Each issue, ArtAsiaPacific presents a critical essay in collaboration with Burger Collection, a Hong Kong nonprofit that partners with many institutions to support contemporary art worldwide.

In June, I spoke with Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, directors of Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof and the curators of this year’s forthcoming Taipei Biennial. We discussed the joys and intricacies of working as a curatorial duo, the dialectic of cosmopolitanism and locality, institution-building with the support of the Burger Collection, and the role of art as a tool to tell stories and express human yearnings in different contexts.

Having worked in close collaboration for more than a decade, how do you two operate as a collective? What are the advantages of working together?

Sam Bardaouil (SB): As a duo, we come from a mix of cultures, languages, formal disciplines, academic backgrounds, and lived experiences. The starting point for our project is much richer because we are not dealing with a singular perspective. Although different opinions can occasionally create confrontation, that’s where the magic happens.

Till Fellrath (TF): We both have a lot of complementary strengths. A daily part of our work is stepping back and letting something go. Sometimes, when the other person is self-assured about a topic, I’m going to trust their instinct that this is the right direction and artistic position. 

SB: Instead of resisting another opinion, we often lean into it even more if it’s coming from a place of strength—for example, when someone is good with structure, or when someone’s forte is historical research. It becomes a matter of malleability and fluidity.

As a curatorial duo, do you have an affinity for artist duos and collectives?