Charles Esche

Charles Esche is Director of Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, and co-director of Afterall Journal and Books based at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, London. He is a visiting lecturer at a number of European art academies and a board member of Manifesta. In 2011 he will co-curate an exhibition of the museum’s collection in the CAPC, Bordeaux entitled Strange and Close. He has curated 5th U3 triennial in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2010); 3rd Riwaq Biennale, Ramallah, Palestine (2009) together with Reem Fadda; 2nd Riwaq Biennale (2007) with Khalil Rabah; the 9th Istanbul Biennial (2005) with Vasif Kortun, Esra Sarigedik Öktem and November Paynter; the Gwangju Biennale (2002) with Hou Hanru and Song Wang Kyung. Before that he was co-curator of Tate Triennial: Intelligence at the Tate Britain, London and Amateur – Variable Research Initiatives at Konstmuseum and Konsthall, Göteborg, both in 2000. From 2000-2004 he was Director of the Rooseum Center for Contemporary Art, Malmö. From 1998-2002 he organized the international art academic research project called ‘protoacademy’ at Edinburgh College of Art. From 1993-1997 he was Visual Arts Director at Tramway, Glasgow. A book of his selected writings, Modest Proposals, was published by Baglam Press, Istanbul in 2005. He has written for numerous catalogues and magazines including: The Netherlands, for example (ed.), JP Ringier, 2007; Collective Creativity, Fredericianum, Kassel, 2006; Artur Zmijewski, Hatje Cantz Verlag, 2005; Shifting Map, NAI, Rotterdam, 2004. He is a contributor to Artforum, Frieze, Parkett and Art Monthly.