Paper short abstract:

Museums seeking to interpret uncertain pasts, and to acknowledge that uncertainty, have frequently turned to contemporary artists. This paper examines these commissioned interventions and their contexts, what they achieve that could not happen without the intervention of an artist, and the implications for museums, artists and audiences.

Paper long abstract:

Over the past two decades museums seeking to interpret uncertain pasts, and to acknowledge that uncertainty, have frequently turned to contemporary artists. In this paper, I shall examine some of these commissioned interventions and their contexts, exploring examples where the intention around inviting an artist into the museum is part of a deliberately revisionist strategy to tackle uncertain histories. I will consider motivations that shape these projects and the role of the commissioned artist within the gallery. Central to my investigation will be the question of why artist interventions are considered a particularly appropriate and effective strategy in the context of post-colonial museum and gallery practice, what they achieve that could not happen without the intervention of an artist, and the implications of this practice for galleries, artists and audiences.

Within these contexts I shall explore the role of artists as invited curators, particularly those artists working in the tradition of institutional critique. The notion of invited critique can seem inherently contradictory, asking the artist who takes on the role of curator to come 'inside' the institution and thus jeopardise the external position which might previously have been seen as a prerequisite. Looked at more positively, the increased frequency with which the critique has been brought into the museum reflects the convergence of this challenging artist practice with revisionist, self-reflective trends emerging within museums, and an awareness that by inviting artists to take on the role of curator, they can be enlisted as enablers, facilitators or partners in this process.