As museums increasingly seek to position themselves as civic and social spaces, curators are grappling with how institutions might engage communities beyond exhibition-making. Through community-oriented, site-responsive, and socially engaged practices, curators are exploring how projects developed outside of institutional contexts might generate new forms of public engagement and social exchange.
‘Curating Now’ is a new program series that considers distinct curatorial forms of contemporary exhibition-making through critical case studies by Australian and international curators. The second session welcomes Dr Lu Pei-Yi and Pedro de Almeida, and is convened by Olivier Krischer on behalf of the Masters of Curating and Cultural Leadership program, with José Da Silva and Catherine Woolley from UNSW Galleries.
Together, Lu and de Almeida reflect on a spectrum of ‘offsite’ curatorial projects, developed with communities in Taiwan and Australia, respectively. They question: What happens when art, artists, and curators operate outside of the museum? What does it mean to work with, in, or for communities from an institutional position? And how can community-led projects influence or reshape the museum itself?
Lu Pei-Yi — Curating as a Public Platform
Lu Pei-Yi’s talk explores curating as an expanded public practice that foregrounds marginal voices and shifts ways of seeing and relating to the world. Through two curatorial projects, ‘Micro Micro Revolution: Socially Engaged Art from Taiwan’ (Manchester, 2015), and the 5th Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition: ‘Negative Horizon’ (Tapei, 2016), Lu reflects on the power of ‘offsite art’, where art exists beyond the walls of institutions and becomes embedded within daily life.
These projects form an introduction to her forthcoming 2026 Asian Art Biennial: ‘Mrahul Tminun・共織・Co-Weaving’, opening in November 2026 at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung. The exhibition draws from Taiwanese Indigenous women’s practices, using ‘co-weaving’ as a curatorial approach to explore values of collectivity, community, and communing. Connecting artist-run spaces across Asia, the exhibition questions whether ‘being together’ is possible amidst multi-colonial histories, highly divided human conditions, and ongoing social, political, and ecological crises.
Dr Lu Pei-Yi is a curator, researcher and art critic based in Taipei. She is currently the Director of the MA Program for Critical and Curatorial Studies of Contemporary Art at the National Taipei University of Education. Her research focuses on ‘off-site art’: artistic practices beyond museums, including art and the city, community and participatory art, and socially-engaged and activist practices. Her publications include Art/Movement as a Public Platform: Studies on Contemporary Art and Social Movement (2024), and Contemporary Art Curating in Taiwan (1992–2012) (2015). Her curatorial projects include the 8th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale We Have Not Participated (2014), Micro Micro Revolution (Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art, Manchester, 2015), and the 5th Taiwan International Video Art Exhibition: Negative Horizon (Hong-Gah Museum, Taipei, 2016).
Pedro de Almeida — C3West: Curating with and for communities in Greater Sydney
Pedro de Almeida reflects on the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia’s longstanding C3West program, which has produced 25 projects since 2007. Comparatively unique among Australian institutional peer organisations, C3West brings artists and communities together to create art that directly responds to local concerns in Greater Sydney. Partnering with local organisations and businesses, the program identifies areas of need, developing artist-led projects that are genuinely collaborative and socially engaged.
Focusing on two recent case studies: ‘Greg Semu: Lifting the Tapu’ (2024) and ‘Dennis Golding: On the Foreshore’ (2026), de Almeida addresses some of the benefits and challenges associated with C3West’s methodology of community engagement. The talk considers how contemporary art and artists can facilitate positive social impact, while navigating broader business imperatives including strategic partnerships with government, NGOs, and commercial organisations.
Pedro de Almeida joined the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia in 2020 as Senior Curator, C3West. In this role he leads the Museum’s longstanding program, C3West, which brings artists and communities together to create art that responds to local concerns in Greater Sydney. Pedro’s two-decade career as a curator, programmer, and arts manager is distinguished by an emphasis on commissioning new work and engaging culturally and socially diverse artists, communities, and audiences. Prior to joining the MCA, he held senior programming positions at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (2012–19) and Campbelltown Arts Centre (2008–11), curating and producing socially engaged, multidisciplinary projects. Pedro has also curated exhibitions and produced programs for Australian Centre for Photography, Carriageworks, City of Sydney, Museums of History NSW, Sydney Festival and Sydney Olympic Park. His writing on contemporary art been published by ArtAsiaPacific, Art & Australia, Art Monthly Australasia, Broadsheet Journal and American Suburb X.
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