92Y and the Jewish Museum Present Curators Hans Ulrich Obrist and Jens Hoffmann in Conversation
At 92Y Sunday, November 8, 8:30 pm, tickets from $32
New York, NY - On Sunday, November 8, 92Y and the Jewish Museum will present celebrated curators Hans Ulrich Obrist and Jens Hoffmann in conversation at 92Y, in conjunction with the Museum’s new exhibition Unorthodox. Part of an ambitious program series tied to the exhibition, the event will feature Obrist, widely regarded as the most experimental and unconventional curator of his generation, in conversation with the Jewish Museum’s Jens Hoffmann, Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs and co-curator of Unorthodox. They will discuss the highly progressive curatorial strategies employed in their respective careers, while also delving into the history of curating and examining examples of radical curatorial practices that have emerged over the last 40 years.
Unorthodox Exhibitions is part of a series of programs that will take place both at the Jewish Museum and at 92nd Street Y in conjunction with Unorthodox, on view at the Jewish Museum from November 6, 2015 through March 27, 2016. The exhibition features 55 artists from around the world whose practices mix forms and genres without concern for artistic conventions. The accompanying public programs—which also include 92Y’s Unorthodox: On Philosophy in March, 2016— investigate the same notion of defying cultural and artistic uniformity. A unique behind-the-scenes Talk and Tour with curators Jens Hoffmann, Daniel S. Palmer and Kelly Taxter, takes place at 92Y and the Jewish Museum on November 10 at 10 am.
Hans Ulrich Obrist is Co-Director of the Serpentine Galleries, London. Prior to this, he was the Curator of the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. Since his first show “World Soup” (The Kitchen Show) in 1991 he has curated more than 250 shows. In 2009 Obrist was made Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), and in 2011 received the CCS Bard Award for Curatorial Excellence. Obrist has lectured internationally at academic and art institutions, and is contributing editor to several magazines and journals. Obrist’s recent publications include Lives of Artists, Lives of Architects, Ways of Curating, A Brief History of Curating, Do It: The Compendium and The Age of Earthquakes with Douglas Coupland and Shumon Basar. Obrist is credited with radically altering the traditional understanding of exhibition-making. Rethinking the display of art, questioning the role and function of museums, and deconstructing the concept of exhibitions, Obrist has staged shows in his kitchen, in a hotel room and on top of a mountain, and has worked with artists to explore the ways in which art intersects with other fields such as science, architecture, theater and literature. Obrist is also known for his Interview Project for which he has conducted over 300 interviews with artists, scientists, filmmakers and writers since the early 1990s. He has published over 100 books in the last two decades.
Jens Hoffmann is a curator and writer based in New York. He is currently Deputy Director, Exhibitions and Public Programs at the Jewish Museum in New York. Hoffmann was Director of the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Art in San Francisco (2007–12), and Director of Exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (2003–07). He has curated many exhibitions around the world including the 9th Shanghai Biennale (2012–13), the 12th Istanbul Biennial (2011) and the 2nd San Juan Triennial (2009). He has contributed numerous articles to art
magazines such as Frieze, Artforum, Parkett and Texte zur Kunst as well as written over 200 essays for exhibition catalogues and museum publications.
Public programming for Unorthodox is made possible in part by the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations and through public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
About the Jewish Museum Located on Museum Mile at Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, the Jewish Museum is one of the world's preeminent institutions devoted to exploring art and Jewish culture from ancient to contemporary, offering intellectually engaging, educational, and provocative exhibitions and programs for people of all ages and backgrounds. The Museum was established in 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary as the core of a museum collection. Today, the Museum maintains a collection of over 30,000 works of art, artifacts, and broadcast media reflecting global Jewish identity, and presents a diverse schedule of internationally acclaimed temporary exhibitions.
The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, New York City. Museum hours are Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11am to 5:45pm; Thursday, 11am to 8pm; and Friday, 11am to 4pm. Museum admission is $15.00 for adults, $12.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for students, free for visitors 18 and under and Jewish Museum members. Admission is Pay What You Wish on Thursdays from 5pm to 8pm and free on Saturdays. For information on The Jewish Museum, the public may call 212.423.3200 or visit the website at TheJewishMuseum.org.
About 92Y 92nd Street Y is a world-class, nonprofit cultural and community center that fosters the mental, physical and spiritual health of people throughout their lives, offering: wide-ranging conversations with the world’s best minds; an outstanding range of programming in the performing, visual and literary arts; fitness and sports programs; and activities for children and families. 92Y is reimagining what it means to be a community center in the digital age with initiatives like the award- winning #GivingTuesday, launched by 92Y in 2012 and now recognized across the US and in a growing number of regions worldwide as a day to celebrate and promote giving. These kinds of initiatives are transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action both locally and around the world. More than 300,000 people visit 92Y annually; millions more participate in 92Y’s digital and online initiatives. A proudly Jewish organization since its founding in 1874, 92Y embraces its heritage and welcomes people of all backgrounds and perspectives. For more information, visit www.92Y.org.
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Press contacts:
Anne Scher, Molly Kurzius, or Alex Wittenberg The Jewish Museum 212.423.3271 or [email protected]