MJ Manifesta Journal 12. Ethics

English texts by Soren Andreasen et al. Summary: "The true art of a curator is an art of compromise". No doubt Pierre Restany´s bon mot reflects the reality of curatorial practice. Curators are dealing with different and often alien interests—political, economic and social. In realizing their oeuvre, they must always satisfy the requests of politicians, sponsors, managers, artists, professionals and large audiences. What are the limitations of this art of compromise? Does an art of compromise also presume a consciousness of what should not be a matter of compromise?

These are among the many questions that lay at the ground of Manifesta Journal 12 on curatorial ethics; these questions ultimately also try to examine whether ethics is a secondary consideration for curatorial work, or inextricable from the process and as such a consistent part of the curator’s intellectual self.