WOCA Curation Process

Summary 

As part of the WOCA roadmap, exhibitions will be held in various virtual galleries in the metaverse. To ensure fairness for all members, the following guidelines should be used when curating artworks to be included in any WOCA gallery exhibition or being minted as a WOCA artwork. 

Mission statement

·       What is the purpose of the exhibition? E.g. new artworks of a collection of previously exhibited/sold pieces

·       Decide the theme in line with WOCAs values

·       Make it as objective as possible and adhere to the set criteria

·       E.g. 3D VR artists depicting human bodies (this could include 3D VR female/gender fluid/male bodies)

·       By being this specific, any artists who don’t work in 3D VR would not be offended that their work is not eligible for inclusion

Goal

·       Decide what we want people to think/feel/remember from the exhibition

·       By sticking to the sentiment of the theme, everyone who exits from the exhibition shares the same memories

·       Create an interesting dialogue amongst the works but don’t make viewers feel exhausted by giving too much information

·       Leave a question unresolved in their mind to trigger their imagination and keep them interested in researching more on the theme

Curators

·       To remove any bias there should be more than one person making the decisions 

·       Panel of 2 people is ideal with a 3rd person reviewing the selection before the final decision 

·       Only WOCA members who have actively contributed their time to WOCA in the previous 30 days will be eligible to become a member of a WOCA curation panel

·       DON’T use the DAO to vote as that brings too many opinions

·       Serena happy to support and provide advice/expertise by reviewing our curators choices before we make the final decision (She’s too busy to be considered for a role as a WOCA curator at this time but may be happy to curate a WOCA collection in future)

·       We could have different curators for different exhibitions e.g. for a 3D VR exhibition, Angie could be the best placed person to act as a curator

Artists

·       Showcase more than 5 artists

·       Artists who are important for the theme may be allowed multiple artworks

·       Include ‘popular’ artists and ensure there’s something memorable for people after viewing the exhibition e.g. stories the paintings were telling and the emotions provoked 

·       Other artists who fit the theme should only have 1 artwork included

·       Preference may be given to the most dedicated members including those who have actively contributed their time and/or donations to WOCA in the previous 6 months

Number of Artworks

·       Don’t overwhelm viewer, between 30 -50 artworks is good

Selecting Pieces

·       Ensure pieces are relevant to the theme

·       To ensure high quality, 60% – 70% should be made up by more established/skilful artists with a longer history or defined style in the crypto art space 

·       Remaining 20% – 30% should be emerging crypto artists

·       Include 2 or 3 pieces to surprise viewers and provoke an unexpected response e.g. a sketch which is not in the usual style expected from that established artist

·       The catalogue should justify reasons why the artworks were chosen over other potential pieces 

After an Exhibition

To ensure historical provenance in WOCAs journey, a catalogue of each exhibition including the artworks & artists names should be recorded on the WOCA website.

 References

These guidelines were produced following consultation with Serena Tabacchi, Director and co-founder @Mocda_ Museum of Contemporary Digital Art.