NYK—mag 0425
NYK—mag
0425
A field trip to Paris;
to connect with the world around us, before creating content for
Curators Collective.
explore, experience and research abroad
Written & edited by: Daniel Aneto Olesen
This magazine gathers impressions from MaMA Music & Convention 2025 in Paris – a field trip made possible by ROSA as part of our preparation for Curators Collective (CuCo), a new NYK initiative supporting underrepresented curators working across music and visual art.
We travelled to Paris to expand our perspective and to begin shaping the first open call for CuCo. The intention was simple: to learn from what is already happening elsewhere – to observe how others organise, collaborate, and express themselves within and beyond the industry. The trip was short, yet it carried the potential to realign how we think about our own practice.
Why field research is important to us
For NYK, field research means showing up where things happen, listening before analysing, connecting before defining. It’s the kind of research that happens through atmosphere, through body language, through noticing who gets to speak and who is still waiting to take their space. Our research is not a set of structured data; it’s intuition turned into documentation and reflection.
Aarhus has a strong and generous scene, but also a certain rhythm that repeats itself. After some years of producing, curating, and communicating in the same environment, ideas risk circling back on themselves. Travelling, in this sense, becomes both professional and personal maintenance – a reset that keeps curiosity alive.
What we represent
Going abroad “as NYK” for the first time adds another layer of responsibility. We travel as part of a small organisation trying to understand how others work and what they need in order to keep functioning. Our projects grow from bottom up collaboration, where we learn by being in dialogue – by listening carefully to what artists and organisers are already doing, and by asking what is missing.
Blend in, stand out
As a Black creative working within a mostly white Nordic context, being in Paris – a city with Europe’s largest Black population – shifted my awareness. It wasn’t dramatic; just a subtle feeling of ease. I noticed how I carried myself differently, how it changed the way I listened and engaged. It reminded me that representation isn’t only a structural matter – it’s also about the quiet relief of not standing out.
The trip offered inspiration more than conclusions. It reminded me that research can be relational, intuitive, and humble. Every encounter – a random conversation, a barista interaction, a metro moment – adds a new fragment to how we understand the ecosystems we’re part of.
We brought back new energy and ideas for how to mentor better, how to design open calls that invite the right people, and how to keep expanding the framework we call NYK.
Editorial note
NYK-mag 0425 is the fourth edition of our ongoing online magazine. Each edition translates lived experiences into shared perspectives – from festival floors, studio corners, informal conversations and open submissions.
This edition follows our trip to MaMA in Paris and continues NYK’s mission to explore inclusive frameworks for emerging curators and to document how culture moves across borders.
This is not a report. It’s a record of presence.
A snapshot of a process still unfolding.
- Now You Know.