The alterNATIVE (Curators) Manifesto
(or how to manifest an alternative/fringe exhibition to the blockbuster show)
1. Get creative.
...in an activist kind of way - See problems as an opportunity for progress.
2. Name the enemy.
... be direct, unapologetic and precise.
3. Invite the people you would like to work with.
... Use all personal contacts you've ever had.
4. Trust the artists and let them do things they’re planning to do and they’ll do their best.
... Never point to the work, but discuss the strategy.
5. Focus on the centre.
.... Usually that is the place where you are situated and then radiates out from there.
6. Poach performers from the blockbuster exhibition.
... Some are bound to be related to the artists in your show.
7. Create a corroboree / ceremony for the now.
... “As we grow older, we ourselves become the storytellers...
In the ceremonies we celebrate the awareness of our lives as sacred.”
Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr
Dadirri – Listening to one another
8. Invest great energy into the catalogue / website...
People mostly remember the opening parties and catalogues.
9. Make the most of social networking – online and face-to-face.
... And document everything. Its your ticket to the next one.
10. Make sure there is a next one.
A draft of this Manifesto was first presented at the Pacific Arts Associations 10th International Symposium, Rarotonga, August, 2010 http://www.pacificarts.org/symposia
