2024 ART CURATORS CONFERENCE CONCLUDES

ART CURATORS CONFERENCE CONVENES LEADING CURATORS
FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO CONSIDER NEXT STEPS FOR THE FIELD

AAMC Foundation’s annual signature program was held in San Francisco 

for its 23rd edition centered on the theme of “Now/Next”

New York, NY, May 5, 2024—The AAMC Foundation convened some 300 curators and leaders from around the country and world, including ten countries and 39 U.S. states, for its annual Art Curators Conference held this year in San Francisco. The largest annual gathering of curators and the only conference dedicated to an international dialogue among nonprofit curators, the Art Curator Conference centered on the theme of Now/Next for its 2024 edition and brought together more than 45 speakers for over four days of events, tours, and discussions.  

AAMC Foundation is dedicated to advancing the curatorial field through its Conference, programs, and fellowships that support professional development, sharing of best practices, and critical networking. Nearly 20 institutions across San Francisco opened their doors as hosts for the Conference, with sessions and parties held at the de Young museum and SFMOMA, tours of local organizations in Oakland, Berkeley, San Jose, and San Francisco, and welcome events at Jessica Silverman and Gallery Wendi Noris.  The AAMC Foundation helped support complimentary Conference attendance for fellows within the AAMC Foundation’s Propel Program and Professional Alliance for Curators of Color.

“I'm so energized by the depth of the ideas and discourse represented in the vibrant exchange of ideas and perspectives that took place at this year's Art Curators Conference. As I look towards the future of the field, I am confident in the AAMC Foundation’s leadership voice in amplifying and advancing the impact of curatorial practice and fostering innovation and inclusivity within our community," noted Michelle Jacques, Director of Exhibitions and Collections/Chief Curator, Remai Modern; President, Board of Trustees, AAMC Foundation (2023 - 2025).

Keynotes presentations included Ginger Shulick Porcella, Independent Curator and Consultant and a conversation with collector and philanthropist Komal Shah and journalist Jori Finkel. Additional sessions included Accountability and Legitimacy: Forging a Path; African Futures and Museums; Collaborating with Communities: Native American Art at the de Young museum; Curators and AI; Dialogue on Sustaining the Visible; Towards a New Normal? Navigating the Changes in Cultural Audiences; Qualified to Curate; and Unmasking Classism: Exploring Socioeconomic Disparities in Museums.  A pre-Conference webinar was held about Collective Claims to European Art.  A full listing of Conference programming and information can be found here.

The 2024 Art Curators Conference was supported by  (listed by level, alphabetically): Bard Graduate Center, Anthony Meier, James Howell Foundation, Berggruen Gallery, Betty Krulik Fine Art, Cristin Tierney, Crown Point Press, Crozier Fine Arts, Debra Force Fine Art, Dietl International, Freeman’s | Hindman, frieze Magazine, Gallery Wendi Norris, Getty Publications, International Society of Appraisers, Jenkins Johnson Gallery, Jessica Silverman, Karma, Kloman Art, Long-Sharp Gallery, Masterpiece International, Museum Exchange, Sterling Art Services, and TEFAF.  Blake Koh and Roberta Sherman who donated individual support.

The 2025 Art Curators Conference will be held, April 30 - May 2,  in New York City.

ABOUT AAMC FOUNDATION 

The AAMC Foundation, a community with over 1,500 curatorial voices in over 40 countries, supports, values, and advances the work of nonprofit art curators at all stages of their careers through leadership and connectivity. The organization’s work is grounded on diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging (DEIAB) and seeks to recognize the full breadth of a person’s lived experience, self-identification (gender, ethnic, racial, and ability), and socio-economic background. We are a compelling leader and resource for those who care about the role of curators as agents of change, social impact, and multicultural understanding. 

CONTACT

Judith Pineiro, Executive Director, judith.pineiro@artcurators.org

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