Enabling diverse encounters with art in the field of exhibition, through the selection and presentation of artworks, multiple public events, and collaborating across disciplines, and higher education institutions, is core to my curatorial practice. I aim to diversify exhibiting practices, by selecting works by formerly marginalized artists, and that have not been exhibited before, as far as possible. I experiment with ways of exposing the mechanisms of power within museums through disrupting the conventions of looking in the field of exhibition. For example, in the exhibition titled “Encounters with the (im)material” (Wits Art Museum, 2023) I explored the interrelations between artworks, artists, curators, audiences, matter, spirituality, agency, and sound.
To curate the exhibition, I selected 168 artworks from the Wits Art Museum holdings, to pose questions about the relationship between the seen, the invisible, and the audible. Later, 26 artworks made by students from two universities, in response to their encounters with selected artworks, were added to the exhibition. Some of my interventions in to exhibition spaces include covering one side of the vitrine at the entrance to the museum, with tracing paper, so that only the shadows of artworks were visible form the interior of the museum, while the visibility of the artworks was enhanced for the people on the street, outside the museum. Another intervention was to collaborate with Dr Cameron Harris to find a way to “un-silence” the musical instruments that are part of the collection that can no longer be played. When musical instruments are part of art museum collections, they are treated like artworks; Now celebrated for their aesthetic attributes and their connections to community, they can no longer be touched.
Curated Exhibitions
2024:
Umpteen Impossible Things Before Breakfast, curated by Gordon Froud and Alison Kearney, held at Gallery 2, Parkwood, Johannesburg, April- May, 2024.
2023:
Encounters with the (Im)material, curated by Alison Kearney, held at the Wits Art Museum, April- July, 2023. (Website and Education resource).
Mattering/Muttering, curated by Gordon Froud and Alison Kearney, held at Gallery 2, Parkwood, Johannesburg, March- April, 2023. (Catalogue).
2022:
Romancing the Stone, curated by Ann-Marie Tully, Annemi Conradie-Chetty, Rachel Baasch and Alison Kearney, with assistance from Rina de Klerk, held at the KZNSA, Durban, 21 September- 23 October 2022.
2018:
Beyond the Readymade, curated by Alison Kearney, held at theWits Art Museum, 13 June- 9 September 2018. (Catalogue and Education Resource).
Solo Exhibitions
2008:
Alison Kearney: Put Something in to Take Something Out and Other Recent Works, The KZNSA Gallery, Durban, April- May 2008.
Alison Kearney: Offerings, the Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, January- February 2008.
2006:
About Context: An Exploration of Value in Four Parts, The Gallery Premises, Johannesburg Civic Theatre, November 2006.
2005:
Alison Kearney: Works in Progress an experimental one-person exhibition at 24Seven Artist’s Run Space in Melbourne, Australia, December 2005.
The Portable Hawkers Museum: A Retrospective, a one person Exhibition at the Johannesburg Art Gallery, February to March 2005.
2004:
Originalkopien (Authentic Replicas, a one-person installation at The Skulpturhalle, Basel, Switzerland, September 2004.
Participation in Group Exhibitions
2024:
‘Terminal’ (2024) co-created with Cameron Harris, exhibited on Invisible, curated by Eugene Hon, held at the FADA Gallery, University of Johannesburg, Bunting Road, Cottesloe, May -June, 2024.
‘Handle with Care’ (2024) co-created with Cameron Harris, exhibited on Umpteen Impossible Things Before Breakfast, curated by Alison Kearney and Gordon Froud, held at Gallery 2, Parkwood, Johannesburg, April- May, 2024.
2023:
‘Out of Sound’ (2023) co-created with Cameron Harris, exhibited on Encounters with the (Im)material, curated by Alison Kearney, held at the Wits Art Museum, April- July, 2023.
‘Suspension of Disbelief’ (2023) exhibited on Mattering/Muttering, curated by Gordon Froud and Alison Kearney, held at Gallery 2, Parkwood, Johannesburg, 1- 29 April, 2023.
2022:
‘Toxic Cumulation’ (2022) exhibited on Cloud Matters, a group exhibition curated by Nokukhanya S. Khumalo, Liam Rothballer and Annemi Conradie- Chetty, North West University, November 2022.
‘Monument for the Unheroic’ (2022) exhibited on Romancing the Stone curated by Ann-Marie Tully, Annemi Conradie-Chetty, Rachel Baasch, and Alison Kearney, with assistance from Rina de Klerk, held at the KZNSA, 24 September- 23 October 2022. (eCatalogue)
‘The Museum Under Erasure’ (2022) exhibited on Situated Making curated by Eugene Hön, FADA Gallery, Johannesburg, 19 September- 21 October 2022. (Catalogue)
‘Stone Heart’ (2022) exhibited on You’ve Been Served! curated by Gordon Froud, ArtBox Gallery, Monument Park, Pretoria, June- July 2022.
‘Threads’ (2008) exhibited on Ten x 10: 100 artworks by women and gender diverse artists at WAM, Johannesburg, March- August, 2022.
2012:
WAM! Seeing Stars, March- June 2012.
