Over the past decade, we’ve watched as ‘curating’ has turned into a trendy term. People now use it to denote any act of selection, whether for a dinner party menu or a Spotify playlist.5 This reveals a contemporary conundrum: in the age of mass consumption, choosing has some influence, yet it’s dangerously limited.

Curating is not only about 

today’s choices; it creates historical and economic value for tomorrow. The authority of presentational norms and markers— from the ‘white cube’ gallery space to the standard biographical wall label— determine what’s accepted as ‘important’ or ‘natural.’