Symposium Featuring Leading International Curators at the Jewish Museum February 28

New York, NY – In conjunction with its current exhibition, Unorthodox, the Jewish Museum will present Unorthodox: On Museums, a half-day symposium on Sunday, February 28 from 2pm to 6:30pm. International and local curators, including contributors to the exhibition catalogue, will discuss the unconventional and nonconformist approaches to programming at their various institutions.  Speakers include:Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (Director, Castello di Rivoli); Peter Eleey (Associate Director of Exhibitions and Programs, MoMA P.S. 1.); Massimiliano Gioni (Artistic Director, New Museum); Thelma Golden (Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem); Kathy Halbreich (Associate Director, The Museum of Modern Art); Ruba Katrib (Curator, SculptureCenter); Vasif Kortun (Director of Research and Programs, SALT Istanbul); Jessica Morgan (Director, Dia Art Foundation); Adriano Pedrosa (Artistic Director, São Paulo Museum of Art); Scott Rothkopf (Deputy Director for Programs and Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator, Whitney Museum of American Art); and Nancy Spector (Deputy Director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum). Jens Hoffmann (Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, The Jewish Museum) and Bruce Altshuler (Director, Program in Museum Studies, New York University) will serve as moderators.  This symposium is presented in collaboration with the Program in Museum Studies, New York University.

At a time in which museums are becoming increasingly popular with larger audiences yet more and more homogeneous and repetitive in their programing, how do museum directors respond to the need to cater to these increasingly savvy audiences while keeping their programing and exhibitions on the forefront of intellectual, political and artistic discussion?   In the context of the Jewish Museum's exhibition Unorthodox, which aims at disrupting normative ways of looking at art, three of the most influential and unconventional museum directors working outside the United States have been invited to talk about the programs and exhibitions at their institutions. In addition, two panel discussions with leading New York based curators and museum directors will examine what this means in the context of American museums.

Tickets for the symposium are $12 general public; $8 students, seniors, and members. Further information is available or online at TheJewishMuseum.org/calendar.  The Jewish Museum is located at Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, Manhattan.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS FOR UNORTHODOX: ON MUSEUMS

2:00pm
Introductory remarks: The Unorthodox Museum, Jens Hoffmann, The Jewish Museum

2:15pm
Keynote address: Vasif Kortun, SALT Istanbul

3:00pm
Panel discussion: Peter Eleey (MoMA P.S. 1.); Massimiliano Gioni (New Museum); Jessica Morgan (Dia Art Foundation); Nancy Spector (Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum). Moderated by Bruce Altshuler (New York University)

4:00pm
Keynote address: Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (Castello di Rivoli)

4:45pm
Panel discussion: Thelma Golden (The Studio Museum in Harlem); Kathy Halbreich (The Museum of Modern Art); Ruba Katrib (SculptureCenter); Scott Rothkopf (Whitney Museum of American Art).  Moderated by Jens Hoffmann (Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, The Jewish Museum)

5:30pm
Keynote address: Adriano Pedrosa (São Paulo Museum of Art)

Unorthodox is a large-scale group exhibition featuring 55 contemporary artists from around the world whose practices mix forms and genres without concern for artistic conventions. Through over 200 works, the exhibition highlights the importance of iconoclasm and art's key role in breaking rules and traditions. Unorthodox is conceived and curated by Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs, and co-curated by Daniel S. Palmer, Leon Levy Assistant Curator, and Kelly Taxter, Assistant Curator.

Support
Unorthodox is made possible by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, the Boris Lurie Art Foundation, the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, and a Gift of Agnes Gund.

Endowment support is provided by the Melva Bucksbaum Fund for Contemporary Art. Additional support is provided by the Leon Levy Foundation and Ealan and Melinda Wingate.

Public programs are made possible by endowment support from the William Petschek Family, the Trustees of the Salo W. and Jeannette M. Baron Foundation, Barbara and Benjamin Zucker, the late William W. Hallo, the late Susanne Hallo Kalem, the late Ruth Hallo Landman, the Marshall M. Weinberg Fund, with additional support from Marshall M. Weinberg, the Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Foundation, the Saul and Harriet M. Rothkopf Family Foundation, and Ellen Liman.  Additional support is provided by Lorraine and Martin Beitler, the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.