Young Visionaries offered a group of Transition Year students the opportunity to learn about curatorial practice and museum work within the context of the Hugh Lane Gallery, culminating in the curation of an exhibition inspired by the Gallery’s collection. The resulting exhibition, Time & Time Again, is on view through 22 September, 2024.
Through this collaborative project, Transition Year students learned about curatorial practice within the context of the Hugh Lane Gallery and its extensive collection. Under the guidance of Allison Carey, Hugh Lane Curatorial Fulbright Scholar, students explored different aspects of museum work as they collaborated with the Gallery’s staff, local artists, and prominent curators across Dublin. The group reflected on their own perspectives as young citizens and the larger role art plays in society as they explored the unique facets of art and curatorship, and as they brainstormed and execute their own curatorial vision, Time & Time Again, now on display at the Hugh Lane Gallery.
Part 1: What is a Curator?
This programme included three months of weekly meetings with Allison. The first six weeks focused on introducing the group to different aspects and tools of curatorial work through the lens of the Hugh Lane Gallery’s extensive collection, along with offsite presentations and workshops.
During the very first meeting, the group discussed how to define a curator and the purpose of a gallery. Inspired by the name of the programme, the group suggested that curators should aim to be “visionaries,” or those presenting original and accessible ideas to larger publics, especially pertaining to what the future will and could look like.
Meetings with the exhibition and collection curators at the Hugh Lane Gallery introduced the ins and outs of curatorial practice within the context of the Gallery, along with the tools necessary in making original ideas come to life. A visit to the Gallery’s conservation studio further demonstrated the crucial work that goes into preparing art for an exhibition, and protecting it for future use.
Finally, offsite visits to Eleanor McCaughey and Amie Egan’s studios at The Complex along with a day at Pallas Projects illuminated the artist’s role as a collaborator in exhibition planning.
Part 2: From Idea to Exhibition
Relying upon the knowledge gained through prior workshops and meetings, the students embarked on the intensive process of ideating and curating their own exhibition with Allison, based off of the Hugh Lane’s collection. With support from the Gallery staff, the group considered and discussed what art and public galleries offer given communities as they brainstormed and proposed a unique exhibition from ground up— including choosing a theme, deciding upon the objects and hang, picking a title, writing wall text, choosing a wall colour, and considering marketing alongside community outreach. The resulting exhibition, Time & Time Again, narrowed down an idea from the Gallery’s extensive collection of over 2000 works of art. Utilized a selection of objects spanning over 100 years, the show presents an immersive consideration of the daunting future. By telling the story of growing up and anticipating what’s to come, the students reframed historic and contemporary objects to present new perspectives on the fleeting quality of time and the pressing questions surrounding the future.
The group assisted in overseeing the installation of the exhibition by the Gallery’s art technician staff, and planning an opening for their unprecedented exhibition.
