Professor Dorothee Richter

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Professor in Contemporary Curating
- Director of the PhD in Practice in Curating programme
Areas of interest
At the moment Dorothee is directing the OnCurating project space. Dorothee is also the publisher of OnCurating, an online and print magazine on curatorial practice and theory.
Since 2005, she has been head of the Postgraduate Programme in Curating (MAS/CAS), at the University of the Arts Zurich (ZHdK).
She also founded the "Research Platform for Curating, Practice-Based Doctoral Programme". This is a collaboration between the Postgraduate Programme in Curating and the Department of Fine Arts, University of Reading, now the "PhD in practice in curating", which is funded by "Swissuniversities".
She also holds a professorship at the University of Reading, UK.
Background
From 1999 to the end of 2003, Dorothee was artistic director of the Künstlerhaus Bremen, where she curated a discursive programme based on:
- feminist issues
- urban situations
- power relation issues
- institutional critique.
She has worked as a curator ever since.
Her own PhD dealt with Fluxus, "Fluxus: Art - Synonymous with Life? Myths about Authorship, Production, Gender and Community". In 2013, she released a film together with Ronald Kolb: Flux Us Now! Fluxus explored with a camera, which was screened for the first time at the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart in April 2013, at the Migros Museum in Zurich, and different European art academies and museums. Learn more on the Flux Us Now website.
Since 1998, Dorothee has held lecturing posts at:
- the University of Bremen
- the Merzakademie Stuttgart
- the École des Beaux Arts in Geneva
- the University of Lüneburg alongside the travelling Exhibition/Archive "Curating Degree Zero Archive".
In September 2013, she was appointed as mentor for POOL, (Collection of Hoffmann and Ringier) Zurich. In 2014, the Cultural Department of the city of Zurich appointed her as the curator/ programmer of Gasthaus zum Baeren/Museum Baerengasse, where she ran a programme together with young curators under the title "Curate Your Context".
As a collaborative project with the Centre of Art and Media (ZKM) Karlsruhe, Dorothee Richter and Ronald Kolb are working on a video archive of interviews with contemporary curators. The working title is "CURATING – explored with a camera. A digital archive on Curatorial practice". The project has 70 detailed video interviews with internationally acclaimed curators, such as Peter Weibel, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Stella Rollig, Rein Wolfs, Beatrix Ruf, and Daniel Baumann and curatorial groups, working between an activist, curatorial and political sphere.
Selected publications
Some of her curatorial projects include:
- New Social Sculptures at Kunstmuseum Thun, 2012
- Speculative Curating, Performative Interventions, Migros Museum, Zürich, 2016/17.
She has co-curated numerous symposia, including:
- "Re-Visions of the Display" with Jennifer Johns, Sigrid Schade, Migros Museum in Zurich, 2009
- "Institution as Medium. Curating as Institutional Critique?" with Rein Wolfs, 2010
- The symposium "Who is Afraid of the Public?" at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) London with Elke Krasny, Silvia Simoncelli and the University of Reading, 2013
- The symposium with the Manifesta Journal and the Institute of Contemporary Art of the University of the Arts Zurich (ZHdK) "Third, fourth and fifth spaces: Curatorial practices in new public and social (digital) spaces" at the Migros Museum, 2013.
One of her 90 publications is her PhD titled, Fluxus. Kunst gleich Leben? Mythen um Autorschaft, Produktion, Geschlecht und Gemeinschaft. Her internet platform OnCurating is also new, and presents current approaches to critical curatorial practice, with 32 Issues of OnCurating, both in print and online including:
- Issue 29, Curating in Feminist Thought, published with feminist curators united
- Issue 30, Work, Migration, Memes and Personal Geopolitics, published as a parallel event of Manifesta Zurich.
Publications
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Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 , Kolb, R. , Maridet, C. (2021) Situated knowledges, a cooperation with Tai Kwun, contemporary art, Hong Kong and Migros Museum, Zurich. Zuricher Hochschule der Kuenste, Baptist University HK
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Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 , Kolb, R. , Zwick, H. , Sheleff, M. , Levi, E. , Ruff, R. (2021) Curating on shaky grounds: curating in times of crisis and conflict. OnCurating, Artis, , Kunst Werke Berlin.
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Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 (2021) Flux us now! Fluxus explored with a camera. Fluxus Perspectives , 51 (51). pp. 6-24. ISSN: 9798478092658
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Patrick, M.
and
Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 (2021) Editorial: Fluxus perspectives. Fluxus Perspectives (51). pp. 1-5. ISSN: 979-8478092658
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Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 (2021) Spoiler alert: instituting feminism will not work without a fight. Instituting Feminism , 52 (52). pp. 47-60. ISSN: 9798774294657
- Richter, D. , Kolb, R. , Patel, S. , eds. (2021) Contemporary Art Biennials–Our Hegemonic Machines in Times of Emergency. OnCurating Issues , 46. OnCurating (46). , Zurich. pp 554. ISBN: 979-8667975540 (Contemporary Art, Bienale, Hegemony)
- Richter, D. and Patrick, M. , eds. (2021) Fluxus perspectives. OnCurating Issues , 51. OnCurating (51). , Zurich. pp 310. ISBN: 9798478092658 (Fluxus, Contemporary Art, worldwide research)
- Richter, D. and Reckitt, H. , eds. (2021) Instituting feminism. OnCurating , 52. OnCurating (52). , Zurich. pp 226. ISBN: 979-8774294657 (Instituting Feminism, Curating, Contemporary Art)
- Richter, D. and Stewart, P. , eds. (2020) Curating the digital. OnCurating Issues , 45. OnCurating (45). , Zurich. pp 96. ISBN: 9798639231421 (Curating, Digital Media, Contemporary Art, Art history)
- Kolb, R. , eds. (2020) Zurich issue: dark matter, grey zones, red light and bling bling. OnCurating Issues , 48. OnCurating (48). , Zurich. pp 248. ISBN: 9798682580316 (Contemporary Art, Funding, Financing, Art History, Switzerland,)
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Kolb, R.
