Published in association with the Banff International Curatorial Institute and the Walter Phillps Gallery. The white cube -- it's a vision of the gallery museum that has dominated thinking and practice in the art world for decades. Beyond the Box: Diverging Curatorial Practices is a collection of essays by leading Canadian and international curators and artists that explores regions of practice outside this "cube," delving into contemporary challenges to traditional ideas about art and curating. With four main topics of inquiry--Publications, New Media, Biennials and Art Museums Today--Beyond the Box captures groundbreaking thinking and writing from some of the world's top curator's and artists. It exposes the passion, creativity and determination behind successes such as the publications of the Hoopoe-Curatorial, and installations like The Universal Lab, as well as critical commentary documenting the collapse of the 2000 São Paulo Biennial. The third in a series of books about curatorship published by the Banff Centre Press in association with the Walter Phillps Gallery and the Banff International Curatorial Institute, Beyond the Box will be a touchstone for artists and curators alike. Other books in the series include Naming a Practice: Curatorial Strategies for the Future (collected by Peter White, 1996) and The Edge of Everything: Reflections on Curatorial Practice (edited by Catherine Thomas, 2002).

Melanie Townsend is the curator of the Walter Phillips Gallery at The Banff Centre. She has been involved in the publication of The Edge of Everything: Reflections on Curatorial Practice as well as many other publications undertaken by the Walter Phillips Gallery and The Banff Centre Press. Townsend is currently developing an exhibition of works related to robotics and the post-human.

Melanie Townsend's profile page