Presented by VAULT Magazine

Publishing and the curatorial; are in many ways opposite – one is anchored in permanence ; the other is temporal and shifting – but then again nearly all exhibitions have publishing components that form a major part of the curatorial process. Hear from three independent curators as they communicate how they traverse this evolving landscape.

Speakers

Tess Maunder is an arts leader with a focus on programming contemporary visual art practice across publishing, curatorial and editorial platforms. Maunder is currently Publishing Manager of VAULT Australasian Art & Culture Magazine; and her role encompasses all aspects of VAULT Contemporary Art and Culture Magazine and its parent publishing company Art Ink; in 2020 VAULT marks eight years of production and 30 issues of publishing. Prior to VAULT Maunder published Absolute Humidity – an ongoing curatorial project looking at the intersection of weather and political sentiment with artists from the Asia Pacific region with publisher Hardworking Goodlooking (Manilla/New York). She was one of four international curatorial colligate for the 11th Shanghai Biennale, Why Not Ask Again; Reasons, Debates and Stories working alongside Chief Curators Raqs Media Collective on the development of work by over 92 artists and collectives from over 40 different countries – with a focus on the global south (2016 – 17). She has worked and studied in Australia, the Philippines, India, Thailand, China, the US, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong. Tess has a prolific writing practice and contributes regularly for national and international publications.

Andy Butler is a writer, curator and artist that brings a deep commitment to the independent and ARI sector, extensive local and international networks, and hands-on experience curating and presenting commissions to the role of Program Curator at West Space. He sits on the board of the Emerging Writers Festival and SEVENTH Gallery, and is a co-director of Mailbox Art Space. Andy recently undertook an Asialink Creative Exchange to the Philippines and a Writers Immersion and Cultural Exchange to Indonesia. In 2017 he participated in Footscray Community Art Centre’s Emerging Cultural Leaders program.

Rachel Ciesla is an independent curator, writer and producer. Her practice uses site-orientated and socially engaged approaches, to address questions of memory, place and identity within contemporary art. Rachel is currently the producer for Events & Education at PHOTO 2020, a major new international festival of photography for Melbourne and Regional Victoria. She has previously held positions at Anna Schwartz Gallery, Melbourne Art Fair; Artsource, Paper Mountain and the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, and worked with contemporary art organisation across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and Europe. In 2019, she co-founded the independent press Heart of Hearts with writer Jaxon Waterhouse, working with their peers to create a curatorial network that gives visibility, circulation and permanence to artists and projects that are critical to our current time. Rachel holds a Master of Art Curatorship at the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Art History from the University of Western Australia.

Sophia Cai is a curator, arts writer and dog enthusiast. She is particularly interested in Asian art history, the intersection between contemporary art and craft, as well as feminist methodologies and community-based practices.