Meet Edith Doove: Exploring Art’s Frontiers Through Collaboration

CFC Members Spotlight is a bi-monthly interview series showcasing the work of our members on our blog and social media. Through this series, we highlight the diverse curatorial practices in our community and encourage new connections and exchanges.

 

Meet CFC Member Edith Doove

 

Edith Doove (°1963) is a curator, writer and researcher, specifically interested in notions of emergence and contingency, cross- and trans-disciplinary collaborations. She started curating in 1987 and was director-curator of MDD-Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens (1999-2004). Most recently she curated the Arts Festival Watou and The Research Group – an artists collective 1967-1972.

We recently interviewed Edith Doove to learn more about her curatorial journey, inspirations and insights into the art world.

 

Image credit: PEUT ÊTRE – Beatrijs Albers-Reggy Timmermans (Watou Arts Festival 2023).

 

CFC: What inspired you to pursue a career as a curator? Was there a particular moment or experience that sparked your interest?

ED: I come from an artists family that also put up shows. Growing up amongst artists was the spark and has stayed my constant inspiration.

 

CFC: What thread or idea ties your work together?

ED: Cross- and trans-disciplinarity, pushing boundaries, collaborations, no doubt influenced by growing up in the borderland of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

 

CFC: Name a project or exhibition that holds special significance for you. What made it stand out?

ED: My most recent project on the Belgian artists collective the Research Group holds special significance as I wrote my Master thesis on them in 1989. 35 years later it was finally turned into a show and a book. Although more historical than most of my shows, it’s amazing to see how fresh and topical their work still is. It was also the first time that I collaborated with a scenographer, Jo Klaps, which was an inspiring experience.

 

Image credit: Gina Vodegel (The Research Group, 2024).

 

CFC: What’s your favorite part about being a curator? And, if you don’t mind sharing, what’s the most challenging?

ED: My favourite part is the process of research, building the show, discussing and collaborating with the artists and other people involved. The most challenging is finding opportunities and financing them. But I’ve been lucky a lot as I’ve been invited as a curator for most of my large scale projects.

 

CFC: Any hot takes on the current state of the curatorial field or the art world in general? What do we need more or less of?

ED: I must admit that I’ve a bit of a hate-love relationship with the art world but never with art or artists. I still like to explore what art actually is and feel that this is sometimes lost in too many art fairs and biennials.

 

Image credit: Gina Vodegel (The Research Group, 2024).

 

CFC: What advice would you give to aspiring curators just starting their careers?

ED: Just start. I began making shows with very little means in my apartment, at the time a cheap ground floor in the art district of Antwerp, experimenting and finding my way. Think about what art is and what it means for you and others, discover artists and work alongside them.

 

Explore more of Edith Doove’s work on her website.

 

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