Independent Curators International (ICI) focuses on the role of the curator in contemporary art. It believes that curators create more than exhibitions — they are arts community leaders and organizers who champion artistic practice; build essential infrastructures, such as art spaces and institutions; and generate public engagement with art. Curators are, therefore, uniquely positioned to have an important impact on the artistic field, and on the communities they serve. By connecting curators from different regions, backgrounds, and generations, and across social, political, and cultural borders, ICI provides an international framework for knowledge-sharing within which curators’ and artists’ practices can further develop. ICI supports the work of curators to help create stronger art communities and rebuild more experimental, collaborative, and connected cultural infrastructures. Its exhibitions, educational programs, and research initiatives continue to empower new voices, champion global solidarity, and advance civic minded practice.
Independent Curators International
Left to right: Margaret Jacobs (Photo: E. Bixby), Ariana Faye Allensworth, Margaret Kross, and Michelle Mlati.
Participants in the 2023 Curatorial Forum. (Photo: Courtesy of ICI)
Participants in the 2023 Curatorial Forum. (Photo: Courtesy of ICI)
2023 Fellowships graphic
Attendees of the 2023 Curatorial Initiatives Keynote by Victoria Noorthoorn, EXPO CHICAGO, 2023. (Photo: Justin Barbin)
Artist Theaster Gates welcomes participants in the 2023 Curatorial Forum to the Stony Island Arts Bank, Chicago, IL. (Photo: Courtesy of ICI)
Teddy Sandoval, Angel Baby, 1995. Twelve-color silkscreen, 38 x 26 in. Courtesy of Paul Polubinskas. (Photo: Ian Byers-Gamber)
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“The terrific range of project proposals we receive each year speaks to the mobile and porous disciplinary boundaries of contemporary art practice, and to the rich and inventive ways writers approach art today. They are alert to the urgent need to expand the conventions of art history and criticism with ideas from other discourses, such as black studies, transnational and diaspora studies, gender and women’s studies, and LGBT studies. The work of lesser known and overlooked artists and art communities continues to be mined, with writers articulating new ways to counter the striking imbalances of race, class and gender that continue to affect the arts and the culture industry.”