THE NEW CURATORS

Passion, vision and the willingness to take risks are just some of the qualities required

The party girl

Lulu Le Vay

From album launches to word-of-mouth raves, Ms Le Vay has her finger in many of London’s musical pies.

"I used to put on regular musical evenings at the GE Club at the Great Eastern Hotel where I’d get cool bands to perform on a tiny stage in this beautiful, very glamorous, low-ceilinged cocktail bar.

"The biggest buzz is finding the right bands early on. I worked with groups like Hot Chip, Spectrum and Crazy P when they were just starting out. You can’t beat that thrill of discovering someone and exposing them to a wider audience.

"The key to curating is passion. You have to be in love with what you’re doing, and then transmit that enthusiasm to the people who’ve come to experience the event.”

http://www.lululevay.com.

The salonierre

Damian Barr

Host of Aubin & Wills’ literary salons and the book nights at Soho and Shoreditch House.

"Being the Reader in Residence at the Great Eastern Hotel was the literary equivalent of room service. Soho House heard about it and asked me if I’d like to do a literary evening. They’ve been a great success.

"A lot of the literary festivals are very middle-aged and middle class. I wanted to do an event that was a bit more exciting, so recreated the idea of the salon.

"For me, curating is about knowing what you like and almost not caring what other people think about it. You can’t go with fashion; it’s your choice, your personality. I choose people I like – if I’m enjoying it then other people should too.” Groups for all Damian’s events can be found on http://www.facebook.com/damian.barr

The space explorer

Bakul Patki

THE Brains behind Watch This Space, a project to fill empty spaces with contemporary art.

"Until recently, I didn’t consider myself to be a curator. I just know that I’m happiest with the shows where I’ve totally gone with my instinct and where quality of work has been the over riding factor in any selection. These seem to have been the most successful shows too."

"We’re just putting together our programme for 2010, which includes a sculpture show to coincide with the London Design Festival. We’ve been given some incredible spaces to work in – which is so rare
outside east London."

http://www.watch-this-space.org

The ideas man

Jack Roberts

One half of the duo behind ‘Bad Idea’ magazine and multimedia events that seek to make sense of our ever-changing world.

"Bad Idea focuses on the world of technology, finance and green issues. We put on events which involve the application of our ideas. For The Art Of Confession we set up a lo-fi printing press and people wrote anonymous stories detailing things they wanted to get off their chest. These stories were then printed as part of a magazine.

"We also run a literary event called The Bad Idea Butcher’s Shop, in which we try and get the audience to play a very active role. The whole point is to address ideas and make it as fun, interesting and active for the audience as possible."

http://www.badidea.co.uk

The purist

David Hoyland

The 31-year-old Lancastrian is owner of the Seventeen Gallery, one of the most influential spaces in the capital’s contemporary art scene.

"I started Seventeen in 2005 when I was 27. I’d worked with galleries in the past but realised many of them were run by morons. So I decided to do it myself. It’s a seven-day-a-week existence: your social life, your work life is all tied to the gallery.

"Running a gallery has meant I’ve had to give up a lot financially. It’s tough. Ultimately, you’ve got to love it and be happy to put your own ego to the background.”

http://www.seventeengallery.com

The movie maestro

Fabien Riggall

The film buff behind Secret Cinema events, described as "the acid house parties of film”.

"Secret Cinema is a totally immersive film experience. We don’t tell our audience what film they’re going to be watching or where they’re going to see it until the day before. Once they arrive, we bring the film out to them in live form with performers and musicians. Then they go inside to find a whole world has been created around the movie.

"When we showed ‘Ghostbusters’ we built a huge library with books flying around. Once you’ve experienced that, you feel as though you’re actually in the film. The most vital element to curating is surprise - to not expect what’s coming round the corner.”

http://www.secretcinema.org