Open Call for Curatorial Projects

DEADLINE: Friday, March 12, 2021, 11:59pm (ET)

Application fee: $15/free for CUE members

Open Call Information Session Webinar
Saturday, February 13, 2021 at 4pm (ET)
RSVP for Zoom link

With the aim of encouraging curatorial research in tandem with exhibition planning, the Curatorial Project Open Call provides one deserving curator or curatorial team the necessary resources to realize an innovative project in CUE’s space in 2022. CUE provides institutional guidance and resources to the curator, who produces a group exhibition with related public programming and an accompanying exhibition catalogue.

The selected curator will receive valuable mentor support from an established artist or curator on the selection panel, including installation guidance in preparation for the exhibition. In addition, the curator will be awarded a $2,500 honorarium; a budget of $2,500 to divide amongst participating artists and program speakers; and a production budget of $2,000.

Proposals are evaluated on merit of project, singularity of concept, and adherence to the application guidelines. All applications submitted will be considered final and treated as such. Applicants will not be permitted to add or edit an application once it has been submitted. All incomplete or duplicate applications will be disqualified.

GUIDELINES

• Proposals must be conceptually rigorous and focus on artists, projects, and themes that are innovative, challenging, and engaging.

• Extra consideration will be given to proposals that demonstrate a creative approach to curatorial research methods and the exhibition plan, as well as those that present ideas or topics that are not well-represented in the commercial sector.

• The proposal must include four or more artists, half of whom must qualify as under-recognized (no gallery representation and no solo exhibitions in a major venue within the past five years).

• Curators may not include their own work in the exhibition.

• The curator and all proposed artists must live and work in the United States.

• Extra consideration will be given to those in the beginning stages of their curatorial careers.

• CUE strongly encourages applications that contribute to our ongoing commitment to diversity.

• The strongest proposals are those that are flexible and have room for growth—as such, a proposed exhibition that has already been shown elsewhere will not be considered as strong an exhibition as one in which the curator is seeking to build upon previous work.

WHAT THE OPPORTUNITY INCLUDES

• Five-week exhibition at CUE Art Foundation in 2022

• Curatorial support/mentoring from an established artist or curator on the selection panel

• Opportunities to develop related public programming

• Full color catalogue with essay produced through the Art Critic Mentoring Program

• $2,500 unrestricted honorarium

• $2,500 to divide amongst the participating artists and program speakers

• $2,000 production budget

• An art shipping and art handling budget

• Opening reception

• Press materials and PR support

THE SELECTION PROCESS

The Open Call is judged in two stages. After applications are screened for eligibility, an initial jury reviews applications online to select a shortlist of applicants to proceed to the next stage. The initial jury remains anonymous and includes representatives from CUE’s network of alumni and advisors.

One finalist will be selected by a separate jury comprised of four established curators and artists that will convene in late spring 2021. One of the panelists will go on to work with the Curatorial Project finalist as a mentor throughout the planning stages of the exhibition.

The final jury panelists change each year and remain confidential until finalists are announced. Recent panelists include artist, Guadalupe Maravilla; curator, Sohrab Mohebbi; artist, Ronny Quevedo; curator, Legacy Russell; curator, Marcela Guerrero; artist, David Humphrey; curator, Daniel J Sander; curator, Michelle Yun; artist, Ali Banisadr; art historian, Andrianna Campbell; and artist, Steffani Jemison, amongst others.

All applicants will be notified of results by the end of June 2021.