Curatorial+Co.: Ten Years & Many Pages
Image credit: Courtesy of the artists and CURATORIAL+CO.
Marking a decade since Curatorial+Co. first opened its doors with the exhibition PAPER, the gallery’s new anniversary show PAGES reflects on its past while looking squarely to the future. In a conversation that arcs from dining-room beginnings to a light-filled Woolloomooloo gallery, founder Sophie Vander speaks about curating as an act of care, the unexpected power of paper in a digital age, and the evolving ecosystem of artists who have shaped the gallery’s identity. PAGES becomes both a homage and a hinge point, a reminder that every exhibition is a new chapter and that the story of Curatorial+Co. is still very much in the making.
Ten years is a remarkable milestone. When you look back to that first exhibition, PAPER, what do you remember most vividly about those early days, and how does PAGES speak back to that moment?
Exhibitions have always been, for me, a means of fostering connection and dialogue. With PAPER, the intention was to develop a unifying concept and invite artists to interpret it in ways that could engage a new audience unfamiliar with our new gallery’s identity. The exhibition functioned as both an introduction and a declaration, an opportunity to assert our presence and to encourage collective engagement with the artworks. PAGES continued this underlying philosophy, yet it extended the premise through a more experimental approach. In this iteration, we embraced greater artistic risk, and each work reflected a distinct moment in the gallery’s history.
The exhibition title feels almost autobiographical. What story did you aim to share with this anniversary exhibition?
The title evolved as a natural continuation of our very first exhibition, PAPER, referencing not only the materiality of the artworks but also the decade that has unfolded since. We hope that PAGES told a story that is not linear, but one that embodied ten years of people, connection, and a commitment to advocating for artists within a changing world. It is not about looking backwards, but about acknowledging the beginning of our story as a way to celebrate where we are now. And as with any good story, there is always more to come!
Image credit: Portrait of Sophie Vander. Photo: Anne Graham
From your dining room table to Woolloomooloo; how has your curatorial philosophy evolved as the gallery has grown?
I’m not sure it’s changed too much, other than what the physical space can facilitate. Maybe I have become more open to risk-taking, but at its essence, my curatorial philosophy has always been about amplifying artists’ voices, collaboration and empathy, and presenting work in a way that is unexpected. Our Woolloomooloo space, given the vast ceiling height and windows, allows for more of this. I see the gallery not merely as a space for display, but as a living archive of evolving artistic enquiry. Through each show, I expand the boundaries of what an exhibition can be – encouraging artists to test new ideas, materials, and modes of storytelling. In doing so, I hope I am cultivating exhibitions that are as dynamic and diverse as the creative voices they represent. Ultimately, my philosophy centres on curating as an act of care: care for artists, for audiences, and for the ongoing conversation between art and community.
PAGES honours the material that started it all. Why do you think paper continues to captivate artists, even in an age of digital everything?
Paper is an enduring medium for good reason, and I think it speaks to both artists and audiences more than ever. I don’t see it as competing with our digital world, but as persisting quietly within it. It will never be obsolete. In fact, some of the artists in PAGES blended the two: André de Vanny’s stop-motion film, Jasmine Poole and Chris Sewell’s laser-cut paper works, and Susie Dureau’s spectrogram-based compositions. Paper is familiar, universal, and carries the weight of history, memory, and knowledge, qualities that artists are continually harnessing through their work.
The show brings together artists who have been part of the gallery’s story since the beginning, alongside newer voices. How did you approach balancing nostalgia with momentum?
I am never one to stand still! And maybe that gets me in trouble sometimes if I am constantly looking for what’s next, but nostalgia, in this context, was not treated as sentimentality but as a form of reflection, a means of understanding where we have come from in order to move forward with intention. So I think one feeds the other.
There’s a quiet symbolism in the works. Was there a particular artwork that felt like an emblem of Curatorial+Co.’s identity?
Each work in PAGES nodded to a milestone in Curatorial+Co.’s story. We really are the sum of our parts, which I believe this exhibition embodied. I don’t think we could have achieved the success we have without each ‘page’ in our history leading to the next instalment, the next idea, the next iteration of the gallery space. But if I had to pick one, it would be Kate Banazi’s installation Hide (2025). Kate described her practice back in 2016 as “graphic, bold, multi-layered, beautiful, ugly”. Almost a decade later, Kate’s work remains deeply engaged with these very ideas, the beauty, vulnerability, joy, complexity, and transformative nature of the body. And I think this goes for art and business as well. We’re not afraid of being open and vulnerable in a world that has, historically, been very secretive.
