November 24–25, 2023
Experimenter is pleased to announce the 13th edition of Experimenter Curators’ Hub on November 24–25, 2023 in Kolkata, India.
The 13th edition of the Experimenter Curators’ Hub marks the convergence of curators from across the globe who, through their distinctive curatorial practices, are committed to making a profound difference by responding to momentous shifts in contemporary practice. Over the last 13 years since its inception, the Curators’ Hub has pioneered the exchange of ideas between the foremost thinkers and curators in the field of exhibition-making.
Moderated by curator and writer Natasha Ginwala, the hub attempts to provide a platform for expansion on and reinvigoration of curatorial thinking. Each year, the hub invites a guest speaker who has challenged boundaries and has stirred others to recognise crucial alternative narratives. The guest speaker for 2023 is journalist, poet-writer and Adivasi activist, Jacinta Kerketta who through her work, has documented and brought visibility to the struggles of Adivasi communities, inspiring a wide range of practitioners.
Prateek and Priyanka Raja, co-founders of Experimenter said, “The participating curators are known to have questioned systemic hierarchies dominating our world, through their work. They have underscored the importance of collaboration, community building and dissemination of knowledge. Their unbound discussions at the hub will provide a space to resist divisiveness and in turn embrace pluralities, nurture multiplicity and foster collective thinking and dialogue on social justice.”
The participating curators at ECH 2023 are: Inti Guerrero, curator, writer, co-artistic director of the 24th Biennale of Sydney; Mayank Mansingh Kaul, researcher, writer and curator with a focus on post-colonial histories of Indian textiles; Natalie King, professor of visual arts, VCA, University of Melbourne, curator of New Zealand pavilion, Venice Biennale 2022; Renan Laru-an, researcher, curator and artistic director of SAVVY Contemporary, Berlin; Sharareh Bajracharya, art educator and director of Kathmandu Triennale 2077; Shubigi Rao, artist, writer and curator, artistic director for the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2022-23; Sohrab Hura, artist, New Delhi, India; Guest speaker, Jacinta Kerketta, journalist, poet, writer and activist. Moderated by Natasha Ginwala, curator, researcher and writer, co-curator, Sharjah Biennial 16 (2023-25), artistic director of Colomboscope, Sri Lanka since 2019 and associate curator-at-large at Gropius Bau, Berlin (2018 – 2024).
Experimenter Curators’ Hub 2023 is organised by Experimenter Learning Program Foundation and is supported by Australian Consulate-General, Kolkata, Goethe- Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata, ArtReview (Strategic Partner) and TAKE Magazine (Media Partner).
The Hub will be held at Experimenter – Hindustan Road, Kolkata and live streamed on Experimenter and ArtReview’s websites, making it accesible to audiences around the world. The online audience has the opportunity to question and interact with the curators in real time. Since 2011, the Hub has hosted over 100 leading curators.
The Experimenter Curators’ Hub is free to attend with prior registration only, on a first come, first served basis. Please email admin [at] experimenter.in to register or to request for further information.
About Experimenter
Experimenter was co-founded by Prateek & Priyanka Raja in 2009 in Kolkata, India. With a multidisciplinary approach, the gallery is an incubator for an ambitious and challenging contemporary practice. The program represents some of the most critical contemporary artists worldwide. The program, rooted in dialogue and dissent, is considered to be a pace-setter for its region, and extends from exhibition-making to knowledge creation, through regular talks, performances, workshops and through its much acclaimed, annual curatorial intensive – Experimenter Curators’ Hub. A second, more ambitious space was added in 2018, marking a deeper inquisition into the gallery’s realm of interest. Its third space Experimenter – Colaba, established in 2022, extends the commitment of its discursive programming to Mumbai, a city that in turn represents the diverse pluralities of the region.
The gallery attempts to expand the scope of contemporary practice beyond the ambit of its expected role. In 2016, its artist-book publishing wing was launched followed by the Experimenter Learning Program in 2018 which enables learning in fields of contemporary and performing arts, curatorship, film, writing, language and social culture. In 2019, Experimenter Outpost, an iterative exhibitions program outside the physical gallery temporarily inhabiting disused, characterful spaces was formed. 2020 marked the beginning of Experimenter Labs, an inclusive, experimental and multi-dimensional vertical in addition to the onsite gallery programming.
About Experimenter Learning Program Foundation
The Experimenter Learning Program Foundation (ELPF), initiated in 2018, is envisioned as a long-term, sustainable and multifaceted learning and education program that keeps visual culture at its root to build discourse. ELPF is the kernel on which Experimenter expounds its continued interest in enabling dialogue, discussion and debate in fields of contemporary and performing arts, curatorship, film, writing, language and social culture. The program has a year-long schedule that includes the annual Experimenter Curators’ Hub, salon-style classrooms, symposia, lecture-performances and the Experimenter Juniors Program.
For further information on Experimenter and Experimenter Curators’ Hub 2022, please visit experimenter.in.
