Mentor Of The Month

Q & A WITH KITTY SCOTT

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Kitty: So your first question is, “how did I land here? I was not a very practical or efficient student. At some point in my working life I decided that I wanted to be a curator. When I graduated with a BFA in Art History from Concordia University in Montreal I remember thinking “What have I just done, what am I going to do, and who’s going to hire me?” In retrospect, I was lucky to have had a mentor: Reesa Greenberg, who was also one of my professors, encouraged me to start writing. My first very short reviews were for The Montreal Mirror and eventually, I began writing for Canadian Art and Parachute. Soon artists and dealers asked me to write catalogue essays. At the same time, I was a research assistant to various people and I worked for a few artists.

In 1991 I applied for a curatorial position at the Art Gallery of Alberta (formerly the Edmonton Art Gallery) and to my surprise I got the job without ever having curated an exhibition. I think my contacts—my network and my ability to write—were of interest. I worked there for two years and while doing so realized I had received no formal training in the curatorial profession. I didn’t know who the most important contemporary art curators were historically. My art history training mostly focused on iconic paintings and periods; there was very little taught about important exhibitions and significant curators. I began to understand there were large gaps in my knowledge and I wanted to do something about that.

During these two years at the Art Gallery of Alberta I learned how the Canadian art world functioned and organized lots of exhibitions. However, I became restless and started searching for something more. I spoke with a couple of friends and they suggested I do an MA. Fortunately, there were two brand new curatorial programs on offer, both focusing on curating contemporary art. I applied to both:  Bard College in the US and the Royal College of Art in London. I did the 2-year RCA program. It was the best decision I have ever made. I learned so much. One of the great things about the program was the exposure to curators from all over the world.  We had visiting curators from Australia, India, Poland, Nigeria, Japan, China, and the US.

These visitors arrived and took very different positions. Some discussed the details of a hang and others would talk about important group and solo exhibitions they had conceived. It was a very valuable experience and within the first few weeks, I knew I loved this field, and that I wanted to keep working as a curator.

From that point on I worked very hard and I’ve been lucky to have some great jobs. I worked at the National Gallery of Canada as Curator of Contemporary Art, where I was responsible for acquiring new art for the country and for supervising the collection of Canadian and international art of the last 25 years. I left for a promotion to the role of Chief Curator at the Serpentine Gallery in London. After working with Pierre Théberge, Hans Ulrich Obrist—my immediate boss—was a revolutionary. As directors, they had such different styles and ways of approaching their respective jobs. One still believed in the potential of the experiment within the institution and the other never mentioned the word. I am privileged to have seen both close up and in action.

When The Banff Centre posted the Director of Visual Arts position, I was immediately interested. At the Serpentine and National Gallery I was working on exhibitions and collecting but it seemed the older I became, the more I was being told what exhibitions to make. I wanted to be in a position where I could pick and choose. It’s a natural progression. At the same time, I was becoming less curious about museums and more intrigued by the potential art schools held with respect to my career path.

As Director of Visual Arts at The Banff Centre, I am responsible for three strands of programming: the Creative Residency Program, the Banff International Curatorial Institute and the Walter Phillips Gallery. There are two attractive things about The Banff Centre. One, we are like a school, but not a school (we don’t issue paper certificates). The educational experience is informal and teachers function more like colleagues. We offer space and time for experimentation in a collective setting. Ken Lum, who has led our initial Master Class residency and will lead our second one, said to participants, “I can’t fail you, but I can make you feel like I failed you.” Two, we just happen to be situated in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I believe our Thematic Residencies provide a unique artist-led educational experience. Faculty are, for the most part, artists and critics who have active careers, in some cases internationally, and do not currently teach in the Canadian system. AA Bronson, Ashley Neese, Joseph del Pesco, Olivia Plender, Greg Staats and hopefully Jan Verwoert will be leading future programs. In this way young Canadian artists and international participants have the opportunity to learn from successful and highly respected practitioners who are not available to them in the Canadian university system as it is currently imagined.

