The Skeleton: Conditions of Curating Photographic Art in Denmark

This research examines how photography institutions across education, research, the art market, exhibition platforms and artist-run initiatives function together in shaping the conditions under which photographic art is curated and legitimised in Denmark. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural fields and Howard S. Becker's conception of art worlds, it analyses institutional positions within the Danish photography field. Through a thematic analysis of interviews with curators and other fi eld experts, the thesis identifies curatorial constraints that affect the autonomy, legitimacy and future development of the Danish photographic art fi eld. The thesis additionally synthesises the medium-specific demands on photo-curatorial practice and maps the institutional landscape of photographic art across the Nordic region, providing a comparative framework for assessing Denmark's position. Drawing on expert voices, the analysis reveals a self-reinforcing loop in which the absence of higher education in photographic arts, a dedicated photography museum, medium-specific curatorial expertise, and invested audiences mutually reproduce a desaturated field with difficult conditions for photographic artists and field experts alike. The terminology professionals use when navigating the wider visual arts structures reflects a strategic response to prejudice met within the broader visual art field. Path-dependent institutional conditions rooted in Denmark's cultural history explain the field's resistance to change and its falling behind Nordic neighbours with stronger institutional structures for photographic art. Finally, the research points toward a hybrid institution as a means of breaking the loop.