Curating the Sea:
Ecological Vulnerability and the Oceans in Contemporary Exhibitions

Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS)
South Wing, Wilkins Building
UCL, Gower Street

In recent years, exhibitions ranging from major group shows to small solo presentations have addressed the increasingly urgent issue of ocean ecology. This symposium explores the unique ways that contemporary exhibition making can contribute to the discourse surrounding the ecological devastation of the world’s oceans. At a time when the Natural History Museum, London, has launched a new paradigm of scientific display by installing ‘Hope’, a blue whale skeleton in its central hall, how does the display of contemporary art correspond and in what ways might it react differently to these issues?

Interdisciplinary thinking and respect for multispecies ways of being in the world are frequently positioned as central to understanding and responding to the current environmental crisis. ‘Curating the Sea’ brings together scholars and practitioners to explore the complex relationships between marine wildlife, ocean ecosystems and human activity, examining how artistic-scientific collaboration can address these pressing concerns through exhibitions.

Programme

2.00–2.10
Introduction
Pandora Syperek (Postdoctoral Researcher, Art History)

2.10–3.40
Chair: Pandora Syperek

A ‘Temple of the Sea’: Art and Ecology at the Musée Océanographique de Monaco
Sarah Wade (Researcher, UCL Art History)

‘Hope’ from the Sea: A Natural History Museum for the Future
Richard Sabin (Principal Curator: Mammals, Natural History Museum, London)

Curating Elizabeth Price BERLINWAL
Bergit Arends (Curator/Researcher, Royal Holloway, University of London, Science Museum)

3.40–4.00
Coffee Break

4.00–5.30
Chair: Sarah Wade

Invisible Dust Artworks Exploring Our Oceans
Alice Sharp (Curator & Director, Invisible Dust)

These Waters Have Stories to Tell
Celina Jeffery (Associate Professor of Art History & Theory, University of Ottawa/Ephemeral Coast)

Imagining a Tidalectic Worldview at the Rhythm of the Waves
Stefanie Hessler (Curator TBA21–Academy/Editor of Tidalectics, 2018)

5.30–6.00
Roundtable discussion

6.00–6.30
Drinks reception

6.30
Event closes

Organised by Dr Pandora Syperek and Dr Sarah Wade with funding from the UCL IAS Octagon Small Grants Fund & support from the Department of History of Art, UCL.

This symposium is free to attend but please register by emailing: curatingtheseagmail.com