The Director of Frieze On Curation, NFTs and the Danger of Trends

HUR CONVERSATIONS

Apr 19

EVA LANGRET

The Director of Frieze On Curation, NFTs and the Danger of Trends

By Bonnie Langedijk

In art, context is everything. While meant to be subjective to the observer — up for one’s own interpretation — the role of the art curator, however, is to introduce direction into the otherwise free flowing narrative. Context in the form of space, tempo, history, current affairs, backstory, contrast, sequence, ratio. The various elements that string otherwise isolated bodies of work together and make you, the observer, react.

But in art, the context in which art is being created, curated and observed is rapidly changing. The digitization of the $60 billion plus art market has skyrocketed over the pandemic, during which many of the world’s biggest galleries and institutions accelerated what was already in motion, a boom in online sales. In 2020, online sales of the art and antiques market reached $12.4 billion globally. It more than doubled compared to the year prior. Digital developments have democratized the space, opening the market up to new voices. And so the context changes.

Beyond this, the market is opening up. Although slowly. In 2020, just 13 percent of employees in publicly funded arts and cultural organizations in England were POCs. Meanwhile women remain underrepresented in leadership positions even though they make up the majority of professional art museum staff. When those with different perspectives enter the scene, the context again changes.

With this in mind, we called up Eva Langret to hear if the extremely closed art market is actually democratizing, and how it changes the context around the discipline. Langret, Director of Frieze London, leads the strategic development and artistic programme alongside liaising with over 150 galleries, collectors and curators.

“The fair has become an important moment on the cultural calendar of London,” says Langret, who joined Frieze in 2019 after serving as Director at Tiwani Contemporary, a London-based gallery representing international contemporary artists, focussing on Africa and its diaspora. “It's created for, and by, the art industry but it goes beyond the art world. It's a moment of communion for the entire creative community.”

Bonnie: Eva, let me dive straight into it. Digitization has brought about a lot of change in the art world. What do you think are some of the other developments that have contributed to the democratization of the market?

Eva: The first factor is the artists who have continued to make work against all odds. When they were still being denied access to funding, access to different spaces and being systematically excluded from the canon. If it wasn't for them, none of us would be here today.

It's also the work of a number of really seminal thinkers and curators in the fields of gender studies, critical race theory, feminism, queer theory etc. Their work has challenged curators and artists and everybody else to think about how the art world sees itself and whom it includes and whom it excludes. People like George Hall, Edward Said, Richard Powell, Fred Morgan, I mean, the list goes on. And also a number of very influential curators who have pretty much single handedly changed the canon and how the art world sees itself, people like Okwui Enwezor, Bisi Silva and Thelma Golden. All of this has resulted in a shift in curatorial practice, in museum policy, in art education, which has created this very fertile ground for reassessment. That's been the long arch of education and discourse.

In the shorter term, there's been movements like obviously Me Too and BLM that have really shaken how people behave and people see their institutions. That has accelerated that longer process, which was already in play. I think the art world is a completely different space to be in now than when I started in 2005. It's been exhilarating to see those changes. I look forward to seeing how we continue to grow in this area of the art world, being more representative and more equitable.

“I think the art world is a COMPLETELY different space to be in now than when I started in 2005.”

I completely agree. From early on in your career, you have supported and launched initiatives that tackle, for instance, the lack of diversity. What do you think are the most important steps to take towards more diversity and for art to be more representative?

Eva: It's important to think of racism as a systemic issue, right. When we're thinking about diversity in the art world, it's important also to decouple what's visible by the public and what goes on behind closed doors. Who makes the decisions and who's getting to sit at the table to who decides who's being exhibited etc. The two need to work together. Everybody's super excited to see that artists that are being exhibited at museums and in galleries are more diverse, of course. But if that isn't also working hand in hand with a more diverse workforce, and specifically in leadership roles, it feels like this is an area perhaps where we need to work a bit more on.

The more diverse your workforce is, the more you're actually going to see issues through different experiences and I think that's where you can make real change.

Eva: Totally. It's interesting, you asked the question about curating earlier and we talked about context. If you're thinking about the context in which more diverse artists of color are being exhibited and who creates those contexts for them, then it becomes really urgent that the people who are creating those contexts need to be more diverse. Otherwise it feels like the balance of power is tilted, right?

With that in mind, what are some of the key elements to a well curated exhibition or section of a fair?