2010:
S[P]ACE, an international group exhibition of works by 25 selected artists from Africa curated by Melissa Mboweni and Thembinkosi Goniwe for the MuseumAfrica, Newtown, April- July 2010. (Catalogue)
2009:
DOMESTIC, a group exhibition of works by selected women artists curated by Jackie McInnes and Melisa Mboweni at Goethe On Main, Johannesburg, August 2009 (Catalogue)
2007:
A group exhibition of artists’ sketch books and journals, Curated by Brendan Gray at The Gallery Premises, Johannesburg Civic Theatre, June 2007.
2006:
Kazoo! It’s a live art thing. A group exhibition of performance and live art at The Gallery Premises, Johannesburg Civic Theatre, December 2006.
Uninhabited Territories, a group exhibition of contemporary South African art, which formed part of The Next Wave Festival in Melbourne, Australia March 2006.
2005:
A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa at the KZNSA Gallery in Durban, South Africa, September 2005. (Catalogue)
2004:
Makeshift: A group Exhibition, Belkin Satellite Gallery in Vancouver Canada, February 2004 (first exhibited Johannesburg, 2003).
A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa (Opened in Boston in April and will travel around America until November 2004).
Democracy and Change, a group exhibition at the Klein Karoo National Art Festival, March 2004. (Catalogue)
Show Us What You’re Made of. A group exhibition at The Premises Gallery, Johannesburg, March 2004.
Mine(d)fields, a group exhibition of contemporary Swiss and South African art, Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland, August 2004.
Oppitafel, a group exhibition, The Art Space, Northcliff, Johannesburg, November 2004.
10 Years 100 Artists: The Exhibition Bell- Roberts Gallery, Cape Town, November 2004.
2003:
Ekurhuleni Fine Arts Award Exhibition, (Top 15). Coen Scholtz Recreation Center, Kempton Park, June 2003.
Sasol New Signatures Exhibition, The Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, July 2003.
The Taxonomy of the Portable Hawkers Museum exhibited on the MTN New Contemporaries Art Award Exhibition, MuseumAfrica, Newtown, Johannesburg, August 2003.
Makeshift: A group Exhibition, Johannesburg Art Gallery, Joubert Park Johannesburg, October 2003.
The Red Bull Music Academy Art Exhibition, Red Bull Music Academy, Jameson Street Cape Town, November 2003.
2002:
Ekurhuleni Fine Arts Award Exhibition. Coen Scholtz Recreation Center, Kempton Park, June 2002.
Sasol New Signatures Exhibition, (Top 15 finalists) The Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria July 2002.
Johannesburg Art City Exhibition, The Fort Johannesburg, September 2002.
6 on a Scale of 1- 10: A Group Exhibition, MuseumAfrica, Newtown Johannesburg, November 2002.
2001:
Sasol New Signatures Exhibition, The Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, July 2001.
Delight: The Illuminated Rooftop Exhibition, Wits University, October 2001.
1998:
Family Ties: A group Exhibition curated by Rickey Burnett and Penny Siopis, The Sandton Civic Art Gallery, Sandton, November 1998.
Selected articles written about Alison's artwork
Anstey, G. ‘Fresh Eyes’ in the Sunday Times Metro August 3 2003.
Barish, Z. ‘Feature: Alison Kearney’ in Culture vol. 1, issue 01 April- June 2005.
Bester, R. ‘Alison Kearney’ in Art South Africa, vol. 4, issue 03, winter 2005.
Johannesburg Art City Catalogue JDA, JHB Art City and Cell C: August 2002.
Goniwe, T. Alison Kearney in Goniwe, T. (ed) 2010 Space: Currencies in contemporary African Art UNISA Press in conjunction with Cassava Republic and Africa World press, Pretoria.
Maart, B. ‘Curating the Difference’ in Art South Africa, vol. 2, issue 01 Spring 2003.
McGarrey, M. “Over Your Head: Alison Kearney” in Stage edition 30 December 2005.
Sassen, R. Alison Kearney in Art South Africa, vol. 5, issue 03, Autumn 2007.
Sassen, R. ‘Manhood too small? Art might help’ in the Sunday Times Metro January 27 2008.
Smith, K. ‘Bright young things’ in Art South Africa, vol. 1, issue 03, Autumn 2003.
Smith, K. Alison Kearney in Smith, K. (ed) MTN New Contemporaries Catalogue, MTN Foundation and MTN Free2Speak August 2003.
Smith, K. Alison Kearney in Perryer, S. (ed.) 2004 10 Years 100 Artists: Art in a Democratic South Africa Bell- Roberts, Cape Town.
Scharrer, E. ‘Heikler Dialog’ in Regioartline Kunstmagazin August 2004.
Terrin, C. ‘South African Art Informed by Freedom’ in The Boston Globe, April 9 2004.
The Trinity Session (eds.) Space Re-purposed: The Redbull Music Academy Art Exhibition Catalogue, Redbull November 2003.
Van Wyk, G. [ed.] “Alison Kearney” in A Decade of Democracy: Witnessing South Africa Exhibition Catalogue, Sondela: 2004.