I don’t know if it comes from an inherent need to map things, or from a deep penchant for recognising and appreciating excellence. Be it short films, technologies, startups, enterprise leaders, music producers, artists, or even a menu on a buffet. Curation, just like ecosystem building, is first nature to me.
I discovered this love when I was curating short film entries for TBS DigiCon in Tokyo for the first time. The ability to view different perspectives of quality, the different dimensions that any single work has. When you look at a short film, you suddenly start appreciating that there are so many different aspects to it. You have to look at its merits, its beauty.
And then there is the rigor and the tussle. I love that rigor and that tussle. You have a funnel. Things slide down. But in rigor you have to fight. There is force. You have two very good films and you have to select one. You have twelve films and a thirteenth good one arrives, but you can only send twelve. That tension where you have to be neutral and yet you feel biased, and yet you are judging on quality. It is exhilarating.
When you realise that you did it for films, but then you do it for transformative use cases, or for proofs of concept, or for startups, it becomes a very delightful, empowering, and fulfilling role.
That passion for curation and that understanding of excellence found its way into everything I touched. While on the personal front, I curate almost everything. On the professional front, I curate only where I have the mastery and expertise to do so with justice.