Curator of Vietnamese Art

Connector

As one of the first few artists in our country to succeed in the role of curator, participating in many art projects around the world, independent curator, artist Tran Luong said: The curatorial industry has been quietly operating in Vietnam for nearly 30 years, contributing in many aspects to art development such as consulting, education , organization, connection... and bringing Vietnamese art, especially visual art to the world. They are the ones who build ideas and select works to structure an exhibition or art event.

Art curation is a job that appears more and more along with exhibitions and art events (illustrative photo)

According to artist Tran Luong, art curators are divided into 3 levels. The first type is traditional curators, they only do the work of selecting, connecting, and stringing together individual works into a story with a theme and structure into an exhibition upon order. The second type, curators do not wait for orders but they proactively research historical, political , social issues..., research target groups, art communities to create an orientation and select suitable works of art for an art show.

The third type, are curators with years of experience, they have profound knowledge and vision. The events they organize are not only large-scale but also bring profound messages. The difference is that curators at this level not only select available works but also commission works. At that time, the curator can become a consultant for the artist, supporting the artist to realize the message and appropriate structure of the work, to string together a part of the overall overview of the entire exhibition...

Art curation is also about connecting the meaning, value and beauty of works of art with the public (illustrative photo)

Curating many domestic art collections and projects, artist Nguyen The Son, lecturer at the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Sciences , Hanoi National University, said: In professional cultural institutions around the world, there is no exhibition without a curator, they take this job very seriously. The job of art curator is understood as the person who takes care of and interprets the art collection and creates a story for the exhibition. But to do that, the curator must have professional knowledge, personal experience and art practice. The curator must understand the artist, understand art, and have the ability to connect many fields such as management agencies, organizers, media, museums, etc.

"From there, it can be affirmed that an art curator is someone who creates connections between works of art, thereby creating a collection that is much more valuable than the separate combination of each work. Art curation is also connecting the meaning, value and beauty of works of art with the public. And "art curation" today does not only include paintings or works of art but also many other art fields such as architecture, cinema... However, in Vietnam, this job does not have a specific view, the importance of the person who leads an exhibition has not been emphasized" - said artist Nguyen The Son.

Still spontaneous and fragmented

Despite playing an important role in the development of Vietnamese art, after nearly 30 years of development, the mark of the art curator profession is still quite faint in society.

The mark of the art curator profession is still quite faint in society (illustrative photo)

Explaining this issue, Heritage Space Artistic Director, Curator Nguyen Anh Tuan said: "The recognition of art curation as a position capable of creating connections between art and society, positioning aesthetics for artists and works, and creating a system of awareness of cultural and artistic values ​​for the community has not yet appeared in the Vietnamese environment.

Because up to now, we have not had a synchronization of cultural policies or curatorial positions in the State. So individual curators like us only work independently, spontaneously, mainly working with private organizations that have not had a synchronous connection with the State to jointly develop contemporary art in particular, and Vietnamese art in general. I think this is a huge waste of human resources. Because we are often asked for information by foreign organizations and invited to participate in art projects organized abroad. They also exploit our capacity, but those skills are not used much to contribute to the development of art in the homeland where we live."

According to artist Nguyen The Son, the reason why the curator profession is still vague in the minds of many people is because contemporary art - where the curator's role is clearly demonstrated - has not yet developed strongly. Most of the public only knows about traditional art events.

Besides, unlike other countries in the world, Vietnam still has no institution to train professional curators. This is the second reason why the art curator profession has not yet had a worthy position. Most of the art curators in our country are practicing artists, after a while they switched to curating because they wanted to help colleagues or create their own collections. Because there has been a phenomenon of artists wanting to hold exhibitions but do not know how to apply for a license, organize, arrange and communicate. Meanwhile, almost no famous art curators in the world come from practicing artists.

In general, the curatorial industry in Vietnam is still developing spontaneously and fragmentedly, and is not yet recognized in its true role as a real profession (illustrative photo).

Sharing the same view, artist Tran Luong said: In general, the art curation industry in Vietnam is still developing spontaneously and fragmentedly, and is not yet recognized as a real profession. The title "curator" often only appears in private art spaces and commercial exhibitions, but has never appeared in the list of professions, nor has it been officially named in public art units.

"The saddest thing is that we have international curators, but they are just individuals, small groups, lacking a solid foundation. This leads to the fact that art curators of Vietnamese nationality appearing at world-class shows are quite rare. Compared to the ASEAN region, Vietnamese curators are behind most countries, equal to Cambodia and only better than Laos and Myanmar" - artist Tran Luong said./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/giam-tuyen-nghe-thuat-viet-nam-con-nhieu-thach-thuc-20240626154156998.htm