Decolonial Curatorial Practices: A Critical Analysis

Ivan Muñiz-Reed's essay, published by Afterall on 10 June 2020, examines the implications of decolonial theory for contemporary curatorial practice. Drawing on Peruvian sociologist Aníbal Quijano's concept of coloniality as a 'matrix of power,' the essay argues that curators and museums must engage in epistemic disobedience to challenge Eurocentric frameworks. Muñiz-Reed critiques postmodern and postcolonial discourses for remaining within European philosophical boundaries, citing Walter Mignolo's concept of 'decolonial aesthesis' as an alternative. The essay highlights curatorial examples such as Cuauhtémoc Medina's 'Dominó Caníbal' biennial (2010, PAC Murcia), which used a cannibalistic model where each artist built on the predecessor's work, and Fred Wilson's 'Mining the Museum' (1992–1993), which exposed institutional biases. Other examples include Pedro Lasch's 'Black Mirror' (2008) at the Nasher Museum of Art, and works by Australian artists Brook Andrew and Tony Albert. Muñiz-Reed notes that while exhibitions at the Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá and Duke University attempted to represent decolonial aesthetics, they fell short by being didactic and male-dominated. The essay calls for a restructuring of knowledge and power within art institutions to return agency to colonized perspectives.