Image credit: Courtesy of the artists and CURATORIAL+CO.
Curatorial+Co. has always been a platform for women and underrepresented artists. How has that commitment shaped the gallery’s DNA over the past decade?
I didn’t set out with the intention of being such a strong advocate for women artists. But it became evident to me quite early on that ‘emerging’ did not just mean young; that artists can begin their practice later in life, and that the vast majority of those who do so are women. So working primarily with emerging artists at the early iteration of the gallery, meant that we discovered new talent in unexpected places, not just at grad shows. It’s strange how often I would see a work and be drawn to it without knowing who it was by – and so often it was by a woman beginning her art career after working in another creative field – be it film, textiles or design. These works often conveyed a distinct sense of assurance, clarity, and conviction, qualities that, I believe, emerge from lived experience and a mature creative sensibility.
In a time when many galleries are chasing scale and spectacle, PAGES feels intimate and tactile. Was that a deliberate statement about where art finds its power?
Oh wow I love this question! Yes absolutely. It’s the experience we want all visitors to the gallery to have. Every work is spotlit, every work is given its moment to tell its story, inviting visitors to slow down, to look closely, and to engage with each work. There are no bright overhead lights, no echo in the space, and this goes for every show, not just PAGES. But you are right, there is power in igniting all the senses when experiencing art, the tactile, the reflective, sound and movement, play on scale and immersion. Katina O’Brien painted live in our windows over two days (in homage to our live painting performance at Sydney Contemporary 2019) which drew crowds to the window. People on their lunch break experienced art when they least expected it – moments when the boundaries between artist, audience, and space dissolve - capture the essence of what I strive for as a curator: intimacy, immediacy, and a shared sense of discovery.
Over ten years, what has been the biggest shift you’ve witnessed in how collectors and audiences engage with emerging artists?
I hope that we have contributed to expanding accessibility and opening pathways for a new generation of collectors. From its inception, Curatorial+Co. has been guided by the principles of approachability, transparency, and inclusivity – values that underpin every aspect of the gallery’s engagement with both artists and audiences. The gallery was conceived as a space that demystifies the processes of collecting and exhibiting contemporary art, fostering genuine connection rather than exclusivity. Of course, social media has played a huge part too. It’s transformed the ways in which art is encountered and shared, without geographical or social boundaries. We began as an online gallery; now, we position Curatorial+Co. as a bridge between the physical and digital, the established and the emerging by inviting participation, curiosity, and dialogue across all generations of art enthusiasts.
Image credit: Courtesy of the artists and CURATORIAL+CO.
Running a gallery is as much an act of vision as it is of endurance. What have these ten years taught you about risk, intuition, and staying true to a curatorial voice?
Having never worked in a commercial gallery before launching Curatorial+Co. it’s mostly been intuition and pragmatism! The business of art is complex, often opaque, and sometimes precarious. But with any business you need to stay the course and believe in your mission. For us, that has always been about supporting artists with care, integrity, and respect, and in upholding the principle that art is for everyone. I’m naturally risk-averse, so each risk has been a part of the organic trajectory of the company, like adding our art consultancy arm, which has been incredibly successful and supports artists outside the gallery space. I have a growth mindset and view challenges as opportunities, and try to foster this same spirit of curiosity, adaptability, and collective ambition in my team.
Finally, if PAGES closes one chapter and opens another — what do you hope the next decade of Curatorial+Co. will read like?
I hope Curatorial+Co. continues to be a respected and trusted voice within the Australian art scene, and we can play a part in many more artists’ stories of success. One of the most exciting developments for us is the opportunity to take the extraordinary talent we have in this country beyond our borders and share it with international audiences. This next chapter feels like a natural progression, an expansion of the conversations we’ve been fostering here at home. To keep growing in a meaningful way, we’ll need to stay open to change. The contemporary art world is in constant flux, shaped by shifting cultural, technological, and economic forces. But by continuing to support artists thoughtfully and embracing new opportunities, I hope we can contribute to a more connected, dynamic, and inclusive art community.
