Opening CALL IT MUSEUM (+double book release with Paul O'Neill)

Welcome to the opening of CALL IT MUSEUM, an exhibition project with artworks, interviews and material from Simon Fujiwara, Rubén Grilo, Flo Kasearu, Apparatus 22, Ar Utke Acs, Izabella Borzecka, Clara Amaral, Elena Tzotzi and Carl Lindh, Elvira Dyangani Ose, Jacob Fabricius, Julia Morandeira, Julie Robiolle and Maria Elena Guerra Aredal, Madeleine Andersson, Manuel Segade, Paul O’Neill, Stefanie Hessler, Kiasma, LOUISIANA, MACBA, Moderna Museet, MoMA, Museo Reina Sofia, and Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art.

The opening of the exhibition will be the moment to present some of the levels in this multilayered proposal with questions around the idea and language of the museum. More information about the exhibition can be found here.

During the opening of CALL IT MUSEUM, Index and the Stockholm based bookshop NordBooks invite you to double release of Paul O’Neill’s (curator, writer, educator and Artistic Director of PUBLICS) two recent books Not Going at It Alone: Collective Curatorial Curating and Curious. The books explore a broad spectrum of curatorial practices, methodologies, and critical reflections in dialogue with some of the most prominent people in the field over the last twenty years.

Curious (Open Editions, London, 2024) brings together a selection of interviews with curators and artists conducted by Paul O´Neill at the beginning of the new millennium, when contemporary curating emerged to become the established creative occupation that it is today. In looking backwards to retrieve these personal histories, a complex picture emerges; one in which the recent past adeptly illuminates the present, as well as the potential of future curatorial trajectories. While much of the existing history of curating focuses on career milestones, educational paths, and exhibition networks, this collection offers personal reflections that reveal the dynamics of this transformative period. O’Neill uncovers a variety of insightful responses, creating a nuanced picture of the past that sheds light on present curatorial practices and future possibilities. With contributions by Brian O’Doherty, Lawrence Weiner, Seth Siegelaub, AA Bronson, Lynda Morris, Brian Wallis, Andrea Fraser, Okwui Enwezor, Has Ulrich Obrist, Hou Hanru, Gilane Tawadros, Nicolas Bourriaud, Ute Meta Bauer and Maria Lind. Co-ediited with Gerrie Von Noord.

Not Going at It Alone: Collective Curatorial Curating (Apexart, New York, 2024) explores how, in recent years, collective approaches to curatorial practice have become prominent, and not for the first time. While the myth of the stand-alone curator has been largely dismantled in favour of recognising the myriad of other actors and agencies—from artists to installers, from gallery attendants to directors, and others—who make their work possible, contemporary curatorial practices encompass far more than bringing simply more collaborators together. Through a collection of essays and experimental texts, Not Going it Alone: Collective Curatorial Curating offers readers a layered and contextual understanding of this phenomenon, its debates, and possibilities across a range of temporalities, positions, and geographical perspectives. Edited by Paul O’Neill with Gerrie van Noord / Elizabeth Larison With essays by María Berríos / Pip Day, Sofía Olascoaga, Nikolett Erőss / Eszter Lázár, Index and Praksis Teen Advisory Boards, Elizabeth Larison, Nina Möntmann, Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung, Gerrie van Noord, Paul O’Neill, Agnieszka Pindera, Serubiri Moses, Gregory Sholette