From Coping to Curious: Unlearning and Reimagining Curatorial Habits of Care

This essay argues for the need for a shift in approaches to curatorial work, from one of ‘coping’ to ‘curiosity.’ Drawing on my experiences working in contemporary art institutions, I reflect on how I felt compelled to present an image of unflappable poise. While my relationships and affects were instrumentalised at work, it struck me that the only feelings I felt entitled to display were those that could be put to institutional use. Arguing against the perpetuation of the coping curator, who downplays systemic problems and suppresses her own feelings, I propose the less anxious, more collaborative, unguarded, and experimental figure of the curious curator. To support my argument, I foreground key curatorial and institutional initiatives, carried out in non-profit arts organisations in the UK, Scandinavia, and Northern Europe, that demonstrate a commitment to more equitable, caring, and emotionally rewarding ways of working.