If you are asked who the curator is, both former and current university students will most likely remember the person who took care of yesterday’s students in adult student life. For some, the curators have become real friends, some today do not even remember a person whose functions resembled class teachers. The meaning of curation, laid down in the Latin “curare”, is really guardianship and care. Does artistic curation involve the care and concern of an artist? We share the views of the curators of art residencies V: UNCASE and SIGMA-21 on “Measurer”

Curation in art is not a new concept, the evolution of which is always ongoing. The curators of modern art residencies have long since moved away from banal mentoring, and today they are more like partners who jointly implement projects. What should be a good curator?

Sign № 1 Professionalism
You don’t have to have a lot of curating experience (you have to do it for the first time); you must first be a professional in the field you represent. One of the curators of V: ​​UNCASE Sasha Dolhy has not only experience and professionalism, but also his own vision of what a good curator is. Last year, Oleksandr took part in a tripartite international residency for women composers and producers, where representatives of Sweden, Poland and Ukraine, despite all obstacles in the form of quarantine restrictions, still took part in an art project. “Based on our strategy, we are forming a community of musicians. This is a long process that requires investment of energy, desire, enthusiasm. The curator is a friend, but in the professional sphere he is also a trustee, a person with knowledge and vision of processes. Communication with the curator is communication with a trustee, but if we talk about V: UNCASE, we can say that our residents also taught us. The curator needs to know the personal subtleties of the residents, delve with them into a particular topic, understand the vision of the residents. This communication should not destroy the structure that is inside a person, and at the same time help to develop. The curator should be a kind of compass that helps the resident to find a brighter solution, ” Sasha Dolhy sees the process of joint work.

Sign № 2 Focus
Another good feature that curators should be endowed with is a very specific focus on a particular component. What’s wrong with having a curator who is media and recognizable, has good social connections, and helps with career advancement? For women who work in the field of electronic music, curator Olesya Onykienko is a real gift of fate. “This year my fourth curatorial experience took place at the Meter. I was a curator at last year’s V: UNCASE residency at Meters, an international residency for women artists from Ukraine, Sweden and Poland. The first residence where I gained curatorial experience was the art residence “Over God” in Vinnytsia, where my area of ​​responsibility was part of “Womens Sound”. It is a platform that works with women artists and promotes their creativity. So we are fighting for more seats in the line-ups (ed. Note: a list of entertainment events in a particular place – a list of artists, DJs, a guide to the party, which is published in posters, programs), just for girls and women, because today in this area the advantage of men. Usually we do not try to keep the gender balance artificially, but girls often have an inability to present themselves, insecurity, ” music producer and composer Olesya Onykienko recalls her curatorial experience.

Sign № 3 Organizational skills
One of the hallmarks of a professional curator is a high level of organizational skills. Anna Khvyl, a composer and artist, last year began her collaboration with The Measurer as a teacher and mentor in the field of sound landscape. This year, Anna oversaw an educational program of five modules, which gave the opportunity to look at the sound from very different angles. “I often want to participate in events or programs. If no one conducts the ones we need, we organize them ourselves. And then I oversee the events in which I would like to be a participant, – says Anna Khvyl about her curatorial experience. – Often our residents are people who have studied something on the basis of available information on the Internet or experimentally. It’s great when there is an opportunity to organize the educational process, to invite people who pass specific knowledge.”

Sign № 4 Versatility
Oleksandr Guzeyev has a close connection with the “Measurer”: last year he took part in the residency as a guest musician. The curator of SIGMA-21 is convinced that one of the necessary features is universality. To get the result, the curator needs not only creative skills and experience, but also strategic thinking and the ability to create collaborations. “Curation consists of a set of traits, and in joint curatorial projects a successful combination of people with a common vision, connection through similar traits and uniqueness of each individually create a way through which artists and their works can be united with people,” Oleksandr shared.

Sign № 5 Teamwork
And curators are always team players. The curator of the SIGMA-21 residence, Oleksandra Khalepa, recalls: “Together with the team, with the Measurer, we gave artists the opportunity to interact with space. A certain story was created, which they tried to pack into their works. In those works that could be heard and seen, there is a part of the “Measurer”, in each of the works there is a component of personal experience of the participant and the plant. At the end of the series of residencies, we realized that each work is part of a common map, a common history that we have created during the residency.

Sign № 6 Motivation
It is impossible not to add another important feature needed by the curator – high motivation. Here we will recall Roma Banana, who was a teacher at the V: UNCASE residence, but has experience in curating last year: “I have an engineering education, but I never taught electronics, ignored, thought I did not need it. When I became interested in experimental sound, I started experimenting myself, interest and motivation appeared, and learning went quickly on the basis of interest, ” Roma shared. With his motivation, he “infected” all residents, when he very easily explained how you can create a simple sound device – a synthesizer and did it with the residents this year.
Remember the saying about the Master who appears only when the Disciple is ready to receive knowledge? Probably the same goes for curators: if you’re looking to research or create something new, you’re sure to find them at the right time in the right place, which is likely to be the Measurer.

Help Residence V: UNCASE. Return became possible thanks to the partnership of the Innovative Park, the Sound Institute NGO, the Ostriv platform, TCM Audio, the Electric Meter plant and the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. The curator (s) of the project are Olesya Onikienko and Sasha Dolgy in collaboration with Anna Khvyl.
The SIGMA-2021 residence became possible thanks to the partnership of the Innovative Park, Carbon, Heavy Culture, the Ostriv platform, the Electric Meter plant and the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. Curator (s) – Alexander Khalepa and Alexander Guzeev.