I also direct the Walter Phillips Gallery and the Banff International Curatorial Institute. Last year we held Trade Secrets, a conference addressing the education of curators, issues concerning collecting institutions and the writing of curatorial and exhibition histories.

It’s interesting, because one of the groups of the Emerging Artist Professionals who seem to need the most support recently are emerging curators. What advice would you give to someone who is starting out and wants to be a curator but doesn’t know where to go, especially after a first degree?

Kitty: I can well imagine. Again, when I came out of the Royal College of Art, I thought, “what am I going to do?” I had interned at Site Santa Fe and had some professional experience; however I still had to find work. During my internship I realized I would have to start making exhibitions, otherwise I would not be a curator. I curated a few projects in my apartment. It is important just to start doing things. Beyond exhibitions you can organize events on the street or somewhere else that last five minutes to an hour. I found a way to work outside the cash economy. You don’t have to pay artist fees or rent a space. Remember, if you select an artist for an exhibition or project, you are doing something special for them and there is a value in that. Start writing—all you need is a pencil and paper.

Another option is to get to know your community. Learn who is out there and what they have done. One of the most valuable things that anybody can have, that doesn’t really cost you anything, is your network. Every connection is valuable. One of the great things that I’ve learned is that you should never throw away a business card—always keep it. I have a huge file full of business cards, organized by city and country. Whenever you’re traveling somewhere you can just pull it out and you have colleagues to visit. Then there is Facebook. I think it’s one thing to have an electronic network and another thing to have face time with someone. Meet everybody that you can.

I definitely agree about the face-to-face part. It’s really easy to hide behind e-mail these days and social networking as well…

Kitty: With Facebook networking is something else now, it’s a change in the culture. Still it is important to leave your computer behind and go and meet someone over a coffee. Anybody with a busy, important job can still sit down with someone and get to know a little bit about them. It’s a valuable thing for both sides.

What is a well-curated show?

Kitty: First and foremost the art has to be strong and well presented so that the viewer can have best possible experience with the work of art. If you are working in a publicly funded space you are responsible for providing some mode of contextualization and interpretation that includes a wall label and a longer text written by the curator or someone else.

The experience needs to be built around the art. I believe that the curator should somehow stand to the side and let the art be the thing that’s on display, not the curator’s clever premise.

Luckily there is no formula for making exhibitions. Each artist and each curator work in a different way, and an exhibition is always a collaboration between the two. Hopefully it is a collaboration with the best possible outcome.

Earlier on in the interview you mentioned a stage in your career when you wanted to know who the historically important curators were. Who would you say is important in terms of contemporary art in Canada now? 

Kitty: Barbara Fischer, Scott Watson, Diana Nemiroff, and Philip Monk.

Brydon Smith worked at the Art Gallery of Ontario and The National Gallery of Canada. While he was at the NGC, he bought major works by Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Nancy Graves and Donald Judd. The National Gallery of Canada has one of the largest institutional collections of Donald Judd and he assembled the now seminal DONALD JUDD: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Objects and Wood-Blocks 1960-1974. Curator and collector Ydessa Hendeles directs her own foundation, and I would argue that she is an important Canadian curator. She brings together contemporary art and material culture in a unique way. She is recognized internationally for her projects.

You spoke of the job of the Director/Curator, which is part of what you do, and I’m curious to know what are some of the challenges in taking on something such as your current role?

Kitty: I’m not a Director/Curator anymore. I was while we did not have a curator in position at the Walter Phillips Gallery. While I identify as a curator, my primary job here is to direct the Visual Arts department. It is true the curator in me won’t go away; it’s part of my formation, part of my character.

With the Banff International Curatorial Institute we bring forward new research in the curatorial field. We talk about the practice of curating. It is a privilege; I don’t think this happens anywhere else in Canada. That being said, organizing these conferences is a big challenge. I want the Creative Residencies program here to be sought after and I want The Walter Phillips Gallery to have a strong and distinctive program, and that is a massive challenge.

When you direct a program, there is a great deal of administrative work. The main challenge is that there is too much to do. Effecting change takes even more time. Remember everything I do here, I do with a team. They make things happen.