Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of the Serpentine, discusses how the art world fosters creativity, connection, and long-term vision, offering valuable lessons for business. He emphasizes the curator's role as an "adjunction maker" who creates unexpected connections, listens to artists' dreams, and embraces serendipity to build evolving, multi-sensory experiences that transcend short-termism and engage diverse audiences.
Summarized by Podsumo
Curatorial Approach: Obrist defines a curator as an "adjunction maker," focusing on listening to artists and enabling their unrealized dreams to create unexpected connections and experiences.
Serendipity and Long-Term Projects: Success comes from being open to serendipity rather than rigid master plans, leading to projects that evolve over decades, like the 33-year-old "Do It" exhibition.
Multi-Sensory and Tech-Driven Engagement: Serpentine actively creates multi-sensory exhibitions and embraces new technologies (video games, AI, partnerships with Fortnite) to attract new, younger audiences and increase visitor engagement.
The Power of Archiving and Unrealized Projects: Obrist's 4500-hour archive of artist conversations reveals patterns and highlights the importance of discussing unrealized projects as a source of innovation and understanding beyond daily routines.
"Mondeality" and Business Lessons: Art offers lessons in pivoting and working with the unknowable, while the concept of "Mondeality" (global dialogue with local roots) provides a framework for navigating globalization and localism.
"So basically what you're doing is your adjunction maker. You create unexpected connections."
— J.G. Ballard (as quoted by Hans Ulrich Obrist)
"I think the key is to not stop the serendipity because very often it's a chain reaction and it's not necessarily a master plan."
— Hans Ulrich Obrist
"I think what is really missing today is a kind of a new Black Mountain College, which is missing is the Black Mountain College was this extraordinary school in the US after the Second World War... It was a very interdisciplinary moment."
— Hans Ulrich Obrist