Karen Archey

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Karen Archey, Head of Curatorial Department, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany

Day 2 motto: Mapping Desires

Speaker Day 2 Karen Archey, Head of Curatorial Department, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen, Düsseldorf, Germany.

“Towards a Curatorial Pleasure”

In her talk, Archey examines a question that often remains unspoken within our field: How does pleasure coexist with the Microsoft Office routines, marketing discussions, production emergencies, and fundraising sessions that structure institutional curatorial work?

At CIMAM 2025, Archey spoke about the tension between institutional ethics and pleasure, and whether it is possible to unite these within a total curatorial practice.