Call for Applications September 15 — December 1, 2025
The Rencontres d’Arles €20,000 curatorial research fellowship is open to all exhibition curators.
The project chosen will be carried out in two stages:
Research
- Production (after approval, if the project is included in the Rencontres d’Arles program)
- Production (after approval, if the project is included in the Rencontres d’Arles program)
The maximum €20,000 grant includes:
- An initial amount of €5,000 in copyright acquired for the winner
- A second amount of €15,000 for producing the project; in case of approval by Les Rencontres d’Arles.
Rules of Participation
1 — PURPOSE
The Rencontres d’Arles curatorial research fellowship is intended for curators wishing to carry out an original image/photography project.
It is supported by Jean-François Dubos.
2 — APPLICATION
The application must be filed online here before December 1, 2025:
→ rencontresarles.typeform.com
In a single pdf (10Mb max.), including (in order):
→ a biography of the curator (and co-curators or collective if applicable) with background, full contact details and a list of curatorial projects & exhibitions, including presentations and views (in the case of exhibitions) of the various projects undertaken by the curator(s).
→ a text presenting the proposed exhibition project (maximum 5,000 characters), the body of works and the artists involved in the project (submitting visuals is strongly advised), a provisional research budget (€5,000), a research schedule and a provisional exhibition production budget (€15,000).
The texts must be in French or English, ideally both.
3 — RESEARCH & PRODUCTION
STAGE 1 — RESEARCH
– Based on the project selected, the curator will receive a €5,000 grant for expenses and copyright fees throughout the length of the research.
– The budget and schedule will be submitted to the Rencontres d’Arles for approval.
– The curator will have six months of research time at the end of which he/she will propose a note to the artistic direction of the Rencontres d’Arles to validate the feasibility of the project and its restitution format (stage 2).
STAGE 2 — PRODUCING & ORGANIZING THE EXHIBITION
After approval, if the project is approved by Les Rencontres d’Arles at the end of the 6-month research period, the project will enter the production stage funded by the Rencontres d’Arles.
→ The €15,000 budget managed by the Rencontres d’Arles includes:
– Loans of works
– Shipping works to Arles (round-trip)
– Production of the works: printing, framing, wallpaper, videos, etc.
– An invitation to the curator, and possible costs of the artists’ expenses in Arles during opening week (and/or the mounting of the exhibition).
– Insurance
– Etc.
→ The curator agrees to:
– Make a selection of the exhibition’s works and determine the presentation and reproduction rights
– Write a text presenting the selection of photographs
– Be present at the festival’s opening week and participate to the guided tour of the exhibition.
In addition to these items, the Rencontres d’Arles will cover the following expenses: scenography, mounting and dismantling of the works, security.
4 — TIMETABLE
→ September 15, 2025
Opening of applications
→ December 1, 2025
Application deadline
→ End February 2026
Announcement of the shortlisted project(s)
→ Until Summer 2026
Research (stage 1)
→ From September 2026
In the case of approval, production of the project (stage 2)
The Curatorial research fellowship is generously supported by Jean-François Dubos.
CONTACT
Johanna Teston
johanna.teston@rencontres-arles.com
+33(0)4 90 96 76 06
Image credits: THE WORLD OF LOUIS STETTNER (1922–2016) 2024 CURATORIAL RESEARCH GRANT
