Courtesy of Broadway Street Development
Not all curators work for museums. Tricia Heuring, for one, is interested in all the other places that art lives. While she’s known locally as the founder and artistic director of Public Functionary, an artist-led exhibition space and studio in Minneapolis, she also provides independent curatorial and art consultancy services, and is the in-house curator for RBC Wealth Management’s art collection.
“It’s this amazing collection that has been acquired over the last 30 years,” Heuring explains. “With this collection, I get to look at works that are major players in different art movements, which has really grown my interest in the idea of collections outside the museum world. Outside the nonprofit world, where does art live?”
Where else and how else art lives is a question Heuring pursues by working with a wide array of clients. In fact, she recently wrapped up a project with Simpson Community Shelter and Apartments, which allowed her to consider the role of art in spaces designed for those impacted by trauma and houselessness. From community spaces to offices to lobbies, Heuring helps art find a life beyond gallery walls.
Why Partner with a Curator?
Photo by Sarah White
Heuring’s art consulting practice brings her into close contact with interior designers and developers. For an apartment building, for example, a developer might work with a curator or art consultant on a project to bring deeper intention and art historical knowledge to the visual art aspect of an interior plan.
“As a curator, I can visualize the possibilities for art a little bit differently,” says Heuring. “Interior designers have to think about furnishings and accessories and finishes and light fixtures and bar stools and all this stuff, that the art becomes a little bit of an afterthought. Whereas, if a client works with me, they know my focus is 100% on the artwork.” The central question that drives her work for commercial spaces is: How can an artwork live in a space for a long time and stay relevant?
When considering what to do with a large blank wall, for example, she’s not thinking about hanging a huge photograph on it—she’s considering things like specially commissioned custom textile art. “I can get that level of bespoke treatment for the art because that’s what my specialty is,” says Heuring. Since an interior designer is tasked with putting together all the big-picture aesthetic considerations of a space, Heuring says, artwork can become just another element that they have to resolve. That’s where art consultants and curators like Heuring bring added value to a project.
Because of her work with Public Functionary, Heuring says the developers she works with are also often interested in ways to engage early-career artists. As an art consultant, Heuring uses her curatorial expertise to identify potential artworks and uses her connections within the art world not simply to select ready-made artwork for a space, but to engage the artists behind it.
Courtesy of Broadway Street Development.
Don’t Leave Art Until the Last Minute
When working with an art consultant or curator for a project, Heuring says that understanding the timeline is seriously important—especially for one-of-a-kind commissioned work and site-specific projects. She says that the most successful projects she’s worked on respect how long it takes to produce artwork and provide her with ample time to review options and consider how the artwork will fit into the project. This way, she can spend time selecting pieces, learning what her clients like and don’t like, and going through rounds of review.
“Art is the last thing that people think about, but then when the project comes together, it’s like, the most important thing,” she says. “Working with art, finding artists, or trying to see something, or feel something, just takes a lot more time. It’s not a quick turnaround type of project.”
By thinking about where and how art lives outside of museums, Heuring treats art as more than just a decoration—she works with her clients and partners to make artwork a meaningful part of the space.
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