Curating = curiosity, care, collaboration & generosity
My curatorial philosophy is driven by the origin of the word curator and curating: the Latin curare, taking care, which makes the curator, in the first place, a caretaker. It inspired me to dedicate my PhD thesis Laughter, Inframince and Cybernetics (2017) to the importance of this aspect,
I use Bureau Doove therefore as a platform to connect art and care in a specific way. The exhibition project wijheizijwei which I curated in 2010 on demand for the Belgian ngo Vredeseilanden (Peace Islands, now Rikolto) is in that sense an important precursor.
Out of the collaboration since 2020 with artist Pierre Mertens and his work as a contextual artist has grown the desire to specifically support his organisation Child-Help International that supports children born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus. Our collaboration started with the exhibition Loving Care which we curated in 2000 at the Blikfabriek in Antwerp. Due to Covid the portraits of mothers with their children affected by hydrocephalus unfortunately got less attention than we hoped. For this reason I also showed them in the 2023 edition of the Watou Arts Festival.
Currently we develop a global art program, exploring the link between art and care that will support humanitarian aid. The program will consist of exhibitions, lectures, and presentations in and around the Houses of Hope that have been set up by Child-Help all over the world, in participative collaboration with local artists and the community.
