This presentation was prepared with the Honours in Curatorship students in mind, before they depart for Venice.

This presentation was prepared with the Honours in Curatorship students in mind, before they depart for Venice. They have five days, but the time is always too short, travel in Venice is expensive and time-consuming, Marilyn Martin focuses on what is important in the first place – the pavilions and Massimiliano Gioni’s curatorial project in the Giardini and Arsenale. The thoughts and views expressed are personal, at times in line with general critical response, at times in disagreement; the students will judge for themselves.

In May 2001, after eleven years as director of the South African National Gallery, Martin was appointed director of Art Collections for Iziko Museums. Prior to her career in the museum sector she was senior lecturer in the Department of Architecture, Wits University. Since her retirement from Iziko Museums in 2008 she has been working as an independent writer, curator and lecturer.

She was a member of the National Arts Council from 1997 to 2004 and a trustee of the Arts and Culture Trust until 2007. She served on the Council of Iziko Museums from 2010-13. Her biographical listings include Who’s Who of Southern Africa and The International Who’s Who of Women.

Martin has curated exhibitions of South African art in Brazil, Denmark, France, Mali and the USA, and has served on many panels for art and architecture, including the Dakar Biennale (2000, 2010). She was co-curator for the exhibition Picasso and Africa; she curated the retrospective exhibition on Louis Maqhubela for the Standard Bank Gallery in Johannesburg in 2010 (it travelled to Cape Town and Durban) and 1970-1990: A Legacy for the Association of Visual Arts in Cape Town.

Martin is a Visiting Professor at Kingston University, London, in 2009 she was an acting leave replacement at the Michaelis School of Fine Art and in 2012 she was appointed on contract as lecturer in Visual and Art History. She is currently a senior scholar at the School. Martin has written numerous articles on art and culture in national and international publications.

Enquiries Sharon Werthen 021 480 7111