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This roundtable conversation brings together contemporary curators in university art spaces to discuss their curatorial agendas in institutions of higher education. Drawing from a campus’s material and intellectual resources in the service of visiting artists, exhibitions, and publications, they each navigate institutional histories, advocate for the central role of contemporary art in the production of knowledge, and are responsible to specific pedagogical objectives in studio practice, social sciences, and humanities. In addition to their work in university environments, these curators share concerns to build community among broader publics. They each prioritize questions of difference and work to decolonize, critique, and unsettle expectations of what higher education and arts institutions do and whom they address.

Using specific examples from their respective curatorial programs, participants will discuss the possibilities and challenges of producing contemporary art alongside scholarship, leveraging institutional resources, and how to set intentions for a research program while working alongside a university’s strengths and blindspots. They will compare strategies and consider what unique skills their work offers for contemporary curating more broadly. They will address such questions as: how do we think of the institution as material that contemporary artists can work with to broaden, expand and/or critique pedagogical and research initiatives and university culture? How do overlapping mandates for university galleries and museums as both public facing and pedagogical platforms drive programming and “community” engagement? What does the university want from us and what do we want from it?