Online Course: Curating as an Act of Translation

Online Course: “Curating as an Act of Translation. Towards a Curatorial Translation Zone” by OnCurating Academy Berlin

Lecturer: Emily Butler
Course dates: Sa 3  +17 May 2025, 2–6pm (CEST)
Maximum participants: 20
Enrolment deadline: May 2, 2025
Fee: EUR 250
Enrol here

Curating as an Act of Translation. Towards a Curatorial Translation Zone

In a globalizing world, as data, people and objects move across borders, translation has become part of our daily life. Meanwhile, all creative expression can be seen as a form of translation. It describes shifts by artists and curators working internationally across media, disciplines, locations, languages, cultures and worldviews. Yet, who benefits from translation? What do we lose, or gain, in the process?

This course introduces curating as an act of translation within the field of contemporary art. The first session offers an in-depth introduction to the subject, exploring the different forms of translation that occur within curating including semiotic, cultural and pluriversal movements. The second session delves into the limits of translation, including its ethical challenges and implications. Together, we will reflect on the creative possibilities that (mis)translation can offer and consider the curatorial space as a translation zone.

Through a balance of readings, theoretical discussions, and workshop activities over two sessions, the course aims to foster a collaborative environment. We will collectively reflect on the curatorial as a translation zone – a temporary space of negotiation where hybrid languages, new forms, knowledges and relationships can emerge, in the process celebrating pluriversality. By the end of the course, participants will gain new tools and deeper insights into the translations and movements that influence curatorial and artistic practices.

Emily Butler is a freelance curator and writer based in London She is a Curating PHD candidate at the University of Reading researching the topic of artists and curators as (mis)translators, as they work increasingly across borders, between languages, sign systems and cultures. Previously she was the Curator of the Platform Talks program at Art Toronto, 2024; Conversations Curator at Art Basel, 2021-2023 and Curator at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, 2010-2022. She held roles in the Visual Arts team at British Council, Antony Gormley Studio and the Centre Pompidou. She contributes to international publications and projects.