Museum Without Walls Call for curators

We embark on the Museum without Walls regional programme along with Turkey and Ukraine.  The Museum without Walls is a virtual space which can be accessed by anyone having an internet connection. And we strongly believe that the digital is becoming the new safe space for mutuality, understanding and dialogue.

By embarking on this online project we want to emphasise the power of the digital to

• bring down physical borders and barriers;
• engender dialogues between cultures;
• enable a sense of community and belonging;
• create a common language that would appeal to anyone and anywhere.

In Georgia, The Museum without Walls programme is part of our UK/Georgia 2019: New Cultural Horizons.

We are delighted to launch the fourth open call for curators from the following 3 countries: Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine.

The British Council is offering an opportunity for three curators and art professionals from Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine to jointly curate the fourth edition of our digital exhibition platform ‘Museum Without Walls’. ‘Museum Without Walls’ has successfully hosted three exhibitions, bringing together works from the British Council Collection and from artists from Turkey. The platform has been awarded with multiple Golden Spider Web Awards, including ‘Best Website of the Year’ and a Silver Medal at the International Design and Communications Awards.

A candidate will be selected from each country (Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine). They will work together collaboratively to curate one final, cohesive digital exhibition under the guidance of Ying Tan (Curator, Visual Arts, British Council) on under the title ‘In Between’.

The selected curators will also have the opportunity to travel to the UK and different countries to work together collaboratively but also alongside experienced arts professionals from the British Council to develop their exhibition concept, digital knowledge and international networks.

Exhibition concept based on the theme of ‘In Between’:

In today’s highly globalised world, characterised by a constant exchange of information due to the internet breaking down national barriers and driving a high level of mobility among individuals who become members of multicultural societies, the definition of ‘national’ is itself being challenged. To work within this internationalism, a shared purpose to increasing knowledge and experience is to find ways in order to make a leading contribution to aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion.

The exhibition will focus on themes of dislocation, displacement, degrees of separation, cultural identity and moments captured in between spaces. Curators are asked to think on ideas of transience, migration, journeys, shifting identity to collaboratively curate a digital exhibition from the British Council Collection as well as local artists from their own contexts.

Curators will make individual proposals based on a draft list of works from the preselected list of works from the or their own take from the Collection as well as local artists. Please keep in mind that these work lists will be subject to change and evolve, but curators will be expected to work on one, cohesive digital exhibition together.

Closing date for the open call will be 13 June 2019, Monday at 23:59. (UK time)

The results of the selection process will be announced in the week of 24 June. The working schedule and the travel dates will be jointly decided after the selection of the three curators.

All applications will be reviewed by the jury which will consist of the following people:

Gemma Hollington, Director Exhibitions, British Council
Ying Tan, Curator, British Council
Esra A Aysun, Head of Arts, British Council, Turkey
Maya Darchia, Arts Manager, British Council Georgia
Ilya Zabolotnyi, Visual Arts Programme Manager, British Council, Ukraine