Spotlight with Richard Julin
Richard Julin, Artistic director Accelerator Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Could you tell us a little more about your background and how you got into curating?
The bottom line is that my interest in art led me to working as a curator. I attended a foundation course for art & design in London in my youth and then went on to study at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris for many years – in order to realize that exhibition making was my call. I was fortunate enough to get a job as “exhibition coordinator” for a large contemporary art exhibition project when Stockholm was the cultural capital of Europe in 1998, during which I assisted Harald Szeemann, Lynne Cook and Hans-Ulrich Obrist in creating exhibitions and projects with contemporary art on Swedish Television. That was a good school and starting point.
Who/what has influenced your curatorial practice?
When it comes to people, Harald Szeemann’s way of internalising the spaces he worked with. I would help him measure the spaces, think and feel through them when he was in Stockholm. Another and different influence that remains is contemporary dance. I’ve also been very interested in experimental cinema and precinema in relation to movement. Overall an osmosis of movement, space and sound increasingly coupled with current societal issues has influenced my curatorial practice.
The role of the curator is continuously changing. Could you describe what it means to be a curator today?
Every new project is truly different to the previous one. Avoiding repetition is something I strive for. I like projects that involve the creation of new art and increasingly work with immaterial art works. Matters of sustainability are of course vital to continue exploring in the arts – environmental, social, economic.
Tell us about the latest exhibition / project that you curated.
The latest projects I’ve curated are imbued with elements of play, games and the celebrational as subversive strategies for empathy and survival. Currently up and running is Brussels-based artist and choreographer Nikima Jagudajev’s first exhibition in Sweden, the work Basically: an ongoing live project where the exhibition is a hybrid production site, residency space, schoolyard; a context to practice and perform within. A group of nearly twenty artists, dancers, and musicians hold the rules of the game constant, folding in the audience in visible and invisible ways. Over different formations and phases, they shape the space with elements such as live music, food, a mythopoetic deck of cards called POWDER, the design process of the Arcane Clothing collection, oracles in still life form, non-linear choreographies and unscheduled time that leaves room for contingency. The work is governed by the formal rules of the game as well as by the subjective interpretations that occur in interactions with and between the participating artists and the visitors.
What are you reading, watching, or listening to now, that is helping you to stay relaxed and positive?
One of my main inspirations is watching contemporary dance. A great moment in the last months was Rosas/Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Meskerem Mees, Jean-Marie Aerts, Carlos Garbin with EXIT ABOVE after the tempest. A kind of retracing the steps of the choreographer, getting back to just walking as a primary form of movement.
Apart from that my main way of staying inspired is listening to music and to make playlists. It used to be mixed self-burned CDs and mixed tapes. Now it’s lists like this one.
How long have you been part of IKT and how do you feel that it has benefited your curatorial practice?
I initially joined IKT in 2017. The greatest benefit is being part of a global network of peers.
Thank you Richard!
Learn more about Richard: Accelerator website | Instagram
Spotlight
Spotlight is a new series of short interviews, aiming to showcase the diverse expertise and innovative approaches of our IKT members. Whether you're seeking inspiration or searching for potential partners, join us on this captivating journey as we uncover the stories, ideas, and creative visions of our members.
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