PRS Europe PhD Examination - Nathalie Weadick (School of Architecture and Urban Design - RMIT University)

Join us for the PhD examination of School of Architecture and Urban Design candidate, Nathalie Weadick.

2pm - 4pm Thursday 27 November.

The Quiet Art of Tactical Curating: A Framework for Cultural Momentum in Architecture

I examine the processes, tools, and tactics I use in my curatorial practice to reposition architecture as a meaningful and essential participant in cultural discourse. The Irish Architecture Foundation serves as the primary focus for my practice-based research. This research synthesises the ideas, actions, and consequences enacted and made public through my practice, tracing connections across projects to identify an approach that foregrounds the reciprocal relationship between practice, people, and policy as essential for forging a stronger relationship between architecture and society.

From this reflection, I developed The Life Cycle of an Exhibition - a framework that traces the evolution of ideas from private conversation to public manifestation and ultimately to a third stage of cultural discourse. Its value lies in its recursive nature, a cycle that gains momentum with each turn and in its transferability beyond exhibitions to other curatorial forms.

Reflective analysis also uncovered a socio-political sub-narrative embedded in my practice, showing a disposition to seek out and amplify what is unsaid, unseen, and overlooked, and to make curatorial choices that bring those elements into view. This has emerged as a defining motivation throughout my work.

These insights reveal a generative curatorial approach that cultivates ecosystems, encourages critical inquiry, enables collaboration, embraces difference, and advances incrementally through quiet tactical influence rather than grand or declarative acts. It presents a framework for curatorial practice that frees architecture from disciplinary constraints, positioning it as a vital contribution to both cultural production and cultural life.

Please note no entry will be permitted after commencement of this examination. Please aim to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. 

Location: CUB PB, Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, 38, c, Sant Martí, 08018 Barcelona, Spain

Image credit: Splashdown by Tom de Paor, blue colour specified by Katherine Lamb from i see Earth, VISUAL Carlow, 2022. © Tom dePaor