Curatorial Fellowship

Guidelines

Etant donnés offers grants to American curators wishing to conduct research on the French visual art scene. These grants are intended to expand the opportunities of American curators, to encourage in-depth explorations of French cultural resources, and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and knowledge among artists, professionals, researchers, and institutions.

In 2023, Etant donnés partners with ICI | Independent Curators International to offer up to three grants of $3,000 each to U.S.-based curators from within ICI’s network and beyond. The grants are intended to contribute to covering the costs of transportation, lodging, per diems, insurance, and any costs related to the research trip.

Candidates are encouraged to connect with art professionals and other researchers as well as with institutions, universities, art schools, or private and public archives in preparation for future exhibitions or collaborations.

The Villa Albertine team, in connection with professionals in France, will also provide its help to the selected curators to enlarge their contacts, orientate them towards venues, artists and directors of institutions that could be of some interest for their research.

Eligibility

Artistic field: VISUAL ARTS

The candidates must:

Be U.S. citizens or legal residents of the United States for at least 5 years;
Be affiliated with institutions or a freelance curator working in the field of contemporary art;
Have a minimum of 3 years of research or provide evidence of significant professional practice;
Have a clearly defined curatorial research project with a French partner organization or individuals;
Commit to make the curatorial trip between the June 1, 2023 & August 31, 2024

There is no age limit to participate.

Priority will be given to curatorial fellowships planning to present the result of the research in one way or another in the U.S. via an exhibition, publication, talk, lecture, screening, performance, etc.

Applicants affiliated to institutions must obtain authorization from their institution to travel for the proposed research.

The grant is intended to contribute to covering the costs of transportation, lodging, per diems, insurance, and any costs related to the research trip.

Maximum grant amount for each Curatorial Fellowship: $3,000.

Applicants must provide:

The application form filled out with the required information (including a budget)
A PDF including: a short resume; and a letter clearly detailing the research project for which the grant is being requested, indicating the specific objectives of the curatorial fellowship : subject, methods, schedule, research goals, and an overview of pre-existing contacts;
(Size of the file: max 5Mo – No “wetransfer”, “dropbox” etc).

Calendar & Application

FACE Foundation funds the Curatorial Grants and disburses them to the selected awardees.
ICI develops, disseminates, and administers the open-call selection and the pre-selection of 6 candidates to be referred to Etant donnés committee.

Etant donnés administers the final selection of up to 3 curators from the 6 preselected candidates.

Applications are open to ICI’s network of curators, primarily its network of 140+ Curatorial Intensive alumni. ICI also accepts applications of curators in its broader network if their research would greatly benefit from the opportunity.

Selection criteria used by ICI in the pre-selection process include:

Strength of the research objectives, and relevance to the field;
Established need for support;
Feasibility of the research proposed.

The final decision is made by a independent committee composed of French and American curators and art institutions directors.

Calendar / Application

THE 2023 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS IS NOW CLOSED

NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE:
SPRING 2024 – TO BE ANNOUNCED

Contact

Olivier Le Falher
Program Officer, Visual Arts, Design, Architecture
visualarts@face-foundation.tempurl.host

About ICI

ICI (INDEPENDENT CURATORS INTERNATIONAL) supports the work of curators to help create stronger art communities through experimentation, collaboration, and international engagement. We believe that curators are leaders in their communities, who champion artistic practice, develop scholarship and infrastructures, and generate public engagement with art.

ICI promotes the sharing of knowledge and resources in the curatorial field to combat a persistent sense of isolation among curators, because independent thinking requires a supportive community. ICI’s programs—exhibitions, digital programs, and professional development initiatives—connect curators and artists to one another, and to ideas from around the world, so that they may advance their practice, and collectively address the cultural challenges of our times.

ICI’S NETWORK OF CURATORIAL INTENSIVE ALUMNI IN THE UNITED STATES

ICI is a leader and innovator in professional advancement for curators. In 2010, ICI established a new-format professional development program, the Curatorial Intensive, providing emerging curators with the theoretical, critical and logistical tools needed to advance their careers. With continued support from a global organization dedicated to supporting curators, alumni of the program have developed independent platforms for art and/or advanced their careers in the museum field with a significant impact on art communities around the world. Over the last 12 years, the program has taken place in more than 25 cities internationally, and it has served 500 curators from 70 countries. Alumni remain connected to one another and to ICI; they form an unparalleled, dynamic network of Curatorial Intensive Alumni.

In the U.S. there are more than 140 Curatorial Intensive alumni, who represent a new vanguard of curators that reflect the racial/ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity of the U.S. They are leaders of their art communities in over 30 U.S. states. They are museum leaders and chief curators; directors of artists-centered organizations such as residencies and independent art spaces; independent curators, researchers, writers.