Eva: That's an interesting question. I think with curation it's about truthfully conveying the vision of an artist. It's also about being able to connect with an audience. Curation is about context, right? The curation of context for an artist to show their work. But the context in which one curates also means that the word means different things. So if you're curating and you're working, say, in a non-profit organization that commissions artists, your curation might be facilitating a project being born. That's very different from a curator who's working with, say, a collection in a museum set up. So it means different things in different contexts and it’s actually about creating context as well.

I’ve never thought about it in that way. Talking about a change in context, during the pandemic you had to go fully digital for one of the editions of Frieze. What do you think made the digital version work well and will you merge the digital with the physical moving forward?

Eva: A digital fair means access in a way that a physical fair doesn't. You can see and access Frieze viewing rooms from anywhere and anytime in the world and you can spend however long you want on it. That's a rhythm and an experience that’s only true to the online platform. Having said that, it doesn't replace the physical experience. Now that we're back to being able to do events in the real world, it's interesting to see how the two work together.

Personally, I'm fond of the online platform because of its educational potential. I spent hours on it just learning about famous artists' work. That's something you don't really have when you're walking about the fair and you only have a certain amount of time to engage with an artwork. In an ideal world, you go to the fair, you see work, and then you also want to deepen your knowledge of certain artists and certain practices. You do your research and the two together allow you to have a very rounded experience.

The digital addition can also really lower this barrier to entry. It opens it up to more people than a physical version ever could.

Eva Langret: Definitely. There are communities of visitors and collectors who, as you said, can't come to the fair. People who might not be able to jump on the plane but are able to access the content online. It's about bringing in new generations of collectors and viewers to the mix. There’s a younger generation of people who are totally at ease with the digital experience in a way that maybe older generations are not.

Absolutely. I think younger generations are looking for a way in. For example the possibility to DM a gallery and ask about prices and availability. To be able to have that dialogue levels the playing field.

Eva: It's about transparency, as you pointed out. For some potential collectors, who may not necessarily feel comfortable having this conversation in real life with a gallery, seeing the price of an artwork and knowing whether or not you can afford it, also brings a barrier down.

*Frieze’s No. 9 Cork Street, photographed by Matheson Whiteley*

Since we’re speaking about digitization, there's obviously this whole explosion around NFTs. I’m really curious to hear your thoughts on it.

Eva: With NFTs I'm really interested in the possibilities that the technology is bringing about. I think it will also afford artists more control over the selling and the re-selling of their work. We've been talking a lot about how we've moved into the digital sphere and I think NFTs are here to stay. One of the key things for me at the moment, in terms of the discourse around NFTs, is to decouple the technology and what it affords from the art that's being made. I think often the two are conflated but if you're simply looking at the technology and what it means in terms of selling work digitally, it's a really powerful tool.

Did you actually connect with art from a young age?

Eva: As a kid, I used to go to the Louvre a lot. There’s this beautiful and really quiet room called Cour Marly where not many tourists go and is mostly dedicated to neoclassical sculpture. It has this beautiful glass roof as well, which is designed by I.M. Pei, who did the pyramid. I used to go there on a Saturday afternoon, often with a friend, and we would sit there for hours. I'd have my pad and I would draw, fancying myself as a budding artist at the time.

To be honest with you, at that stage in my life I didn't even really understand or know the kind of careers that were available in the art world.. It's not like when you go to school you're given ‘curator' as a career path option.. That understanding of the professional aspects of the art world came much, much later to me.

There's also the aspect of parents not always really appreciating when their children end up wanting to pursue the arts.

Eva: That’s an interesting point. My parents were very supportive of the idea. However, if you come from a family where you only get one shot and you don't necessarily have a security net, your parents want you to do well. A career in the arts can come across as a very risky choice. That was always a challenge in my family. They really supported my creative learning, but at the same time [they were] also thinking: ‘What are the odds there? That this young person is going to be able to sustain themself in the art world?’ That's why I ended up studying economics and politics as a first degree. Something ‘solid’ to fall back on.

I think that’s something a lot of people can relate to. However studying something other than the industry you want to work in can also offer new perspectives.

Eva: I think that's entirely true. I mean, I definitely am a political being and that's really informed the artistic practices that I’ve been interested in for a while.

To round off, what do you think are some of the most exciting new trends in art?

Eva: I don't really follow trends as such. Trends can be a little bit dangerous in terms of the focus that they put on one artist or practice and the aftermath of that. That's not how I think about art. Much like we've mentioned already, I've been really interested in the realignment in the art historical canon. This reassessment of overlooked practices and artists that have taken place in the last, what? 10, 20 years or so. For the art world to be more global and more representative, that’s the development I'm most excited about. And seeing how the fair can be a platform for this and to continue to be relevant in that discourse.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.