A lecture by Helsinki-based KOHTA director Anders Kreuger, “Interesting and Important: Curatorial Practice as Artistic Practice,” commences on 16 December. The theme refers to the two unavoidable value judgments in any discussion about art or artists, writers, or curators: If what they do and say is neither interesting nor important, why should we care to look, listen, or read?

Organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, the talk will introduce the attendees to the larger-scale and longer-running projects of Kreuger. These include overviews of his in-depth collaborations with artists from all over the world.

The writer, editor, and educator will likewise share his insights on why curatorial practice is and should be a form of art. He clarifies this does not mean that the curator must self-identify as an artist. But he does imply the impact or the results of curatorial work should be subjectively evaluated rather than assessed according to criteria aspiring to objectivity.

Upon the completion of his studies in his homeland Sweden, Kreuger directed the Information Office at the Nordic Council of Ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania. He then directed the Nordic Arts Centre and founded the Nordic Institute for Contemporary Art in Helsinki. He has been an active independent curator since 1999 alongside his other positions. He served as the director of the Malmö Art Academy and exhibitions curator at the Lunds Konsthall Museum. He likewise acted as senior curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp in Belgium.

Kreuger has taught at institutions across Europe, from the Royal Academy of Art in Denmark and the Trondheim Art Academy in Norway, to the Salzburg International Summer Academy in Austria and the Royal College of Art in the United Kingdom. He has published numerous essays and reviews about contemporary art and artists and edited several books. He is currently chairing the board for the Oslo-based online art journal, Kunstkritikk. He was also a member of the editorial team of the London-based art journal Afterall. He also participated as a member of the programme team of the European Kunsthalle in Cologne, Germany.

Since 2019, Kreuger has been the director of KOHTA, an artist-initiated private kunsthalle (art gallery) in Helsinki. Here, he has exhibited Finnish and other artists of all active generations.

“Interesting and Important: Curatorial Practice as Artistic Practice” is free and open to the public. It is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the twelfth floor Screening Room of the Benilde Design + Arts Campus, 950 Pablo Ocampo Street, Malate, Manila. Interested participants may register through forms.gle/R2iyy3iPSTbVHcJJA.