Dr. Chiara Ianeselli has gained her Ph.D. in Analysis and Management of Cultural Heritage (IMT Alti Studi Lucca, Italy). Acknowledged on curatorial projects and exhibition coordination Ianeselli has worked on several large-scale biennales, and collaborated with a variety of cultural institutions, both public and private. She specializes in originating and leading research-based creative initiatives, with a drive on multidisciplinary collaborations and trans-historical perspectives. Interested in experimental approaches, combining historical research with critical engagement in current and pressuring debates around the accessibility of collections, she has promoted numerous methodological inquiries around the making of exhibitions. She has worked as Curatorial Coordinator at documenta fifteen.
I want to change how labels are presented in cultural institutions, often in an assertive, one but strangely – unauthored witness voice; plural, experimental and sensorial dimensions should be introduced, ones that enhance accessibility, that shake the stiffness of the ossified format and the authoritarian choice of the information delivered. I want this as it is extremely urgent now to further develop critical tools to analyze how and what stories are presented. In particular I want to bring further attention on the mediation between context and object, exactly what can be considered the curatorial negotiation of display. Labels could be used as spaces for social exchange, animated by the interaction between the object, the artist, the viewer, and museum professionals. In place of their legacy as solely informing, if not instructional tools, labels should take on a new role as discussion forums for debate, “to rewrite history and acknowledge untold stories”, and honour unseen experiences. I can do this because I have received training in critical thinking, which challenges the status quo, always integrating knowledge with experimental not yet to be approved methodologies.
In this TedTalk you can listen to Chiara talking about her research on labels and artworks’ titles!