Guide to the Paul O'Neill Collection of Curator Interviews
MSS.019

Published in 2021
© CCS Bard Archives

Summary Description

Repository
Center for Curatorial Studies Library & Archives
Creator
O'Neill, Paul, 1970-
Title
Paul O'Neill Collection of Curator Interviews
ID
MSS.019
Date [inclusive]
2004-2006
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Language
English .
Author
Finding aid prepared by Hana Halilaj; with additional assistance from Ryan Evans and Hannah Mandel, 2021.

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Biographical / Historical

Dr. Paul O'Neill (b. 1970) is an Irish curator, educator, writer, and artist. Since 2017 he has worked as the Artistic Director of PUBLICS, a curatorial agency and event space with a dedicated library, and reading room in Vallila, Helsinki, Finland. PUBLICS explores a "work together" institutional model with multiple overlapping objectives, thematic strands and collaborations.

O'Neill has written extensively on the transformation of the field of curatorial practice,and its intersection with research and exhibition histories. As one of the leading scholars in this field, O'Neill has made a significant contribution to the curatorship's emergence and the discursive production entwined with it. He is author and co-editor of a number of publications/books that examine how the notion of curatorial has expanded beyond its initial conception, documenting the current role of curator, and tracing the development of the field of curatorial studies and exhibition making.. He is editor of the curatorial anthology, Curating Subjects (Open Editions and de Appel, 2007), and co-editor of Curating and the Educational Turn and Curating Research both with Mick Wilson (de Appel and Open Editions, in 2010 and 2015 respectively); co-editor of Locating the Producers: Durational Approaches to Public Art with Claire Doherty (Valiz, 2011); co-editor of The Curatorial Conundrum- What to Study? What to Research? What to Practice?, How Institutions Think both with Mick Wilson and Lucy Steeds, and Curating After the Global; Roadmaps to the Present with Simon Sheikh, Mick Wilson and Lucy Steeds (the MIT Press, CCS Bard and LUMA Foundation, Arles, in 2016, 2017 and 2019 respectively.) He is author of the critically acclaimed book The Culture of Curating and the Curating of Culture(s) (The MIT Press, 2012). His writing has also been published in many other books, catalogues, journals, and magazines, including Art Monthly; Contemporary, The Internationaler and CIRCA. Currently, O'Neill is Reviews Editor for Art and the Public Sphere Journal, co-editor of Afterall's "Exhibition Histories" Series, and serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Curatorial Studies and Field.

O'Neill's writing and practice is informed by his curatorial and research positions, along with his experience lecturing in curatorial and visual arts programs in Europe, the UK, and the US. Between 2013 and 2017 O'Neill was Director of the Graduate Program at the Center for Curatorial Studies (CCS) Bard College. During his tenure at CCS, O'Neill was responsible for the academic program, including curriculum and faculty development, supervising student-curated projects, directing research initiatives for CCS Bard, and organizing the Center's artist-in-residence and curator-in-residence programs.

Between 2005 and 2017, O'Neill was a visiting international tutor at de Appel Amsterdam. He was an international research fellow with The Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media, Dublin from 2010-2013. From 2007 until 2010, O'Neill led the major international research program, 'Locating the Producers', at Situations, University of the West of England, Bristol. He has previously held lecturing positions on the MFA in Curating, Goldsmiths University of London, and Visual Culture, Middlesex University, among others. Between 2001 and 2003 he was the Curator of London Print Studio Gallery. From 1997 to 2006 he was Artistic Director of Multiples X, an organization that commissioned and supported curated exhibitions of artist's editions.

O'Neill has co-curated more than sixty exhibitions, including: We are the (Epi) center, P ! Gallery, New York ( 2016); We are the Center for Curatorial Studies, Hessel Museum, Bard College, New York ( 2016-2017); The Curatorial Timeshare, Enclave, London (since 2012); Last Day, Cartel Gallery, London (2012); Our Day Will Come, Part of Iteration: Again, Hobart, Tasmania (2011); We are Grammar, Pratt Institute, Manhattan Gallery, New York (2011); Coalesce: happenstance, SMART, Amsterdam (2009); Making Do, The Lab, Dublin (2007); General Idea: Selected Retrospective, Project, Dublin (2006); Mingle Mangled, part of Cork Caucus, Cork (2005 ); La La Land, Project, Dublin (2005); Coalesce: The Remix, Redux, London (2005 ); Tonight, Studio Voltaire, London, (2004); Coalesce: With All Due Intent, Model and Niland Art Gallery, Sligo (2004); Are We There Yet?, Glassbox, Paris (2000) and Passports, Zacheta Gallery of Contemporary Art, Warsaw (1998).

