Masterclass with Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is an Italian American curator, writer, and one of the most influential figures in the international contemporary art world. Artistic Director of dOCUMENTA (13) across Kassel, Kabul, Alexandria/Cairo, and Banff (2012), and Director of the Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art (2009; 2016–2023), she has also curated the 16th Biennale of Sydney (2008) and the 14th Istanbul Biennial (2015), and was named the most influential figure in the global art world by Art Review in 2012. A foundational scholar of Arte Povera, she most recently curated Arte Povera (2024–25) at the Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection in Paris. Her current research focuses on artistic freedom, corporeality, and transcendence in the digital era including the dialectic between the angelic and the agentic.
This masterclass offers a rare opportunity to be in conversation with Carolyn, developing the ideas from her public lecture, including on curating, AI, and the survival of the loving subject in an intimate setting at The University of Queensland's Writers Studio, Michie Building, St Lucia Campus.
Participation is by EOI. EOIs close at 11pm (AEST) on Sunday 24 May.
About Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev
This June, world-renowned curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev will be visiting Australia for a series of public lectures, discussions and master classes, sharing insights into her deeply influential work and its positioning of curatorial practice as a form of care and as a vital tool for thinking, listening, and responding to our shared historical moment.
The tour is made possible through a partnership between The University of Queensland Art Museum, The University of Melbourne with support from the Potter Museum of Art, Art + Australia and the Dr Harold Schenberg Bequest, Australian Institute of Art History and the Macgeorge Bequest, Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney, and supported by Milani Gallery.
Christov-Bakargiev is an Italian American curator, art historian, and theoretician internationally recognised for her transformative approach to contemporary exhibition-making. She is best known for her groundbreaking direction of dOCUMENTA (13) in 2012, which expanded across multiple sites to explore themes of trauma, ecology, and interdisciplinary research, and for her foundational scholarship on Arte Povera, which has been pivotal in advancing critical understanding of the movement.
Her curatorial work spans major international exhibitions, including the 16th Biennale of Sydney (2008) and the 14th Istanbul Biennial (2015). She served as Director of Castello di Rivoli Museum of Contemporary Art and founding Director of the Fondazione Francesco Federico Cerruti (2016–2023) and has held distinguished academic appointments at Northwestern University and the University of Leeds. She is the recipient of the 2019 Audrey Irmas Award for Curatorial Excellence. She retired as director of Castello di Rivoli in Italy in 2023, where she previously served as chief curator from 2002 to 2009. She is currently honorary guest Professor at FHNW University, Switzerland.
This series is presented in partnership with The University of Queensland Art Museum, The University of Melbourne with support from the Potter Museum of Art, Art + Australia and the Dr Harold Schenberg Bequest, Australian Institute of Art History and the Macgeorge Bequest and Chau Chak Wing Museum, The University of Sydney and supported by Milani Gallery.
