Hiuwai Chu
Conference Report. November 2023.
The broad themes tackled by the conference this year were relevant topics that we as museum workers should be constantly asking ourselves—which is essentially what is the role of the museum today given the historic task of preserving “heritage” and the more current aspirations of social engagement and outreach? It was great to hear different perspectives and approaches to each theme. However, having attended the last two conferences, I missed having the opportunity to break into smaller groups to further discuss topics, which was also a good way to get to know new colleagues in a more intimate setting.
The afternoon visits were put together with a lot of care and good intention, but sometimes it was overly ambitious, and we had little time to spend in each of the places. The afternoon of the studio visits was a highlight for me. This direct contact with the artistic scene is always rewarding; I even got to know two artists who I will keep on my radar.
The Rolling Contemporary Argentinian Art Map is incredibly well designed for getting to know the artistic scene in the country, and for sure will continue to be a valuable resource for curators and researchers. I hope that there will be funding to keep it up to date.
Unfortunately, I was unable to extend my stay in Buenos Aires and thus I feel that I barely scratched the surface of the city. But the energy of the place left an impactful impression and a desire to return and learn more.
Lastly, and as always, one of the most invaluable aspects of the conference is the simple act of gathering in person and having beautiful and inspiring conversations with old and new friends/colleagues. The in-between conference moments were for me as important as the official parts.
They were exhausting marathon days, but it was worth every minute. I’m very grateful that I was able to take part this year thanks to the travel grant.
Bio
I come to the field of contemporary art through a meandering route, with an academic background in anthropology (Barnard College, Columbia University) and experience in publishing (Aperture Foundation). I have worked in the cultural field for nearly 25 years and have accumulated enriching, on-the-ground experience that has shaped me into the professional I am today. Over 15 of those years have been at the MACBA, where I have grown personally and professionally, having first started as an Assistant Curator, then Curator, and finally Head of Exhibitions since June 2021.
My areas of research are in relation to the conditions of representation, with special emphasis on diasporic communities, and how the colonial paradigm has shaped current societal and environmental conditions. However, one of the most important functions for me as a curator is that of facilitator, to work in close dialogue with artists to catalyze ideas and help realize their projects.
Recent curatorial projects include Against Photography: An Annotated History of the Arab Image Foundation by Akram Zaatari (2017-2019), a three-year research project exploring archiving and collecting practices in relation to the political and historic context of the Middle East. The exhibition, co-curated with Bartomeu Marí, was initiated at MACBA and traveled thereafter to three venues in Dusseldorf, Seoul, and Sharjah, with an accompanying publication translated into Korean and Arabic.
Undefined Territories: Perspectives on Colonial Legacies (2019) was an exhibition project that brought together works that addressed the imprint of colonial violence, repression, and dispossession in contemporary society, with works by Black Audio Film Collective, Sandra Gamarra, Maryam Jafri, Kapwani Kiwanga, Naeem Mohaiemen, Daniela Ortiz, and Dana Whabira, among others.
Another significant project for me was Panorama 21: Notes for an Eye Fire (2021), curated with Latitudes, the first edition of a triennial conceived to engage with artistic practices within the local context. Taking the form of a group exhibition and a public program, it featured new commissions and works that addressed the notions of reparation and belonging, gender dissidence, and our relationship with nonhuman life, by artists such as El Palomar, Laia Estruch, Arash Fayez, Claudia Pagès, among others.
Bouchra Khalili: Between Circles and Constellations (2023), co-curated with Elvira Dyangani Ose, was an exhibition that interrogated the production of history, giving voice and visibility to oppressed stories through the last 10 years of Khalili’s research and production, with an accompanying publication.
As part of the Editorial Board of L’Internationale Online from 2021 – 2023, I coedited the book Climate: Our Right to Breathe (K-Verlag, 2022), a collection of essays and artistic contributions in response to two main challenges that we face today on a global scale: climate change and political climate. Contributors I invited to participate include Maria Thereza Alves, Samaneh Moafi, Daniela Ortiz, Maristella Svampa and Munem Wasif.
Upcoming projects include a mid-career survey of Daniel Steegmann Mangrané at MACBA (October 2023), whose practice is centered on his observations of the Brazilian rainforest and the mutually interdependent relationships of all living and non-living elements on our planet, breaking with the colonial, dualistic view of nature and culture and embracing a holistic worldview based on the Amerindian Cosmology. Also upcoming at the end of 2023 is a new commission by Lydia Ourahmane, who has an artistic practice that escapes classification, drawn by her interests in spirituality, contemporary geopolitics, migration, and the complex histories of colonialism.
I am on the boards of Hangar, a center for research and artistic production, and Cordova, an independent curatorial project, both based in Barcelona.