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The relationship between artist and curator is often carefully guided by a set of professional and personal codes. Although the distinct roles of artist and curator feel firmly entrenched, they are a modern invention. Prior to the mid-twentieth century when the work of the curator was professionalized, artists served as their own promoters and organized and interpreted many of the most influential exhibitions and collections of post-industrial Europe and the United States. From the artist-organized exhibitions of the French Impressionists to the Society of Independent Artists, founded by Katherine Dreier, Marcel Duchamp, and Man Ran, artists contributed significantly to a modern understanding of curatorial work.

But the relatively new division between the two roles has created a professional murkiness for the artist curator. Under what circumstances can an artist serve as curator? When someone is fulfilling both jobs, how should their work be understood or critiqued? How can an artist curator address their own subjectivity, authorship, or place within a project? Should we articulate a separate set of professional standards and guidelines for the artist curator?

As the popularity of curatorial studies programs increases, the codified divisions between the two professions are only becoming better defined, making these questions more pressing. In this panel, we will discuss the professional concerns of the artist curator and the historical contexts and contemporary models for a practice that does not fit into one category easily.