Curating the Imaginary
Date
10 March 2026
Time
18:30 PM - 20:30 PM
Fruition
In-person event
Notes
March 10, 2026
6:30 PM
Casa IED New York at Salotto
84 Withers Street, Brooklyn, NY
Cecilia Alemani at Casa IED New York
Curating the imaginary means shaping how stories are told, experienced and connected. At Casa IED New York, Cecilia Alemani joined writer and critic Maddie Hampton for a conversation exploring curating as a narrative practice - one that moves beyond objects to question how meaning is constructed.
Part of the Plural Intelligences series, the event reflected on the evolving role of the curator, no longer understood as a mediator of individual works, but as a figure capable of building relationships between them. As Alemani described, exhibitions are not simply collections of objects but systems of connections, inviting audiences to actively interpret and navigate multiple layers of meaning.
Looking back at formative experiences such as Documenta, Alemani recalled how certain exhibitions can shift the perception of curating itself, opening up to more complex and non-linear forms of storytelling. This approach has defined much of her practice, culminating in her work as Artistic Director of the 59th Venice Biennale.
Rather than presenting a single, authoritative perspective, her curatorial vision embraces plurality. Drawing inspiration from Ursula K. Le Guin, she described exhibitions as containers of stories, where different voices, temporalities and identities can coexist. In The Milk of Dreams, this translated into a project that challenged dominant art historical narratives, foregrounding overlooked figures and creating more intimate, layered experiences within a monumental setting.
The relationship between context and narrative emerged as central to her work. At The High Line, where she has served as curator since 2011, art unfolds in direct dialogue with the city and with an audience that often encounters it unexpectedly. In this environment, curating becomes a way to create moments of interruption and discovery, inviting people to engage with their surroundings in new ways.
Reflecting on the present and future of cultural institutions, Alemani also addressed the risk of increasing homogenization in exhibition spaces, often reduced to neutral and standardized environments. Echoing reflections by Orhan Pamuk, she emphasized the importance of preserving diversity in narratives and supporting institutions capable of telling situated, personal stories.
In this perspective, curating becomes not only a practice of selection, but a way of shaping the frameworks through which we interpret the world - an approach that resonates with the idea of plural intelligences, where knowledge is multiple, relational and constantly evolving.
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