The Curator's Handbook: Museums, Commercial Galleries, Independent Spaces

A step-by-step guide to every aspect of putting on an art exhibition, with tips from a range of influential curators.

The Curator’s Handbook is the essential handbook for curators and curatorial students, mapping every stage of the process of putting on an exhibition, no matter how traditional the venue, from initial idea to final installation.



An introduction explores curatorial work from its origins in the seventeenth century onward and outlines the various roles of the curator today. Twelve chapters then trace the various stages of the exhibition process in clear, informative language and using helpful diagrams and tables, from developing the concept to writing contracts and loan requests; putting together budgets and schedules; producing exhibition catalogues and interpretation materials; designing gallery spaces; working with artists, lenders, and art handlers; organizing private views; and documenting and evaluating a show.



With advice and tips from a cast of international museum directors and curators—including Daniel Birnbaum (Moderna Museet, Stockholm); Aric Chen (M+, Hong Kong); Elizabeth Macgregor (Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney); Hans Ulrich Obrist (Serpentine Gallery, London); Gao Peng (Today Art Museum, Beijing); Jennifer Russell (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York); and Nicholas Serota (Tate, London)—this volume is a crucial guide for anyone involved in, or studying, the dynamic field of curation.