Collection Co–selection
Make an exhibition with us!
Why do we need contemporary art? Why do we go to galleries and museums? Collection Co-selection is a project devoted to the study of how art is perceived by viewers. This time the audience will enter the role of co-curators and create an exhibition of artworks from the Collection of the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art. Anyone can choose pieces to be included in the exhibition by going to ko-lekcjawyborow.u-jazdowski.pl from 12 October to 8 November 2020.
Collection Co-selection is an attempt to listen to our audiences, work together, and learn about each other through art. The prefix “co” takes on a double meaning here: “co-selection” is not only a participatory selection of works from the Collection of the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, but also a shared lesson in decision-making.
The project unfolds in three stages. The first stage, which took place between July-August 2020, consisted of focus group research executed by sociologists Paweł Możdżyński and Bartłomiej Walczak from the Institute of Social Applied Sciences at the University of Warsaw. The participants selected works from the Collection and answered questions related to experiencing art, ways of interpreting it, and motivations leading them to visit an art institution. Based on the results of the research, an online gallery was created. From 12 October to 8 November 2020 viewers can select artworks they would like to see at the exhibition. They can do so online at ko-lekcjawyborow.u-jazdowski.pl. Based on the viewers’ decision, an exhibition will be created. It will be on display at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art at the end of 2020. In its space, interviews will be conducted on the individual experience and understanding of art. The exhibition will be accompanied by a public and educational programme. In 2021, a final study report will be prepared.
Collection Co-selection is a curatorial project combining educational activities and audience development strategies. It fits in with the tradition of anthropological and sociological analyses devoted to issues of social functioning of art and the shaping of aesthetic preferences. What motivates our choices and influences our decisions? Why do some gallery-goers look for contemplation of reality and others for an escape from the outside world? These are the questions posed by the project curators, Iga Fijałkowska, Anna Kierkosz, and Aleksandra Rajska. “Our survey is not a plebiscite, and the online vote is not a competition. Rather, we would like to provoke a discussion about what is it about art that moves us, intrigues us, and why contemporary art is important.” – say the curators.
