“The curator has become a superstar,” observed Heather Felty, gallery director of Apexart, the non-profit exhibition space in Soho. We were meeting to talk about her plans for “The Passions of the Good Citizen,” the current exhibition at Apex, but the conversation turned quickly to the art of curating and Apex’s role in the field. In 1994, Apex opened with the goal of fostering discussion about art by providing a space in which to arrange shows without the pressures and limitations of a commercial venue. It has since become the meeting place for curators from the emerging to the legendary, from the U.S. and abroad.

Since Apex was founded, the curatorial profession has changed beyond recognition. A multitude of new venues have opened for showing contemporary art, popular new university courses train increasing numbers of young people in the art of curating, and recent publications offer advice from seasoned curators. Founder and current Executive Director Steven Rand explained that, “When I started in ’94, it was a bit before this new wave of curatorial programs. Apex is more about people acting in the role of a curator than it is about endorsing or supporting curators per se.”

This can be easy to forget. Felty told me about an interview last March with a reporter who was in the gallery to interview Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. Cai was in a show at Apex organized by curator Jean-Hubert Martin and both were in the gallery when the reporter asked Felty if the goal of Apex was to promote artists. She replied, “No, we’re actually promoting the curator…, or not promoting, but in the end that is what it is about. And then the artist comes second.” Felty explained that she then, “…backed up and I said that it is the idea that comes first, then the curator comes second and the artist comes third.” “Then Jean-Hubert said, ‘You know, the artist comes first.” Reflecting on Martin’s comment, Felty said, “…the really good, big curators always say that. They are always admitting to the fact that the artist is why they are there…the art is why they are there.”

Before starting at Apex, Felty worked at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. During that time, she informally assisted Senior Curator Francesco Bonami, co-curating a show of work by artist Laylah Ali and eventually traveling to Slovenia where he curated Manifesta in 2000. She was particularly struck by how Bonami was “so generous and open.” “A lot of curators I had known up to that point were very protective and didn’t even want to share their idea for fear of you stealing [it]…So it was nice for me to know that there were good curators in the world, or I would have been rethinking what I had gotten myself into.”

“The Passions of the Good Citizen,” is a group exhibition that explores the effects of marketing on individual identity. A painting by Michael Bevilacqua combines brand logos and heavily marketed youth icons. Three photocollages by Juergen Teller chronical his encounters with ‘go-sees’ the young, aspiring models who are invited or sent to his studio for test photographs. In her video “Everything you’ve Heard is Wrong”, Carey Young stands on a makeshift stage on Speaker’s Corner in London. Delivering a talk on corporate communication, she competes with other soapbox speakers for a meager share of the crowd’s attention. Ester Partegas creates altered and enlarged shopping receipts on which the list of items purchased has been replaced by self assurances that spending money will make the consumer feel better.

Over the past three years, Felty has worked with curators from around the world. From a vast network of contacts and past curators at Apex, Felty and Rand solicit recommendations for several programs designed to bring a diverse range of art world professionals to New York. Of the nine shows programmed each year, two are organized by overseas curators with less exposure in the United States and four are put together by invited artists, writers, critics or curators. During the summer months, two New York gallerists are invited to curate shows, and the program is completed by two shows chosen from open submissions. In addition, Apex organizes bi-annual conferences and a residency program in which eight individuals a year are invited for a month-long visit to New York with travel and living expenses provided.

With the convergence of so much talent, involvement in Apex’s programs has become increasingly sought after. Felty explained that the number of unsolicited proposals, which are selected blindly by a group of 12 judges, continues to rise. “We received 72 submissions this year. It must be 85-87% are young, independent people here in New York [or] America…and then maybe 5% are associated with institutions and the rest are international... Of the 72, two will have shows. Each year there are two shows. Last year, we had 64 proposals and the year before that it was 50-something. Every year, as our program expands, the chances decrease…”

Likewise, some hoping to participate in the residency program have even been known to ask how their ‘recommender’ can contact Apex. Such requests are inevitably rebuffed. As Apex has developed, the curator selection process has been decentralized. Rand and Felty rely on the recommendations of their peers for new invitations, and have actively researched professionals in other countries who would be able to recommend deserving colleagues. The resulting diversity is characterized by the residency program, whose participants so far this year include German artist Christian Jankowski, Ukrainian media art curator Natalia Manzhali and Norwegian Internet art writer Tore Ferner. Residents are not asked to do any ‘work’ while they are in the city, instead using the opportunity to make new contacts with colleagues in the U.S.

Although Apex was founded to produce exhibitions in a non-commercial environment, it has a specific place in the program for gallerists. Each summer, two gallerists are asked to choose two artists who they do not represent for a show lasting two weeks. Participating dealers supply a text for the color brochure that, Rand joked, gives readers “insight into the person rather than just the cold, steel-hearted dealer.” Last summer, Annie Heron and Larry Walczak of Brooklyn’s itinerant Eyewash gallery displayed work by Amy Kao and Sante Scardillo. They were happy to show their chosen artists in an established venue, and Walczak pointed out that the opportunity “…gave us a little more respect in our community, because Apex has a very solid reputation.” Chelsea dealer Derek Eller showed work by artists Erik Wesselo and Clifford LaCuyer, who he said, “…could use the opportunity for exposure.” In fact, Eller was so pleased with the show, he was “…sort of disappointed that the show hadn’t been in my own gallery…The beauty of having a space is getting to see how other people respond to the work. And my guess is probably less people get to Apex than get through Chelsea.”

Chelsea may have taken over from Soho as the center of the New York contemporary art world in recent years, but Apex isn’t moving. Felty explained, “We are not going to Chelsea, and we’re not getting a bigger space, because it’s all about ideas. You don’t have to have a huge space to have a good idea.” The international network of curators who have produced exhibitions, completed residencies and participated in conferences at Apex argues in favor of this. Figure in the number of artists who have been able to show their work and the chance for the New York audience to see new work by overseas artists, and the benefits of Apex become clear. As Rand says, “…the dynamic here is…to be able to take advantage of other people’s ideas and energies because for me, Apex is more an opportunity to learn than to preach or to teach.”