It probably isn’t a surprise to you that I never once turned around when I was a child and told my parents I wanted to be a curator, as it doesn’t really fit the realm of jobs most children come up with when asked what they wanted to be when they are growing up. But I have always been a collector of objects; whether that be vinyl records, photographs, artist books etc. I have always been somebody with lots of objects around me. Paired with my passion for reading and design, it was only natural that when I went to university and discovered the variety of careers surrounding the arts, that curation was the one that caught my eye.

Studying curation at Exeter has provided me with so many excellent opportunities in the contemporary art world. I was apprehensive when first entering the world of curation as I felt as if I lacked experience in the industry that perhaps other people around me may have, but during my six months in Exeter, I have curated my own blog exploring the works of student artists outside of the University and interned with Arts and Culture Exeter. Here, I have had many opportunities to expand my portfolio of writing and experience a variety of environments surrounding the cultural industry which have helped in honing down my interests. Through studying curation with this many opportunities, I have broadened my interests to include exploring the communities and collaborations often found behind contemporary art, as well as increased my passion for feminist and activist art in a part of the UK where there are significant heritage and cultural opportunities. I am most excited to see all my thinking and ideas around curation materialized when I curate my own exhibition during Exeter Art Week, an opportunity to plan, budget and curate the work of chosen artists and display their work in Exeter City Centre.

Of course, with any industry, there are challenges, and especially when in our current economic climate arts and culture is one of the areas where funding is often cut or redistributed. It can be frustrating to have ideas bigger than your budgets, which I have found to be something I have had to navigate when planning exhibitions and events. However, with curation being a creative and collaborative space, there is a lot of flexibility that you can have with ideas, and I have always found myself able to adapt ideas and utilize different spaces such as social media, to create make my ideas a reality and explore my options. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to work with both objects and themes you are passionate about, as well as feel like you can make a difference with the work you produce.

I would really recommend studying curation to anybody who is interested in objects and how we as people interact with the things around us. Curation is so rewarding as it is a career where you can pretty much explore any of your passions or any elements of culture you are interested in, whilst always being able to find somebody around you who shares that passion.