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What is your current role and how long have you been working in it?
I am a curator for modern and contemporary art. I work on exhibitions and the permanent collection.
Could you say a bit about your background and how you got into the job, what you started off doing?
I went to university in Germany and studied art history. I moved to London, first working on a voluntary basis at Tate before becoming involved in other projects. Having moved to the Hayward Gallery, I eventually researched a PhD at Essex University on the relationship between art and politics in Fascist Italy. I then worked as Exhibitions Organiser for four years at the Serpentine Gallery, was curator at the Barbican and then came to Tate Modern.
What is a typical working day for you at Tate Modern?
A split between meetings, administration and research. In a large organisation communication is important; you need to meet people face to face to make things happen. We are all slaves to email so you can communicate and move towards results quickly, but this can make it difficult to do things which are slow and less result driven. Every day there is stuff that suddenly fills your day up. You don’t know where it comes from nor do you have quite a clear sense of where it goes but it just takes up time.
Does your job require you travelling a lot?
The art world has become more international and because flights have
become cheaper it is a privilege and an obligation to see more things
abroad. Especially for big loan shows people insist on face-to-face contact.
What would you say are the perks of the job?
I work with something that I am passionate about and with like-minded people. Working with art and artists is something I believe has intrinsic value. Going around and seeing the museum full of people is a huge thrill and you meet a lot of very interesting people from all walks of life.
What differences did you find working in such a huge institution from the smaller ones, such as the Serpentine?
In small institutions you can work quickly as you can get all the decision makers round the same table. The machinery in a big institution can work slowly. On the other hand in smaller institutions you have to fight that bit harder to make sure the institution survives.
How many people do you work with?
At Tate there are people who come and stay for a couple of years and move on again and people who have been for a long time. Both are important because one retains institutional intelligence and the other brings fresh wind into the thing.
For young people who are interested in a career at Tate do you have any advice?
Curators have different career paths, some are straightforward – they focus on curating and start in a small space and increasingly work for more established galleries. Others side step or begin as art historians combined with project management. There isn’t one clear model for how to get here. You need to be wedded to working with art, to be driven in that regard, but also sufficiently open-minded to see opportunities, not to think ‘I will only be a curator’ as you might miss something really interesting. It is a combination of being determined, holding onto a dream and remaining flexible.
What do you think about curating courses?
The first curating course was the RCA one, which was set up around 13 years ago. It is now well established but it is by no means the only way of getting into curating.
