Municipal Creativity: Approaches to Pluralistic Curatorship in the Israeli Art Scene

Abstract

This study stems from the understanding of a particular difference between art in ancient times and contemporary art, for while ancient and traditional art were an integral part of one’s daily life, contemporary art is detached and viewing and responding to it is a matter of choice. Another difference lies in the alienation that can exist in contemporary art, which is often not understood by those who do not engage in art as a profession or are not versed in the field of art. As a result, a situation has arisen in today’s modern world in which art tends to be the property of a limited public only, and the curatorial work is ostensibly directed at them. This study seeks to change this situation through a method defined here as “pluralistic curatorship”, based on the principle of pluralism in Israeli society. A pluralistic approach already exists to some extent on the Israeli art scene, but pluralistic curatorship still requires a defined, cohesive, and structured outline. This study presents five approaches to achieving such pluralistic curatorship, with the first three sections discussing the theoretical aspects and the last two sections discussing its practical implementation.