MJ - Manifesta Journal Vol. 12

“The true art of a curator is an art of compromise.” No doubt Pierre Restany's bon mot reflects the reality of curatorial practice. Curators are dealing with different and often alien interests – political, economic and social.

In realizing their oeuvre, they must always satisfy the requests of politicians, sponsors, managers, artists, professionals and large audiences. What are the limitations of this art of compromise? Does an art of compromise also presume a consciousness of what should not be a matter of compromise?

These are among the many questions on curatorial ethics that lay at the ground of Manifesta Journal 12, the final issue of the second Manifesta Journal series.

The issue includes contributions by Søren Andreasen, Ami Barak, Lorenzo Benedetti, Simon Critchley, Zoran Eric, Jonathan Griffin, Katerina Gregos, Miguel Á. Hernández-Navarro, Lars Bang Larsen, Alessandra Pioselli, Dieter Roelstraete, Maria Rus Bojan, Pier Luigi Sacco, Marjolein Schaap, Jonas Staal, Jan Verwoert, Angela Vettese and Thomas Wulffen.