Over the last two decades, as the contemporary artworld grew to a planetary size—more galleries, more fairs, more art-selling websites, bigger museums, new biennials, and digital platforms—it seems that, along with it, a new cultural figure emerged: the international curator. Moreover, the practice of curation has metastasized into unconventional spaces and formats. Exhibitions are no longer confined to museums. They are no longer focused on art and artifacts but are often held at unlikely venues (physical and digital) and have grown to include other by-products of a culture such as architecture, design, and content. But what is the future of Curatorial Practice, and how would the international, independent curators of the future have to design and deliver compelling exhibitions that would connect to—and resonate with—a global audience? The following Major Research Project (MRP), examines the trajectory of Curatorial Practice as well as the role of curators, and their influence, as creators of exhibitions, on human development. It will analyze the trends, patterns, and signals of change in the contemporary artworld, foresighting the future of the practice and the role of curators in directing its development.

The examined theory in this MRP is as follows: curators and their role have evolved to be major influencers in the global artworld. Moving forward, their future is hinged on how they tell stories about contemporary culture. It is a departure from their role in the past as merely 'organizers' of physical exhibitions where they collected the art and artifacts, placing them in museums. In the near future, the exhibitions must move away from having Curatorial Statements. Instead, they would benefit from connecting with their audience through a Curatorial Narrative, telling the story of the development of the content. These cultural figures, curators, need to understand the development of contemporary content from an intimate perspective and tell the story if its progress through the literary device of Reliable Narrator. This strategy, a subtle shift, will transform the design and delivery of the content for an exhibition. Narratives will also resonate with the future audience, presenting and documenting the current times, telling the stories of contemporary culture in the social, global context.