This thesis explores the curatorial impulse of conceptual artists by focusing on three exhibitions curated between 1983-1994. By reviewing artworld dynamics during this period, this research considers the creative and social conditions which prompted artists to establish the curatorial narrative of their own work. The three exhibitions in focus are The Black and White Show curated by Lorraine O’ Grady in 1983, The Theater of Refusal: Black Art and Mainstream Criticism curated by Charles Gaines in 1993, and Untitled (Knobkerry) curated by David Hammons in 1994. This thesis considers how these artists developed a curatorial practice (such as framing, exhibition-making, research, writing, and archiving) to critique the very institution in which their work is in dialogue.