The Neoliberal Urge to Curate a Friendsgroup

The exhibition The Neoliberal Urge to Curate a Friendsgroup brings together works by Sarah Albrecht, Oliver Bleckmann, Manuel Cornelius, Sophia Gatzkan, Jill Kiddon, Luka Naujoks and Johannes Thiel and explores the neoliberal tendency to view social relationships as a strategic network - a curated portfolio of friendships, treated as a purpose-driven structure. In a culture dominated by self-promotion and social optimisation, friendships are increasingly becoming a resource designed to yield personal benefits. Particularly in the art scene, many friendships have an 'instrumental' character - relationships are selected on the basis of aesthetics and value. Whether overtly conspicuous or demonstratively reserved, everyone operates within a system that follows the same rules and rewards the same behaviours.