by Catherine Chiang
On March 17, experienced curator Liangz was invited to Fu Jen University to share his curating experience with students. Nowadays, visiting exhibitions has become one of the most popular indoor activities. Exhibitions are an efficient way to convey ideas, findings, and creations to the public. Behind every exhibition, there is a person in charge of planning the event: these are the “curators.” The curator’s responsibilities cover both the realms of designing and marketing. Although they work behind the scenes, curators can be considered as the most important people when it comes to the final outcomes of an exhibition.
There are no specific requirements to become a curator. In fact, Liangz himself stepped into the field not because he had done studies in curating, but because of his ability to convey ideas. Liangz previously had a career in graphic design, but after spending years in design, he decided that his skills in writing project proposals could be applied to marketing and advertising. Luckily, companies at that time were looking for versatile talents who were interested in crossover careers. He joined “Shishang,” a company specialized in planning science exhibitions and merchandising, giving him the opportunity to learn curating. Today, he works as a passionate curator and even owns a workshop called “Hao Huei Zao Shih” located in Taipei.
To become a curator, one must first understand the meaning of “curating.” Being a curator is like being a consultant for scholars holding the exhibitions. The tasks of a curating team range from writing proposals to organizing exhibition contents, from allocating the budget to site surveys, as well as planning interior design for a target audience. “The key to creating a successful exhibition is to find knowledge that is worth knowing,” Liangz pointed out. A curator’s primary task is to select information that may attract or pique the interest of the audience, and evoke their desire to learn more about a particular field, but curators must be careful not to overwhelm visitors with too much esoteric or theoretical knowledge that may defeat the purpose of attracting their interest. In other words, holding exhibitions can be seen as a way of educating the public.
There are no specific requirements to become a curator. In fact, Liangz himself stepped into the field not because he had done studies in curating, but because of his ability to convey ideas. Liangz previously had a career in graphic design, but after spending years in design, he decided that his skills in writing project proposals could be applied to marketing and advertising. Luckily, companies at that time were looking for versatile talents who were interested in crossover careers. He joined “Shishang,” a company specialized in planning science exhibitions and merchandising, giving him the opportunity to learn curating. Today, he works as a passionate curator and even owns a workshop called “Hao Huei Zao Shih” located in Taipei.
To become a curator, one must first understand the meaning of “curating.” Being a curator is like being a consultant for scholars holding the exhibitions. The tasks of a curating team range from writing proposals to organizing exhibition contents, from allocating the budget to site surveys, as well as planning interior design for a target audience. “The key to creating a successful exhibition is to find knowledge that is worth knowing,” Liangz pointed out. A curator’s primary task is to select information that may attract or pique the interest of the audience, and evoke their desire to learn more about a particular field, but curators must be careful not to overwhelm visitors with too much esoteric or theoretical knowledge that may defeat the purpose of attracting their interest. In other words, holding exhibitions can be seen as a way of educating the public.
Liangz giving his speech, photograph by Catherine Chiang
Creativity plays an important part in planning exhibitions. Since Liangz’s team is mainly in charge of knowledge-based exhibitions, he provided some tips for this particular market. “When planning this type of exhibition, we are turning a textbook into a story book,” he said. “We don’t always have to present information the conventional way. For instance, we can create interactive devices to appeal to the audience.” To create an engaging exhibition, he suggests to first divide the selected contents into smaller chapters. Then, according to the theme of the exhibition, arrange the order in which the chapters are displayed by either chronological order, main topics, or fictional plots. After deciding on the order, plan the use of space, lighting, visiting route, and selection of artworks and objects of the exhibition. Most importantly, use different combinations of these factors to create innovative compositions or eye-catching visual designs in the venue.
The next step is to cultivate the required skills for this job. In Liangz’s words, “being a curator is like being a movie director.” A director has to supervise the whole production process and decide on how the film should be made. By the same token, curators participate in the whole plan-to-execution process and gather the essential elements to build an exhibition.
The ability to write advertising or marketing proposals is a must. Proposals should include the purpose of holding the event, background information, the main concept, methodology or what to do precisely, an estimated budget, and concrete goals. The most important thing is to present the contents in a logical and sequential way so that clients can understand easily.
A good curator also has to understand design principles and aesthetics. Only experience with various types of exhibitions can provide necessary knowledge of what does and doesn’t work. Through experiencing great works by other people, one can learn and be inspired by their thoughts and skills, and thus obtain needed experience in designing to create better content.
There are many curating opportunities nowadays, and many public relation agencies are looking for marketing PR personnel who can help with curating events, whether for science and art exhibitions, trade fairs, IP exhibitions featuring fictional characters, or even self-held expositions like mini expos or pop-up shops. Furthermore, local revitalization is still lacking talented staff in marketing and advertising, so curators are welcome to help promote local attractions and products with their creativity. In Liangz’s view, curating opportunities exist as long as there is interesting information to be shared.
The next step is to cultivate the required skills for this job. In Liangz’s words, “being a curator is like being a movie director.” A director has to supervise the whole production process and decide on how the film should be made. By the same token, curators participate in the whole plan-to-execution process and gather the essential elements to build an exhibition.
The ability to write advertising or marketing proposals is a must. Proposals should include the purpose of holding the event, background information, the main concept, methodology or what to do precisely, an estimated budget, and concrete goals. The most important thing is to present the contents in a logical and sequential way so that clients can understand easily.
A good curator also has to understand design principles and aesthetics. Only experience with various types of exhibitions can provide necessary knowledge of what does and doesn’t work. Through experiencing great works by other people, one can learn and be inspired by their thoughts and skills, and thus obtain needed experience in designing to create better content.
There are many curating opportunities nowadays, and many public relation agencies are looking for marketing PR personnel who can help with curating events, whether for science and art exhibitions, trade fairs, IP exhibitions featuring fictional characters, or even self-held expositions like mini expos or pop-up shops. Furthermore, local revitalization is still lacking talented staff in marketing and advertising, so curators are welcome to help promote local attractions and products with their creativity. In Liangz’s view, curating opportunities exist as long as there is interesting information to be shared.
Liangz and co-worker working on a showpiece, photograph by Catherine Chiang