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Scope and Contents

The Paul O'Neill Collection of Curator Interviews consists of 43 candid interviews conducted by O'Neill during 2004-2006, conducted with curators and artists involved in curatorial practice. Each interviewee recounts personal histories and experiences related to the field of curating., Interviewees identify exhibition precedents and curators that were highly influential during their formative years, and talk about their own groundbreaking exhibitions, and ways their practices have shifted over time Each interview offers a unique perspective on the development of curatorial practices, and raises important topical debates.

In addition to the discussion of predominant curatorial practices, the interviewees also discuss how the role of the contemporary art curator has changed in the 15-20 years prior to the time the interviews were conducted. Many of the interviewees postulate if the term demystification, as used by Seth Siegelaubto address issues of curatorial visibility in exhibition practices.. They further discuss the historical amnesia around exhibition precedents as examined in the book "The Power of Display: A History of Exhibition Installations at the Museum of Modern Art" by the art historian Mary Anne Staniszewski, and consider the role of curators and artists in addressing this issue.

Several interviewees talk about the differences between the curatorial practice of independent curators, compared to institutional curators whose job description involves fundraising, overseeing administrative tasks, and serving a specific audience. Several interviewees discuss subjectivity in exhibition criticism, and present viewpoints on the expanding role of international biennials, . postgraduate curating courses,and institutional led training programs including Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College in New York, de Apple in Amsterdam, École du Magasin in Grenoble (1987-2016), Royal College of Art in London, and Independent Study Program, at Whitney Museum in New York.

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Arrangement

Folders are in two boxes in chronological order.

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Information for Users

Publication Information

Center for Curatorial Studies Library & Archives

Bard College
 Annandale-on-Hudson 12504-5000
 [email protected]
 URL: http://www.bard.edu/ccs/library/

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Appel Arts Centre
  • Biennale di Venezia. Venice Biennial
  • CCS Bard
  • Centre Georges Pompidou
  • Ecole du Magasin (Grenoble, France)
  • Goldsmiths' College
  • Royal College of Art
  • Whitney Museum of American Art. Independent Study Program

Genre(s)

  • Interviews

Personal Name(s)

  • Barak, Ami
  • Barr, Alfred Hamilton
  • Basualdo, Carlos, 1964-
  • Bauer, Ute Meta
  • Blazwick, Iwona
  • Bos, Saskia
  • Bourriaud, Nicolas
  • Bronson, AA 1946-
  • Buren, Daniel
  • Cameron, Dan
  • Cooke, Lynne
  • Cullen, Mark, 1972-
  • David, Catherine, 1954-
  • Demeester, Ann
  • Dorner, Alexander
  • Drabble, Barnaby,, 1971-
  • Duggan, Brian, 1971-
  • Enwezor, Okwui
  • Fletcher, Annie
  • Foster, Hal
  • Fraser, Andrea
  • Gangitano, Lia, 1968-
  • Gillick, Liam, 1964-
  • Gleadowe, Teresa
  • Graham, Dan 1942-
  • Haacke, Hans
  • Haacke, Hans
  • Harding, Anna
  • Higgs, Matthew
  • Hoffmann, Jens, 1974-
  • Hou, Hanru
  • Hultén, Pontus
  • Kelsey, John, (Art critic)
  • Konig, Kasper
  • Lind, Maria, 1966-
  • Miller, John, 1954-
  • Moisdon, Stéphanie
  • Morris, Lynda, 1947-
  • Nickas, Robert
  • O'Doherty, Brian
  • Obrist, Hans-Ulrich
  • Pierce, Sara
  • Renton, Andrew, 1963-
  • Sans, Jérôme
  • Schafhausen, Nicolaus, 1965-
  • Siegelaub, Seth, 1941-
  • Staniszewski, Mary Anne
  • Staple, Polly
  • Storr, Robert
  • Sundblad, Emily
  • Szeemann, Harald
  • Tawadros, Gilane
  • Troncy, Eric
  • Wallis, Brian, 1953-
  • Weiner, Lawrence
  • Zegher, M. Catherine de

Subject(s)

  • Art -- 20th century -- Exhibitions
  • Art -- 21st Century -- Exhibitions
  • Art -- Research
  • Art, Modern -- 20th century
  • Art, Modern -- 21st Century
  • Artistic collaboration
  • Biennials (Art fairs)
  • Conceptual art -- Exhibitions
  • Curatorship
  • Exhibit design
  • Institutional Critique (Art movement)

