Call for Applications - Art Exchange Moving Image

Art Exchange: Moving Image programme is a collaborative and cross-cultural curatorial professional development and exhibition programme for early to mid-career visual arts curators from South Asia working with the moving image. The programme is supported by the British Council and organised by LUX, the UK agency for the support and promotion of artists working with the moving image and Art South Asia Project (ASAP), the UK-based arts education and development nonprofit organisation supporting Education, Research & Collaboration in the field of South Asian Art.

Participants will receive mentoring support from LUX and ASAP, a dedicated programme of professional development opportunities and networking. A fully-funded research trip to the UK in Autumn 2024, an opportunity to work with moving image works in the British Council visual arts collection as well as logistical and financial support to stage a final exhibition including moving image work from the British Council Collection. Participants will also receive a curatorial fee and their host venue will receive funding for the exhibition staging.

Eligibility

The programme is open to early to mid-career visual arts curators based in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka who are able to commit to a monthly online workshop series with LUX and ASAP from September 2024, travel to UK for 1 week in Autumn 2024 and work towards an exhibition programme in their home country from late 2024 onwards. We expect to offer up to 5 places, one from each country.

Applicants must have a proven track record of curatorial activity in the visual arts field and an interest in working with the moving image and be proficient in speaking/writing in English.

Applications

To apply, applicants should complete the online application for m and send a CV/resume outlining their relevant experience along with a letter of support from a venue/organisation who will host the proposed final project in the curator’s home country and a short curatorial proposal of no more than 2 sides of A4.

The curatorial proposal can be indicative at this stage and it is expected that it will develop and change as the programme progresses. The final project must include moving image works from the British Council collection and successful applicants will be given remote access to the works during the development stage. In terms of project themes curators should respond to one or more of the British Council focuses which currently are: climate change; living together: accepting the differences of others, inclusion, identity, gender and race equality; nationhood – who we are?; health and wellbeing; open societies (democracy/ agency/equality); women and girls; youth and young people; cities.

Watch a Q&A session for applicants here

To apply please complete the online application form here and upload the required supporting documents.

Deadline for applications is Midnight BST/ GMT + 1 on 31 May 2024

Further Information

Funding

The programme is fully funded and includes:

– A curatorial fee
– Grant for staging costs of the final exhibitions
– Professional development support from LUX and ASAP
– A one week funded programme of networking, tours, and visits in the UK including travel to and from airport, accommodation and a daily stipend for meals/local travel.
– Access budget to support childcare, D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent participant needs

Who can apply

The delegation is for early to mid-career visual arts curators who are interested in working with the moving image.
We will prioritise applications made by those who have not received support from the British Council in the last two years.

We recognise that the term ‘early to mid-career curator’ has many definitions and takes many forms. For the purposes of this project, we mean the following:

If you are early career, you will have at least one of the following:

– A relevant degree or relevant experience (instead of formal education) working in the arts sector either within an arts organisation or independently.
– Experience working with artists on a commission, production, or programme as part of a wider exhibition or festival.
– Contributed to an exhibition, public programme or arts publication through research or organisation and administrative support

If you are mid-career, you will have at least one of the following:

– Worked as a visual arts curator either within an arts organisation or independently
– Led on the curation of at least one high-profile exhibition that has received significant press coverage
– Undertook research/critical study on one of the themes of the current British Council focus either for exhibition development or publication

Eligibility requirements

Applicants do not have to hold a relevant degree or have had formal education, but they must:

– Be over 18 years old to apply
– Be based in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka but do not need to be a national of these countries
– Be an early to mid-career curator as defined using the above definitions under ‘Who Can Apply’
– The programme will be delivered in English
– This programme is not for artists

Access needs

We encourage applications from D/deaf, disabled or neurodivergent individuals and will work collaboratively to meet access requirements.

We recognise that applicants may need to put in place unusual/atypical childcare arrangements (beyond those used routinely) and we will work collaboratively to meet requirements.

There is a section in the application where you can let us know about the kind of access support you may require during the delegation. It is important that you complete this section to provide us with the information we need to support you with access, should this be required.

All delegates will receive information that will help them support each other to fully participate in the programme.

How to apply

Applicants may submit their applications in written form. Applications will be considered incomplete without submission of the Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form, although this will not be used to inform any decision regarding your application.

Applicants must answer the following questions in the online application form:

1. Why do you want to participate in this programme and how will it benefit your career development?
2. Please describe your curatorial experience?
3. Your proposed venue/organisation exhibition host and why you wish to work with them?
4. If you are successful will you require access support to participate in the project? (Y/N) If yes, please give us an indication and we will work collaboratively on meeting requirements upon selection

Along with answering the questions you must submit

– Your Curriculum Vitae
– Curatorial Proposal
– A letter of support from your Proposed venue/organisation exhibition host
– Completed equality and diversity monitoring form [please download it from here]

If you are submitting a video application:
No more than ten minutes maximum in length (The selection panel will only watch the first five minutes of any longer videos), submitted as an mp4 or mov file, answering the questions outlined above as well as outlining their curatorial proposal.

Must be delivered in English and/or with an interpreter for D/deaf sign language-using candidates. Applicants must clearly state the question before their responses. Be a clear recording – no distracting background noise etc, but does not need to be professionally recorded

No more than 20MB (please note you may need to compress your file to do this – as long as it is a clear recording the production quality does not matter)

Along with the video you must submit a written:

– Your Curriculum Vitae
– A letter of support from your Proposed venue/organisation exhibition host
– Completed equality and diversity monitoring form

Selection process

The deadline for applications is Friday 31 May Midnight BST/ GMT +1.

No assessment will be made of the writing style or the production quality of audio or video recordings. Applications will be assessed against answers to the application questions and eligibility requirements. They will be reviewed by a panel composed of LUX, ASAP and British Council staff. Shortlisted applicants may be invited for an informal online interview.

We regret that due to the number of applications received, we will not be able to provide feedback for unsuccessful applicants, but all applicants will be contacted even if they have not been selected.

If you have any questions, particular access needs or want to have an informal discussion before applying please also contact artexchange@lux.org.uk