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Contemporary Music and the Curatorial Turn : Surveying Curatorial Practices from Curators-as-Authors to Institutional Critique

Farnsworth, Brandon LU orcid (2022) In Docmus Research Publications p.127-145
Abstract
Contemporary music practitioners have recently begun using the concept of curatorial practice borrowed the visual arts to describe both artistic experimentation with formats, as well as institutions’ experimentation with both programming and their own organizational functioning. This article surveys a number of these initiatives across Europe, identifies four interrelated approaches to curatorial practice operating in contemporary music today, and connects them to curatorial theory from the visual and live arts and to contemporary musicology. It finds that the individual curator of an institution is currently the most widely held understanding of the term in contemporary music, fitting with its understanding of compositional authorship.... (More)
Contemporary music practitioners have recently begun using the concept of curatorial practice borrowed the visual arts to describe both artistic experimentation with formats, as well as institutions’ experimentation with both programming and their own organizational functioning. This article surveys a number of these initiatives across Europe, identifies four interrelated approaches to curatorial practice operating in contemporary music today, and connects them to curatorial theory from the visual and live arts and to contemporary musicology. It finds that the individual curator of an institution is currently the most widely held understanding of the term in contemporary music, fitting with its understanding of compositional authorship. However, new institutionalist, collective, and artist-led approaches are gaining prominence as the field matures. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of studying how artistic practices are employing curatorial strategies, this approach being less common. It also recommends that for a curatorial ‘turn’ to take place, the relationship between music and its social mediations must be re-examined by a larger group of music’s stakeholders than is currently the case. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Contemporary Classical Music (CCM), New Music, Music Curating, Curatorial Practices
host publication
Institutionalisation in Music History
series title
Docmus Research Publications
editor
Rantanen, Saijaleena and Scott, Derek B.
issue
19
pages
19 pages
publisher
University of the Arts Helsinki
ISSN
2341-8265
2341-8257
ISBN
978-952-329-281-9
978-952-329-282-6
DOI
10.5281/zenodo.7576109
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
965b77de-10f9-492a-842b-70265cfadfcf
date added to LUP
2023-01-27 14:44:31
date last changed
2023-01-31 02:48:13
@inbook{965b77de-10f9-492a-842b-70265cfadfcf,
  abstract     = {{Contemporary music practitioners have recently begun using the concept of curatorial practice borrowed the visual arts to describe both artistic experimentation with formats, as well as institutions’ experimentation with both programming and their own organizational functioning. This article surveys a number of these initiatives across Europe, identifies four interrelated approaches to curatorial practice operating in contemporary music today, and connects them to curatorial theory from the visual and live arts and to contemporary musicology. It finds that the individual curator of an institution is currently the most widely held understanding of the term in contemporary music, fitting with its understanding of compositional authorship. However, new institutionalist, collective, and artist-led approaches are gaining prominence as the field matures. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of studying how artistic practices are employing curatorial strategies, this approach being less common. It also recommends that for a curatorial ‘turn’ to take place, the relationship between music and its social mediations must be re-examined by a larger group of music’s stakeholders than is currently the case.}},
  author       = {{Farnsworth, Brandon}},
  booktitle    = {{Institutionalisation in Music History}},
  editor       = {{Rantanen, Saijaleena and Scott, Derek B.}},
  isbn         = {{978-952-329-281-9}},
  issn         = {{2341-8265}},
  keywords     = {{Contemporary Classical Music (CCM); New Music; Music Curating; Curatorial Practices}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{12}},
  number       = {{19}},
  pages        = {{127--145}},
  publisher    = {{University of the Arts Helsinki}},
  series       = {{Docmus Research Publications}},
  title        = {{Contemporary Music and the Curatorial Turn : Surveying Curatorial Practices from Curators-as-Authors to Institutional Critique}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/135968979/Contemporary_Music_and_the_Curatorial_Turn.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.5281/zenodo.7576109}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}