The visit aims to develop an understanding of the contemporary Iranian visual arts scene, establish relationships with artists and arts organisations, and engage directly with the cultural context of the city. The participating institutions represent a broad geographical range across England and Scotland.
The visit is led by Kathryn Standing, Visual Arts Manager at Visiting Arts, and Sholeh Johnston, Project Coordinator.
The visiting curators include:
Eddie Berg, Artistic Director, BFI Southbank, London
Kyla McDonald, Assistant Curator, Tate Modern Acquisitions, London
Francis McKee, Director, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow
Angela Peagram, Project Director, Art & Sacred Places, UK-wide
Tom Trevor, Director, Arnolfini, Bristol
Alessandro Vincentelli, Acting Head of Programme, Baltic, Gateshead
During the visit, the group presents individual talks as part of a public session held at Azad Art Gallery, organised by Sohrab Kashani of Sazmanab in partnership with Parkingallery.
Venue: Azad Art Gallery [Tehran]
Date: Monday, April 25, 2009 – 4 PM
