Dear curators worldwide,
As you know well, IKT is an organisation founded in the 1970s to connect and elevate the profile and work of curators and exhibition organisers. Back to the first half of the twentieth century the role of the curator was to serve the needs of the artists and the collections in which their work was celebrated, conserved and catalogued. Since the 1970s, that role has very much changed its emphasis. Of course, we still look after collections, artists and their work but our prime focus as curators is now squarely on working with the public to ensure that the art of today becomes relevant and accessible to the widest possible range of people, irrespective of their background, age, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
And now that we are into the third decade of the 21st Century, all our curator members have grown up and trained within this new perspective: we make art accessible to all, generally for free – as we mainly work for non-commercial organisations. The prime motivation for IKT is that the purpose of art galleries, museums, cultural programmes and art festivals – and our work in curating and displaying exhibitions and events – is for the benefit, enjoyment and education of the public. There would be no point in organising, maintaining and running an art gallery or programme of events if the general public did not visit and experience the art. It is now an absolute given that the work of curators is people-orientated. We are producing exhibitions not for the art world but for the general public.
Dr. Alfredo Cramerotti
IKT President