RFQ: Curatorial Residencies
OVERVIEW
Effective January 2025, NAMARA Project Space (NPS) is initiating an invitational programming model.
NPS will present two 18-week programs yearly, curated by independent art professionals. Curators will be selected from a long list compiled in part through RFQ submissions. The selected curator(s) will conduct new research throughout the 18-week period. Topics may be suggested by the curator or developed in conversation with NAMARA. Research must include (an) exhibition(s), and community activations. The exhibition may be considered as a ‘living laboratory’ and shift in response to the research over the course of its presentation.
To be considered, curators should submit their applications to NPS (submission details below). Applications should highlight curatorial and research interests, as well as professional experience. Subject matter that investigates topics, pursued through NAMARA’s business offering may be prioritized but a commercial-focus is not necessary for consideration. An exhibition proposal is not required at this stage, however key research interests should be detailed, along with the applicant’s vision for making use of the space, and activating it periodically during the full course of the residency.
Successful applicants will work with the NPS curatorial team, exchanging expertise with the goal of mutual enrichment through research, exhibition-mounting, and other programming initiatives. Successful applicants will receive an exhibition budget that includes provisions for curatorial and artists fees, and installation and exhibition materials. Neither travel and accommodations, nor art and artwork production, including framing, are funded through this initiative. Fees guidelines are as set out by NAMARA. Additional provisions may be available for related research activities at the discretion of NAMARA.
This is a live-out residency that is best suited to Toronto-based curators.
ELIGIBILITY
- Open to all curators. Curator’s should be GTA-based and/or be available for on-site activity at NPS including installation, strike, and programming.
- Priority may be extended to curator’s whose research interests align with NAMARA’s business offering, although this is not a mandatory requirement.
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- Cover letter (1 page, max)
- Outline curatorial and research interests
- Consider how you will make use of resources and space over the full residency duration.
- CV (2 pages, max.)
- Links to relevant portfolio(s)
Please provide all materials in a single PDF with your name in the email subject line. Submissions that do not meet the above guidelines will not be considered.
DEADLINE
Applications received on or before July 31, 2024 will be considered for the 2025 programming year. Applications received after this date will be added to our long list and considered for future programming cycles.
Successful applicants for the 2025 programming year will be notified by September 15, 2024.
SUBMISSION & INQUIRIES: INFO@NAMARA.CA
‘Double Vision’ curated by Danna Heitner, featuring artworks by Kristiina Lahde and Adam David Brown, September – November, 2023
ABOUT NPS
NAMARA Project Space is a privately funded, not-for-profit exhibition and programming venue located in the Dupont Arts Building. NPS was created as a venue for research, deliberation, and presentation of curatorial work; and as a meeting place for the Toronto art community.
NAMARA works around the fluctuating borders of the traditional art world. The explorations conducted in the Project Space inform both independent and commissioned presentations. Through our work, we celebrate thoughtful work by contemporary artists; challenge traditions, experimenting with untested methods; and welcome new collaborators and audiences.
NAMARA Project Space
Dupont Arts Building
103-915 Dupont Street
Toronto, ON M6H1Z1
IG: @namaraprojects
LI: linkedin.com/namara-curatorial
ABOUT NAMARA
NAMARA is a curatorial firm under the direction of Natalie MacNamara. NAMARA bridges the gap between the art world and broader commercial, public, and educational fields. We align partner interests with the goal of producing meaningful and engaging cultural projects. We deliver art strategy, collections, exhibitions, permanent installations, temporary experiential and visual projects in digital and physical space. What sets us apart is our interdisciplinary approach to bringing together client and commissioning bodies’ priorities, with artists’ conceptual and aesthetic faculties. The result is concept-driven, artist-led projects that engage audiences and deliver impact.
Image credit: ‘SOLARITY’ curated by Na’ama Freeman, featuring works by Fehn Foss and sarah koekkoek, February – April 2024.