Eva Meyer-Hermann, Kurator für Künstler / Curator for Artists

In-depth discussions will provide the most important foundations for our work together. These can take place in your studio, at an exhibition or wherever your art originates, be it physically or conceptually. As an experienced, independent art professional I am in a position to discuss the form and content of your works with you. Together we can explore your artistic ideas and develop plans for the interpretation and mediation of your work. I will gladly conduct any research needed either before or after a meeting.

Each studio discussion will be documented for future reference, taking account of materials, processes, and outcomes. Recordings in a variety of media (words, images, sound) and additional, specially researched material will become a chronicle of your work, which I, as curator, will compile, order, and archive. I can also provide a keyword index of my written notes and, if so desired, all the unedited photographic, audio and video materials. Records of this kind can also be invaluable in the initial organisation of an artist’s estate.

Our studio discussions can also become the basis for the publication of documentary materials. Following our meetings I will provide materials such as short video and audio clips, original quotes and short texts ready for publication online and on social media. On request, translations of these can also be provided. The dissemination of materials–which you are also free to pass on to museum, galleries and art dealers–will reinforce your growing reputation.

At my desk I develop plans for your next exhibition or desired project. To this end I will analyse, structure, and systematise materials from our documentations and formulate a concept for you either in key words or as continuous text. Besides a description of the proposal, the concept will also contain an overview of aims and processes. Depending on the circumstances and progress of the project, this concept document may be progressively expanded and developed.

Your archive is fundamental to our work together. I will therefore devise a system specifically suited to creating an inventory of your work. In addition, I can also assist in the sorting and ordering of secondary sources (photographs, publications, ephemera). Tailoring the structural parameters of the archive to your individual needs will significantly contribute to the smooth running of our project. Analogue media (slides and print materials) will be scanned, as needed, to facilitate their use (for instance in a database).

Meticulous lists and checklists will ease your communications with galleries and museums, since I will already have prepared any such printed matter for publication. These lists, in readily accessible formats, will contain detailed information on works and events. They can range from simple indexes of works (title, year, materials) to résumés of exhibitions and publications to tables including images and research results. Depending on the project these documents can also illuminate chronological developments, typologies and themes.

A database–an electronic card index–can be used to store countless facts and documents and to generate complex lists. Through my experience curating and editing scholarly catalogues raisonnés, I have developed a relational data-bank module, which I can calibrate to meet your requirements. Compiling a detailed, comprehensive catalogue raisonné can be a relatively lengthy process. Overviews with a specifically targeted range of information or project-based parameters require less time and can later serve as a valuable basis for a more detailed catalogue.

As a curator writing texts is my bread and butter, but also the icing on the cake for me. I have been writing about artists and their works for the last thirty years. My texts are always thoroughly researched and readable, and have a distinctive voice. All my texts (for catalogues, the Internet, general communications) come in print-ready versions and, on request, as translations. The texts I write for you–having discussed with you their length, topic, and style–will above all be focused on mediating your art and ideas. As and when needed, I can also supply texts for use by third parties.

The active mediation of art also involves display and discussion. Drawing on my long experience of communicating directly with the public, I am able to devise accessible lectures and conversations for a wide range of situations, in academies, museums and other art institutions–from detailed, illustrated lectures to guided tours to in-depth talks with artists. I will also develop new approaches, such as group studio visits for interested parties, which I will organize and lead.

Underpinning everything I do as a curator is my praxis as an exhibitions maker. Thanks to the knowledge I have gained in this field and my professional expertise I can provide support throughout your preparations for an exhibition–from the initial idea and conception right through their realisation until the opening itself. As a curator I can either take sole responsibility or I can provide support, such as working in the background on a developing project, if the host institution does not have the staff to deal with substantive issues. During the demanding run up to an exhibition, I can thus ensure you have the time to devote to your own artistic work.

If you are working towards a book, you can benefit from my wide experience in publishing, above all my ability to ensure that an artist’s own ideas are fully taken into account in the preparation of a book. My thorough grounding in the museum world and the skills I have gained from producing over twenty-five books have made me an expert in the substantive conception, planning, and production of publications. Once again, you can determine the level of assistance you need. Either I can take partial responsibility for a project and collaborate with others on the production of a book, or I can oversee the whole process, right up until the book is launched.

A book gracing the shelves in a bookshop underpins an artist’s achievement and attracts the public’s attention, but the virtual presence of artistic work is also becoming increasingly important. As a curator I can help you to conceive and disseminate materials that will raise the profile and increase understanding of your work online. Most of the texts and images we create in the archive, at a desk or in public will lend themselves well to electronic distribution. Your website, your social media presence, and other digital outlets will increase awareness of your artistic ideas, as will the blog on my website.