Research theme: The Curating Contemporary Art Group (CCAG)
Practical and innovative approaches to researching and understanding the curation of contemporary art.
About our research
About our research
The Curating Contemporary Art Group (CCAG) brings together world-leading research in experimental approaches to exhibition making, exhibition histories and curating as practical cultural activism, as well as the philosophical, critical and theoretical foundations of curating.
The group contributes significantly to international debates and developments in discourse on the subject.
As opposed to the outdated curating courses offered by other UK art institutions, CCAG focuses on critical independence and practical application of theory. We are interested in hearing from potential PhD candidates with proposals in the areas we cover.
We are interested in hearing from potential PhD candidates with proposals in the areas we cover.
Our research areas
Paying particular attention to the public sector, the market and education, we critically assess and analyse:
- the impact of government funding decisions and rhetoric on curatorial projects
- the impact of commercial forces on galleries, art criticism and museum collections
- the way that art is taught and researched in educational institutions, especially uncritical approaches to the intellectual aspects of art practice and curation
Selected projects
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Key publications
Publications
- Hunt, A., 2021. ‘’Curator Conversations’, Source Magazine.
- Hunt, A., 2021. ‘Across the Universe: Andrew Hunt on the Liverpool Biennial’, Artforum International.
- Hunt, A., 2021. ‘Curator as Zelig’, Art Monthly, 444, pp. 14-16.
- Hunt, A., Susanne, C., 2020. ‘Reading International’, Reading International; ONCURATING
- Hunt, A., 2018. ‘Curatorship’, Art Monthly.
- Hunt, A., 2018. ‘Midnight at the Museum’, Art Monthly.
- Alnoor Mitha, Asian Art Triennial, 2018. Mitha curated the Anish Kapoor exhibition at gallery F15, Moss, Norway (250K Co investigator). This research investigated Anish Kapoor’s historical work in public collections and its relationship to the wider ecology of contemporary art, particularly to new Nordic audiences. The research output was a co-curated exhibition of early to recent works by Anish Kapoor held at Gallery F 15, Moss, Norway. It introduced the artist’s internationally acclaimed work to new audiences by revealing the rich geographical, cultural and art historical influences of Kapoor’s oeuvre.
- Hunt, A., 2017. ‘Gonzo Curating’, Art Monthly.
- Gulsen Bal, 2017
Editorial: The READER: Tomorrow is not Promised!
The READER: Tomorrow is not Promised! explores the impact of historical account of the emergence of new curatorial discourses as well as the current discussions on what comes after critique in outlining the curatorial strategies from “exhibition making” to the new models of curatorial positions in which criticality becomes crucial. - Hunt, A., 2016. Integration Alone is Not Enough: Selected works of British Concrete Poetry 1960-1980: Curated by Andrew Hunt, Richard Saltoun Gallery, 3/2/2016 - 24/3/2017.
- Hunt, A., King, S., 2016. ‘Scott King: Public Art’, Slimvolume.
- Gulsen Bal, 2016
What is left?
The exhibition project What is Left? examines models of global transformation in existing forms of living as a reaction to crisis (eg economy, war, and migration). The focus on “what is,” regenerates the critique of “what might be.” Transformative strategies are interrogated as a means of retaining transformations of “demographic politics” and the politicisation of life. - Hunt, A., 2016. The Green Ray, Wilkinson Gallery, 27/2/2016 - 11/4/2016.
- Hunt, A., Casser, A., 2016. Concerning Concrete Poetry, Badischer Kunstverein, 5/2/2016 - 3/4/2016.
- Alnoor Mitha, Asian Art Triennial, 2014.The theme of this ATM was ‘Conflict and Compassion’ (100K, PI) an exhibition and scholarly publication - it underpinned curatorial practice to explore the paradox of antagonism and reconciliation in contemporary Asian art. How do artists respond to the provocation of ‘compassion’, in an era of global conflict? The exhibition was presented at the Imperial War Museum North. The ATM developed understanding of entrepreneurial approaches to engaging communities with arts practice. ATM14 investigated whether the role of the 21st century artist or curator may be, in part, to provide a voice for the unheard, a message to the dominant, or even to demonstrate some kind of sympathetic vision of values through the visual.
- Gulsen Bal: Various dates: Curatorial project: Open Space. This research brings diverse creative practice together, seeking strategies for a critical curatorial practice and considers what formulates creative connections in which a political position and a certain creative/artistic agenda presents alternative spatial research between “a project’s proposition and its inability to carry out that very proposition.” Open Space offers a place for exploration of production of exchange and joint projects in the form of physical exhibition making interdisciplinary online exhibitions within the context of ARTSLAB and by its critical engagement of cross-referencing conceptual forcing in the form hard copy publications and quarterly online journal publication while providing platforms for discussion. This research articulates both curating’s expanded field and alternative spaces of creative production toward a wider articulation of “the role of ‘site’ as part of contextualising a space of exchange.”
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Key exhibitions
Exhibitions
- Ali, L (2021) Tampered Surface Six Artists from Pakistan: an Exhibition of Sculpture, Painting, Printmaking, Photography and Mixed Media
- Asia Triennial Manchester 2014 exhibition: Conflict and Compassion, Castlefield Gallery
- Asia Triennial Manchester 2018 exhibition: Who Do You Think You Are?, HOME Manchester
- Bal, G (8 July to 9 August 2020) Curatorial: Borrowed Time (Geliehene Zeit), Fluc
- Hunt, A and Semeiko, A (20 August to 28 August 2021) Emotionarama, PEER
- Hunt, A (1 January to 31 December 2020) Artists Against Homelessness: Insiders and Outliers, Christies, London, St Mungos
- Rashid Rana as part of Manchester International Festival curated by Alnoor Mitha: EART: A Manifesto of Possibilities, MIF
- Rawlinson, I (19 August to 25 August 2020) Fireworks, Moskino Zvezda
- Tan, KS, Smith, BAR (25 September 2021 to 16 January 2022) The World is a Work in Progress, Attenborough Arts Centre
- Tan, KS, Uduku, O (15 October to 18 October 2020) PAC@75: The Fifth Pan-African Conference 75th Anniversary Celebrations, Manchester Metropolitan University
- Triennial City Publication, Cornerhouse Publications
Organisations we work with
Royal Academy of Arts
HOME Cinema Manchester
Arts Council England
Manchester International Festival
Contact information
Contact us
For general enquiries about the Curating Contemporary Art Group (CCAG), you can contact its chair Andrew Hunt.