Jens Hoffmann, Exhibitions Director at the ICA talks about APFEL’s role with ICA exhibitions

Show Talent

Who are the next generation of expert curators at the UK’s premiere arts and exhibition centres? Who do they admire in the design world, and how do they work with external consultancies?

Jens Hoffmann

ICA, London

Expect the unexpected at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts, where Jens Hoffmann, who joined as director of exhibitions in February, is shaking up the exhibitions programme. ‘I believe that the world is there to be changed and I want to change it,’ he says. He’s keen to find new formats away from tried and tested vehicles such as group or solo shows.

Hoffmann has a background in theatre, but has been producing art exhibitions since 1998. Since moving from Berlin for the ICA job, the Costa Rican has thrown himself into the London art scene, well armed with the curiosity that he regards as a crucial attribute for any curator.

He likes to control the exhibition concept himself, working closely with the artist and installers rather than introducing another layer by using an exhibition designer – ‘It’s for me, as curator, to be the author of the exhibition design,’ he explains.

But Hoffmann is keen to use print design and, where appropriate, external designers to help create a distinctive identity for each exhibition. Catalogues for the recent Artists’ Favourites shows took the style of a traditional theatre programme, with ironic use of a florid typeface designed by Christoph Steinegger. For the recent John Bock show, the artist himself designed the A5 catalogue as a notebook of images, doodles and notes.

Hoffmann is working with duo APFEL on the identity for the Beck’s Futures show - opening next March - after being impressed by its ‘conceptual and fresh ideas’. APFEL’s concept is a play on beer festivals and includes stripy beer tent imagery as a backdrop to the installation.

Hoffmann, whose contract runs until 2007, is only just getting started in his mission to reinvent art show formats. It’s too early to say if he’ll succeed, but he’s certainly enjoying himself trying.

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