Mexican curator winner of Akbank curator competition

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Mexican Alejandra Labastida is the winner of the first International Curator Competition, organized by Akbank Sanat to support young curators.

Alejandra Labastida from Mexico City has won the first Akbank Sanat International Curator Competition 2012, which was organized to provide support for emerging curators, reinforce interest in curatorial practices and encourage new projects in the field of contemporary art.

In its first year, the competition received a large number of applications from over 100 curators of various nationalities. After a long period of review and evaluation, Labastida’s application impressed the jury, which consisted of Jack Persekian, director and head curator of The Palestinian Museum; Francis McKee, director of CCA, Glasgow, tutor and research fellow at Glasgow School of Art; and independent curator Basak Senova.

Though-provoking, well-articulated

The jury found Labastida’s proposal thought-provoking and well-articulated. According to the jury, the conceptual framework of the proposed exhibition was rich with ideas, particularly her focus on the artistic strategies of appropriation, citation, translation and re-creation of historical pieces and events, yet open enough to allow the artist’s work to be the focus of attention for the exhibition and its ensuing program of lectures, screenings and talks. “Furthermore, there is a sophisticated curatorial instinct informing her exhibition that has shone through in a competitive, high-quality field of applications,” the jury said.

Labastida’s proposal will be exhibited from Feb. 15 to April 30, 2013 at the Akbank Art Center in Istanbul, accompanied by an exhibition catalogue and program of activities.