Ivet Curlin

Ivet Curlin is a member of the Zagreb-based curatorial collective WHW, along with artists Ana Devic, Nataša Ilic, and Sabina Sabolovic, and designer and publicist Dejan Kršic. The collective’s name was taken from the title of its first project—a 2000 work dedicated to the 152nd anniversary of The Communist Manifesto. It represents the three essential economic questions “What?,” “How?,” and “For whom?,” which also are fundamental to the planning, conception, and realization of exhibitions, as well as to the artist’s position in the labor market. Since 2003, WHW has directed the city-owned nonprofit Gallery Nova, collaborating with culture and activism organizations to question topics suppressed within public discourse and establish trans-generational and international links and contexts. WHW has curated exhibitions there and at venues including the Technical Museum, Zagreb; Apexart, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Belgrade; Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel; and the 11th Istanbul Biennial.

Why we love Ivet:

• Their name comes from their first exhibition, “What, How & for Whom, dedicated to the 152nd anniversary of the Communist Manifesto,” and the collective’s belief that these standard questions of economic analysis are also critical in the analysis of cultural production has continued to guide their practice to this day.

• WHW takes collectivity and equality seriously, and even asked The New York Times during an interview if they they could answer all questions as a single identity

• A proverbial letter to the art world, their “Dear Art” exhibition challenged the contemporary art world to consider whether we still need art by revealing it’s failings and questioning artists’ autonomy