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Contents List

 Series I: Interview Transcriptions 

box folder

 Hou Hanru, Paris 26-01-04  2004 

1 1

 Nicolas Bourriaud, Palais Tokyo, Paris 27-01-04  2004 

1 2

 Anna Harding, London 07-02-04 (transcribed 06-10-05) 2004 

1 3

 Teresa Gleadowe, Royal College of Art, London 25-03-04 (transcribed 30-8-05) 2004 

1 4

 Liam Gillick, New York 03-05-04 2004 

1 5

 Lynne Cooke, New York 06-05-04 2004  

1 6

 Mary Anne Staniszewski, New York 27-05-04 (transcribed 02-09-05) 2004 

1 7

 AA Bronson, New York 2004-06 2004-06 

1 8

 Hans Ulrich Obrist, Paris 2004-06 2004-06 

1 9

 Jens Hoffmann, London 2004-06 2004-06 

1 10

 Seth Siegelaub, AMC Hospital, Amsterdam 25-07-04 2004 

1 11

 Nicolaus Schafhausen, NFT café, London 15-10-04 (transcribed 07-09-05) 2004 

1 12

 Ute Meta Bauer, London 17-10-04  2004 

1 13

 Andrew Renton, Goldsmiths College, London 25-10-04 (transcribed 09-10-05)  2004 

1 14

 Maria Lind, Kunstverein, Munich 31-10-04  2004 

1 15

 Ami Barak, Paris 18-11-04 (transcribed 12-02-06) 2004 

1 16

 Okwui Enwezor, Bristol 04-02-05 2005  

1 17

 Iwona Blazwick, London 09-02-05 (transcribed 03-10-05)  2005 

1 18

 Lynda Morris, Norwich City Art Gallery 24-02-05 (transcribed 11-10-05)  2005 

1 19

 Robert Nickas, PS1, New York 28-03-05 (transcribed 29-08-05)  2005 

1 20

 Dan Cameron, The New Museum, New York 29-03-05 (transcribed 17-08-05)  2005 

1 21

 Robert Storr, Brooklyn 30-03-05 (transcribed 14-08-05) 2005 

1 22

 John Kelsey and Emily Sundblad, Reena Spaulings Fine Art, New York 01-04-05 (transcribed 30-09-05)  2005 

1 23

 Lia Gangitano, Participant Inc, New York 02-04-05 (transcribed 2-9-05)  2005 

1 24

 Andrea Fraser, New York 04-04-05 (transcribed 3-9-05) 2005 

1 25

 Brian Wallis (Intro by Andrea Fraser), International Centre for Photography, New York 04-04-05 (transcribed 05-09-05) 2005 

1 26

 Catherine David, Paris 14-04-05 (transcribed 03-10-05) 2005 

1 27

 Stéphanie Moisdon, Paris 18-04-05 (transcribed 09-04-05) 2005 

1 28

 Barnaby Drabble, London 28-04-05 (transcribed 04-10-05)  2005  

1 29

 Sarah Pierce, London 21-05-05 (transcribed 24-10-05)  2005 

2 30

 Gavin Wade, London 02-06-05 (transcribed 21-10-05) 2005 

2 31

 Carlos Basualdo, Venice 10-06-05 2005 

2 32

 Matthew Higgs, White Columns, New York 2005-06 2005-06 

2 33

 Ann Demeester, W139 Gallery, Amsterdam 20-09-05 (transcribed 21-01-06)  2005 

2 34

 Annie Fletcher, De Appel, Amsterdam 20-09-05 (transcribed 12-02-06) 2005 

2 35

 Saskia Bos, Amsterdam 21-09-05 (transcribed 20-11-05) 2005  

2 36

 Eric Troncy 28-10-05 2005 

2 37

 Lawrence Weiner, New York 08-11-05 (transcribed 22-01-06) 2005 

2 38

 Brian O'Doherty, New York 10-11-05 (transcribed 21-01-05) 2005 

2 39

 Catherine de Zegher, The Drawing Centre, New York 11-11-05 (transcribed 25-01-06) 2005 

2 40

 John Miller, New York 12-11-05 2005 

2 41

 Mark Cullen/Brian Duggan, Dublin 28-01-06 (transcribed 09-02-06) 2006 

2 42

 Polly Staple, Frieze, London 10-02-06 (transcribed 28-02-06) 2006 

2 43

 Gilane Tawadros, London 30-03-06 (transcribed 18-04-06) 2006 

2 44

 Jérôme Sans, Palais Tokyo, Paris 15-04-06 (transcribed 12-02-06) 2006 

2 45