Each year, Residence NRW⁺ awards four 6-month fellowships to curators, funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council.
Residence NRW⁺ is intended for curators (no older than 35 by the start of the fellowship) with ties to the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia or to Switzerland, who have acquired profound knowledge in the realm of contemporary art, have already developed their own notions of curatorial work and had the opportunity to realise their first projects. Applicants should already have completed their studies at university (graduate, master’s or doctorate degree; in art history, visual arts or cultural studies), and be committed to spending the period of the fellowship predominantly at the residence, and to participate in certain joint events (such as excursions and workshops). The monthly stipend is 1,250 Euros plus a travel allowance of 500 Euros. Grant-winning applicants are selected by an annually changing panel of experts.
With facilities for living and working together that are shared with four fellowship-holding artists at the residence, Residence NRW⁺ offers possibilities for intensive dialogue and exchange within the group. Part of the fellowship is also the opportunity to refine one’s own curatorial practice and to gather exploratory experience in institutional collaborations with exhibition venues (museums or art associations) throughout North Rhine-Westphalia. Working in tandem, the two curators concurrently holding a fellowship are, in general, expected to self-reliantly implement two projects at different associated exhibition venues. These projects could be exhibitions spanning several weeks, but also might assume other formats such as performance or film programmes. The curator tandem has free rein over their conception. For their implementation Residence NRW⁺ provides a budget of max. 8,000 Euros This allowance can by all means be augmented by independently raising third-party funds or, if necessary, through support from cooperating venues. The curator duo is responsible for the realisation of the project in consultation with the collaborating institutions (project idea, selection of artists, budgets, text production, communication, PR/media plan, accompanying events, organising transport/insurance, installing/dismantling the exhibition, documentation, etc.).
