The Montblanc Cultural Foundation, under the new chairmanship of curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, announces the establishment of its international Curatorium, welcoming Anne Barlow, Sunjung Kim, Jean de Loisy, Franklin Sirmans, and Jochen Volz as its members. From 2018, this two-year rotational committee of renowned curators and institutional directors will, alongside the Foundation’s Chairmen, nominate and select future recipients of the Montblanc de la Culture Arts Patronage Award, as well as continue helping with the acquisition of new artworks for the Montblanc Art Collecton.
The Montblanc Cultural Foundation’s Arts Patronage Award has over the last 25 years recognized around 250 art patrons in over 20 countries. A total of more than 4 million Euros in prize money has been awarded to ongoing initiatives ranging from educational programs, community art centers, and cultural heritage projects.
The Montblanc Cultural Foundation enables young and emerging artists to produce new works within the context of a temporary exhibition, a biennale, or an art festival. It is geographically inclusive and open to all forms of contemporary artistic practices. The artworks will be acquired for the Montblanc Art Collection. They will be nominated internally and connect to themes that are of relevance to the Foundation.
The program will be launched in May 2017 at the 57th Venice Biennale, with the support of a new commission by Manila-based artists Katherine Nuñez and Issay Rodriguez that will be shown as part of the main exhibition Viva Arte Viva, curated by Christine Macel. Nuñez (b. 1990) and Rodriguez (b. 1991), are members of the artist-led 98B space in Manila. Their research-based practice unpacks the complex narratives by which history is fixed, and ranges from painting and photography, to embroidery and mixed-media installation. After its presentation in Venice, the installation will be shown at the Montblanc Cultural Foundation’s headquarters in Hamburg in 2018.
In commenting about the establishment of the Curatorium, Chairmen Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath said: “Each member of the Curatorium has a wealth of experience in working closely with artists and art patrons, and we are delighted to have their support over the coming years”. Montblanc’s CEO Nicolas Baretzki welcomed the Curatorium members by saying: “Their wide-ranging network within the global arts community will strengthen the Foundation’s core ambition to support the arts in diverse regions of the world.”
Members of the Curatorium
Anne Barlow is artistic director of Tate St Ives. Previously, she was director of Art in General, New York, where she organized numerous exhibitions, commissions, and institutional collaborations, and initiated and launched the annual symposium "What Now?." Barlow was formerly curator of education and media programs at the New Museum, New York, and curator of contemporary art and design at Glasgow Museums, Scotland.
Sunjung Kim is director of Art Sonje Center, Seoul, where she was chief curator from 1993 to 2004. She is the curator of the REAL DMZ PROJECT, which engages issues surrounding the division of Korea. In 2005, she was commissioner of the Korean Pavilion at the 51st Venice Biennale. Kim was artistic director of Media City Seoul in 2010, artistic co-director of the Gwangju Biennale in 2012, and artistic director of ACC Research & Archive at the Asian Culture Center in Gwangju in 2014 and 2015.
Jean de Loisy is president of the Palais de Tokyo. He has been an inspector in the creative sector of the French Ministry of Culture, curator at the Fondation Cartier, curator at the Centre Georges Pompidou, and has directed and co-directed various art facilities in France. He has organized numerous solo and group exhibitions, most recently Monumenta / Anish Kapoor at the Grand Palais in 2011, and Formes simples at Centre Pompidou-Metz in 2014.
Franklin Sirmans is director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Prior to his appointment, he was department head and curator of contemporary art at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) from 2010 until 2015. From 2006 to 2010, he was curator of modern and contemporary art at The Menil Collection in Houston where he organized several exhibitions. He is the 2007 David C. Driskell prizewinner. From 2012 to 2014, he was artistic director of Prospect 3 New Orleans.
Jochen Volz is incoming director of the Pinacoteca de São Paolo. He was the curator of the 32nd São Paulo Biennial in 2016, and head of programs at the Serpentine Galleries in London between 2012 and 2015. He was curator at the Instituto Inhotim, Minas Gerais, since 2004, where he served as general director between 2005 and 2007 and artistic director between 2007 and 2012. He is the curator of Brazil’s Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017.
About the Montblanc Cultural Foundation
The Montblanc Cultural Foundation, based in Hamburg, was founded in 1992 with a mission to promote innovative thinking through supporting the arts worldwide. It's core initiatives include the globally recognized Montblanc Arts Patronage Award, which until now has honored close to 300 patrons in over 20 countries. Since 2002, the Montblanc Art Collection has supported over 170 artists with more than 210 artworks by commissioning them to create new works. The collection includes many internationally renowned figures such as John Armleder, Monica Bonvicini, José León Cerillo, Thomas Demand, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Sylvie Fleury, Liam Gillick, Gary Hume, Fang Lijun, Thomas Ruff, Tom Sachs, Chiharu Shiota, Cerith Wyn Evans, and Heimo Zobernig, to name a few. In 2016 curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, were appointed as Chairmen and have since been leading the Foundation’s new strategic direction.
For more information:
Montblanc Cultural Foundation
Hellgrundweg 100
22525 Hamburg
Germany
