The WHW curatorial collective (Ivet Ćurlin, Ana Dević, Nataša Ilić and Sabina Sabolović), this year for the second time in a row, was included in ArtReview's Power 100, the list of "most influential people in art".
In creation of this list of people shaping the development of contemporary art, an input of over 30 panellists and collaborators from different parts of the world is taken into consideration. These inputs are based on three criterias stated in ArtReview article: "that the people in question have been active over the past 12 months; that whatever it is that they do is shaping the kind of art currently being produced; and that their impact can be considered global rather than purely local".
Commenting on this news for Croatian cultural portal Kulturpunkt.hr, WHW members noted that "issues of power and influence in the art world are relative and subject to different interpretations, and should certainly be considered with critical scrutiny in the broader context than what political and cultural hegemony and capitalist ranking dictates."
"Despite this," they point out, "we are proud that the work of the WHW collective is globally recognized, and we are pleased that in recent years ArtReview's list includes more and more colleagues whose work is critical in questioning power relations in different cultural environments. We have collaborated with some of them, such as curator Koyo Kouh, curator Cosmin Costinas, artist Brook Andrew and others, as part of the Gallery Nova program and our international projects in recent years. This list also includes fellow curators such as curator Miguel A. López, the Karrabing Film Collective and others with whom we have recently collaborated on Kunsthalle Wien programs.
In recent years, we have witnessed and participated in transformations within the art world, which can of course be understood as cosmetic adaptations within the system itself, which does not change significantly. On the other hand, the inclusion of positions like ours, which have been operating for twenty years, raises the question of responsibility and limits of both the cultural field and ourselves in this historical moment of crisis that should be truly transformative. We hope to be on this path for many years to come, along with many other colleagues, collectives and organizations that are not included in any lists, but whose work is genuinely transformative and pioneering. "
