Course info

Curating and Law

Curating – like any other professional occupation – takes place in a legal framework. Even though many constitutions grant freedom of art as a basic human right, this does not mean that there are no rules and regulations to be observed when curating exhibitions or managing institutions. Many of these rules are in no way specific to art, but nevertheless of the outmost importance to successful operations in the arts. In this course, the participants will enjoy a hands-on approach to the basic legal issues at hand. We will begin with basic principles of contracts and agreements and then turn to questions of copyright and the transfer of rights of use.

Martin Fritz has studied law in Vienna from 1981 to 1986. Since then he has worked in the field of contemporary art production in Vienna, New York and Germany. Among many other assignments he has worked as Director of Operations for the re-opening of P.S.1 Contemporary Art Centre (today: MoMA P.S.1) in New York, Managing Director of In Between – The Art Project of EXPO 2000 in Hanover, General Co-ordinator of Manifesta 4 – European Biennial of Contemporary Art in Frankfurt (Main) and as Director of the Festival der Regionen in Upper Austria. From 2001 to 2007 he was a member of the Board of the International Foundation Manifesta. As a writer, consultant and researcher Martin Fritz specializes on Site specific art, institutional critique, arts administration, cultural policy and institutional governance. From 2016 to 2020 Martin Fritz headed Merz Akademie Hochschule für Gestaltung, Kunst und Medien Stuttgart as its Rector.