The idea of a curatorial turn (Paul O’Neill 2007) has already been a pivot of discussion for some time within the museum and art context: since the 1960s the role of the curator as mediator, communicator and facilitator of art commissions and the dissemination of artworks has gained increased importance (Gabriella Giannachi and Jonah Westerman 2018). The curator's task is no longer to find and select the ‘best art’ and make it available to an audience. Nowadays, curators are compelled to create context, discourse and relationships between different audiences and the production and dissemination of artworks. We are urged with renewed vigour to negotiate whose histories and tastes artworks actually represent, and who gets to think, write and curate public spaces and cultural experiences for whom.

What does it mean to ‘curate’ repertoires in theatre institutions, to ‘curate’ performing arts festivals or to ‘curate’ performance practices outside of purpose-built theatre buildings? Where do curatorial practices and dramaturgical practices align, overlap and/or differ? What does a curatorial lens offer for the field of theatre making and dramaturgy? What is the potential and what are the limits in putting into dialogue curatorial traditions within art museums and the field of theatre, dramaturgs and performing arts?