CRUMB

The Curatorial Resource for Upstart Media Bliss, otherwise known as CRUMB, has since 2000 functioned as the de facto resource for all things related to new media curatorial practice. The brainchild of Beryl Graham and Sarah Cook and a direct outcome of their doctoral research, CRUMB works in a number of ways, primarily as an email list with hundreds of international subscribers. The CRUMB list has since its inception supported both technical and theoretical discussions centred on issues particular to new media curating. In addition, CRUMB, based at the University of Sunderland, has organised numerous seminars aimed at illuminating and exploring new media art dissemination. The CRUMB Web site is an invaluable resource, with links to the discussion list and seminar documentation, as well as to a wide range of relevant research, interviews with international curators, bibliographies and other resources. As they've spent the last five years soliciting the opinions of key participants in the field, as well working on their own curatorial projects, on February 1st, 2006, Caitlin Jones telephoned Graham and Cook to talk about their own contribution to the field. They discussed how CRUMB came to be, how its focus has changed over time, and the ups and downs of the new media curator.