Glocalization Practice from the Perspective of Curatorial Capital: Reflections on Public Pedagogy with Margin as Method
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/5qem9z56Keywords:
Curatorial Capital; Local Globalization; Public Education; Edge as a Method; Art Museum.Abstract
Curatorial work in exhibitions is no longer a neutral organisation of exhibitions but a type of cultural production driven by the logic of capital. This paper introduces the idea of "curatorial capital" and studies how symbolic capital, social capital and economic capital are combined in the public education of art museums. The three selected cases for comparison are the "Spatial Productivity" project of Suzhou Contemporary Art Museum (over 40 free public activities as supporting programming). A comparative analysis of the 2025 international solo exhibitions and concurrent public education programs of UCCA (Ullens Center for Contemporary Art), and the "Interiors of Wanderings—Swiss Contemporary Comics Art Exhibition" held by Shanghai Minsheng Modern Art Museum in 2025. Research shows that the deep problem of public education is not cultural opposition between global and local, but rather a structural mismatch in the knowledge hierarchy and resource allocation for the flow of curatorial capital. "Taking the Margins as Method" is not passive acceptance of the marginal position; instead, it turns the margin into cognitive resources to disrupt the current operational order and reconstruct the knowledge foundation and participation system of public education. The effectiveness of local-global public education is not determined by the proportion of the two, but rather by the continuous involvement of marginal forces to foster a new public cultural logic in the conflict between difference and connection.
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