Is everyone a Curator?

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Permalink Reply by Jenna Lynch on April 27, 2009 at 9:49am

Hi Jane,

This seems like a similar question posed through a documentary called 'Framed', based on the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. It aired on bio. channel on foxtel a week or so ago (I didn't have any luck finding a web link for it)...

We all have our own photographic collections, or if we are involved in online communities many of us have online albums, which are more often that not constructed to convey an ideal presentation of ourself to share with the world. We can be selective in what we chose to share about ourselves, what photographs we chose to keep and delete/show and hide, and we are instrumental in what messages we wish to convey through our online/real life photographic collections. Even the person that has two photographs in their wallet is a curator...they have purposefully chosen the photographs they have in their wallet, and they will be able to deliver a story about the photograph/s in regards to their context and why they have been chosen....

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Permalink Reply by Claire Savage on April 27, 2009 at 2:55pm

Fascinating article! It lead me to thinking about how museums and other collecting places really view their public. Are they a consituent group to be engaged and cultivated or are they just a bit of a nuisance causing disruption to what would be the perfect career if not for the visitors. Whilst interpretation has come on leaps and bounds in the past few decades there still seems to be a proliferation of signs and labels that fail to engage anyone but the "expert" and often leaves the visitor racing off to the cafe or shop (great for revenue but unlikely to create great experiences and repeat visitors.) I'm often left wondering who is the museum for? The public or the professional?

I don't think the individual being a curator is a new phenomenon but the ways in which we can curate and share our treasures has grown hugely in the past few years. Facebook, My Space, Flickr, YouTube and all the rest - including our very own site have created a unique opportunity to share. Where before we might have been reliant on the professionals to show us the trends of the past - we can now watch the trends of the present and future unfold so rapidly it makes your hair curl!

Hobbies like scrapbooking and journalling have also introduced a who lot of people to the concept of photo conservation and interpretation on a very personal level. Love it or hate it, get it or not, scrap booking is probably one of the fastest growing social networks today. The beauty for us non Generation Y folk is that it actually involves real people as well as the virtual kind.

Collections are also growing at a huge rate - anyone ever watched the ABC Collectors program. Apart from leading me to suspect that there are a lot more obsessive compulsive folk out there than I ever imagined it also shows that collecting is a very popular hobby. Many of our regional museums I'm sure are only there because of the obsession of a few dedicated locals. The amazing thing is that many of these sites are now the sole visitor attraction in that town or region.

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Permalink Reply by Annie Q. Medley on April 29, 2009 at 12:08pm

Is everyone a Curator...Yes! Just a quick remark...Good on Estonia for allowing photographs to be taken ...back soon....

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Permalink Reply by Joanne Hyland on May 12, 2009 at 3:44pm

Hi Jenna - in the same way, everyone is a historian, same process of selective interpretation, each telling a unique story filtered through their own experience and world view...

Jenna Lynch said:

Hi Jane,

This seems like a similar question posed through a documentary called 'Framed', based on the National Portrait Gallery of Australia. It aired on bio. channel on foxtel a week or so ago (I didn't have any luck finding a web link for it)...

We all have our own photographic collections, or if we are involved in online communities many of us have online albums, which are more often that not constructed to convey an ideal presentation of ourself to share with the world. We can be selective in what we chose to share about ourselves, what photographs we chose to keep and delete/show and hide, and we are instrumental in what messages we wish to convey through our online/real life photographic collections. Even the person that has two photographs in their wallet is a curator...they have purposefully chosen the photographs they have in their wallet, and they will be able to deliver a story about the photograph/s in regards to their context and why they have been chosen....

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Permalink Reply by Annie Q. Medley on May 24, 2009 at 5:52pm

Okay ...have had time to read this article in full and Yes I still admire that Estonia is allowing pictures to be taken in their Museum amd encourage it. In a perfect world (Mine) virtual musuems would be created by all interested individuals...able to design their own spaces for people to "walk through" and Yes galleries and Museums could visit and "acquire" the real pieces...This would open up all those hidden treasures and allow the uncovering of some wonderful collections in private hands..although I dont see this as only for those with "high end" pieces...AUSTRALIAN DRESS REGISTER comes to mind...a great place for people to show what they have at home and get advice and Maybe add these items down the line to the Nations collections in the future...Are we all Curators?...Yes if we want to be and Yes lets make Australia a nation of Curators in their own homes...fan fare, drum roll....

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