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Krivanek, E.
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Regli, C.
,
Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 , eds. (2019) Centres⁄Peripheries – Complex Constellations. OnCurating Issues , 41. OnCurating (41). , Zurich. pp 176. ISBN: 9781070906966
- Kolb, R. , eds. (2019) Revisiting Black Mountain Cross-Disciplinary Experiments and Their Potential for Democratization. OnCurating Issues , 43. OnCurating (43). , Zurich. pp 122. ISBN: 9781672015431 (Black Mountain College, Contemporary Art, Curating, Experimental Education)
- Richter, D. (2019) Feministiche perspektiven des Kuratoischen / auf das Kuratorieren. In: Adorf, S. and Heinz, K. , (eds.) Zeichen/Momente. Vergegenwärtigungen in Kunst und Kulturanalyse. Zeichen/Momente Vergenwärtigungen in Kunst und Kulturanalyse pp. 183-202. ISBN: 9783837642049 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.14361/9783839442043-010
- Richter, D. (2019) Propositons on Curating. Darmstädter Beitrag zur Neuen Musik pp. 10-14.
- Richter, D. (2017) Learning from Dhaka. OnCurating (35). pp. 61-71. ISSN: 2673-2904 (Decolonizing Art Institutions)
- Richter, D. (2017) Propositions on curating, or how much curating is involved in social change. In: Krämer, N. and Müller, P. , (eds.) With: A Bookazine on Collaboration between Cultures, Art Forms, and Disciplines. WITH: a Bookazine on Collaboration between Cultures, Art Forms, and Disciplines
- Richter, D. (2017) Invisible philosophers, my fellow travelers. Index was outside the bounds of the array. In: , Baltensperger, S. , Siepert, D. , (eds.) Invisible philosophy. Invisible Philosophy ISSN: ISBN-13: 978-3906325170 ISBN: 9783906325170
- Kolb, R. , Richter, D. , Ahmed, S. , Allain Bonilla, M. , Choi, B. , Danon, E. , Farago, C. , van der Heide, Y. , Mabaso, N. , Mdluli, S. , Merali, S. , Muñiz-Reed, I. , Patel, S. , Jain, R. , Raqs Media, C. , Voegele, S. , Saner, P. , Wei, W. , Williamson, S. , Wintle, C. , Wong, M. , eds. (2017) Decolonizing Art Institutions. On-Curating , 35. On-Curating (35). , Zurich. pp 142. ISBN: 9781981991747
- Richter, D. , Kolb, R. , Clausen / Szuper Gallery, S. , Alves, M. , Durham, J. , Keller, S. , Ponger, L. , Rosen, R. , Zhao, Z. , eds. (2017) De-Colonizing Art Institutions: Artists’ Book. On-Curating , 34. On-Curating (34). , Zurich. pp 108. ISBN: 9781982088897
- Richter, D. (2017) Being singular/plural in the exhibition context: curatorial subjects at documenta 5, dX, D12, d(13). In: Buurman, N. and Richter, D. , (eds.) documenta. Curating the History of the Present. On-Curating , 33. On-Curating (33). , Zurich. pp. 76-88. ISBN: 9781546946120
- Richter, D. (2016) Performance Kunst kuratieren?. In: Gebhardt Fink, S. , Mathis, . , von Büren, M. , (eds.) Performance Chronik Basel: Erinnern und Erzählen (1987-2006). Performance Chronik Basel (Teil 2): Erinnern und Erzählen (1987-2006) pp. 43-51. ISSN: ISBN-13: 978-3037346341 ISBN: 9783037346341
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Richter, D.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9830-9764 (2016) Feminist perspectives in curating. OnCurating (27). pp. 64-75. ISSN: 2673-2904 (Feminism, Curating, Contemporary Art)
- Richter, D. (2016) Learning from Dhaka. In: Garcia-Anton, K. , Cataldo, A. , Betancourt, D. , (eds.) Critical Writing Ensembles. Critical Writing Ensembles pp. 234-247. ISSN: 978-82-92495-26-1 ISBN: 9788867492701
- Richter, D. (2016) (Un)Dinge, oder warum die Sehnsucht nach dem Ding immer reaktionär ist. Interdisziplinäres Ausstellen , 16 (1-2). pp. 8-15. ISSN: 1015-6720
- Richter, D. (2016) My glam, your glam, we glam. In: Marchetti, L. , (eds.) La mode exposée / Fashion curating. La mode exposée / Fashion curating pp. 213-218. ISSN: ISBN: 978-2-940510-14-6 ISBN: 9782940510146
- Trampe, T. , Richter, D. , Stassi, E. , eds. (2016) Work, Migration, Memes and Personal Geopolitics. On-Curating , 30. On-Curating (30). , Zurich. pp 152. ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-1533448392
- Richter, D. (2016) Feminist perspectives on curating. In: Richter, D. , Krasny, E. , Perry, L. , (eds.) Curating in Feminist Thought. , 29. On-Curating , Zurich. pp. 64-76. ISBN: 9781532873386
- Richter, D. (2008) ONCURATING.org. Dorothee Richter