The Guardian, 14/07/01, Sandra Deeble

The job that's more than a museum piece. The professional answer to show and tell has been taken into the 21st century in a big way. Now, Sandra Deeble reports, it's an expanding business increasingly searching for recruits.

A career as a curator might conjure up images of a lifetime spent peering at precious ceramics, ceremoniously unlocking dusty cabinets, speaking in hushed museum tones and not getting out much. Yet in the world of contemporary design, curating as a career has massive potential which is being fulfilled by a new breed of what are loosely called communication specialists...

...collaborating with freelance design curators often facilitates the delivery of a more exciting exhibition, according to Jane Morris, editor of trade magazine Museums Journal. 'I think museums are increasingly working with outside people. It's a way of getting a different perspective," she says. In museum career terms, while a dream job might traditionally have been to work as a curator at the V&A, Ms Morris believes that these positions are often static, and for some people going freelance is a more attractive option. "It enables you to do different things and devise interesting projects' she explains. 'Although a lot of people in the contemporary field - design, architecture and fashion - are probably doing a whole range of things, writing as well as curating, and they're often also involved in the commercial world."

Which is certainly true of Claire Catterall and Sarah Gaventa, of Scarlet Projects, who believe that design exhibitions have moved on massively and now offer their audience a lot more than just a themed collection of design objects. "Exhibitions are designed now so that you feel you're within the subject rather than looking at the subject," says Ms Gaventa. Scarlet is another young creative consultancy which curates - "anything from books or an environment to an event," says Ms Catterall. "Although that does sound very poncey," she admits. "We really wouldn't want to be seen just as curators though," adds Ms Gaventa. So when someone they meet asks them what they do? "We say we're curators," says Ms Catterall.

Scarlet believes in making life easy for its clients in that it tends to approach a museum with not only the idea for an exhibition, but also a sponsor. At the end of the month, the V&A will be holding a village fête, curated by Scarlet and sponsored by the Audi Foundation. Designers such as Ron Arad, Matthew Hilton, Precious McBane, El Ultimo Grito and Inflate will be setting out their wares on trestle tables. "It's a very informal way of doing things," says Ms Gaventa. 'We're trying to do something that's a bit different. And we're interested in the audience, whereas an awful lot of curating is about getting your own personal obsession out."

Also, working with corporate clients such as Bloomberg, Scarlet transforms meeting rooms into "curated spaces" - one such space is a Bruce Lee meeting room, which aims to inspire staff.

So what makes a good curator? "You have to have good ideas, be good at editing, and able to plot a narrative for an exhibition. You must have a good understanding of your audience, be able to tell a story and keep them entertained," says Ms Gaventa. "And be patient. There's no instant gratification."

"And there's no money in curating," adds Ms Catterall, ruefully. "It's all very well turning out dozens of curators, but there isn't the money and there aren't the spaces," says Ms Gaventa, who dreams of curating an exhibition on tower blocks in the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. Another project in the pipeline is an exhibition on concrete at the RIBA, sponsored by members of the British Cement Association. Still awaiting confirmation of sponsorship is Strange Kimono, due to open at the V&A, which will look at new design and architecture in Japan.

Yet while there may be no money in curating, another course has sprung up, this time at Kingston University. The MA in Curating Contemporary Design starts in September and one new student, Matthew Lechtzier, is confident that it'll be worth doing. "I think a great part of the course will be about how to attract sponsorship," he says. "And I'm hoping that the course will be the intersection of design, architecture and business." Citing Jasper Morrison and Matthew Hilton - both of whom studied design at Kingston - as aspirational examples of the vibrancy of British design, Matthew Lechtzier, who currently runs a venture capital boutique; is looking forward to getting hands-on experience as the course is being taught jointly with the Design Museum, where students will be able to cut their curatorial teeth.

Competition from new curators won't phase Scarlet Projects, however. "There's definitely a resurgence in the interest in design. We're working in a good climate," says Ms Gaventa. "But you have to have some sort of philosophy, some sort of guiding thing. You need to think: 'What is it about design that you want to say?"'