Call for Curatorial Residents 2014-15

January 5, 2014

Deadline: February 3, 2014

221A is seeking proposals from practicing artists, designers, architects, academics and/or curators, including curatorial collectives, for the 2014-15 Curatorial Residency Program. Started in 2010, the Curatorial Residencies program was implemented to diversify our curatorial approach to our mandate. Residents take on the critical function of working both inside and outside of the organization, offering their experience and ideas towards the continued development of the organization.

221A is an artist-run centre located in Vancouver, Canada with a mandate to explore design within contemporary art. Projects are presented in the form of exhibitions, talks, publications and special projects that address design in its widest sense, which may encompass graphics, objects, architecture, or, more broadly, social codes and conventions.

Selected residents will be expected to work with the Executive Director to conduct research and develop a curatorial project plan over the course of 2014, and to execute the project during 2015. Curatorial residents are expected to develop a work plan that reflects their individual practice, while meeting research and presentation deliverables established by the organization. Projects may include exhibitions, performances, publications, talks or special projects. Proposals must discuss a viewpoint, theory or approach that the project hopes to foster in relation to the organization’s mandate. Additionally, selected curatorial residents are expected to participate in the Curatorial Committee, meeting monthly, to offer feedback to other curatorial residents and the overall program. The committee offers a space for reflection on the wider program at 221A and a connection between curatorial residents, staff and community.

Proposal Guidelines
Applicants must submit a digital proposal to hello@221a.ca with the following:
• a one-page project proposal, describing the curatorial argument and its relationship to the mandate of the organization;
• a current CV of each of the key contributors (maximum 2 pages each);
• related images/texts as required and a corresponding list indicating the title/description, artist(s) and year of each image/text (pdf or jpegs, max. 15 images, or up to 10 min. of audio or video). For larger format images or videos that cannot be transferred by email please include instructions for access.

Proposals should demonstrate the project’s overall intention and background and are only expected to include pertinent details. Applicants who intend on proposing self-curated projects must describe the reasoning behind this approach. Further research and development of the project is expected upon selection and acceptance.

Selections Process
Project proposals are shortlisted by a committee comprised of members of the Board of Directors and the Executive Director and final selections are made by the Executive Director. Selected applicants will be contacted in March 2014. The proposals are assessed based on the organization’s mandate and the current overall direction of the programming, as defined by the Executive Director. During the proposal process, the name of the applicant and some formal qualifications may be omitted from the view of the selections committee to privilege the importance of art and ideas over name recognition. Please note that only applicants under consideration will be contacted. After selections have been made, candidates will be given the opportunity to read over and consider the residency details before signing a formal agreement.

Funding
221A is a non-profit organization funded through a mixture of self-generated income, private donations and public funding. Curatorial Residents will be expected to produce a project with a budget of $5,000-$10,000 CDN. The budget allocation will be dependent on the organization’s overall funding conditions and the scope of the project. Curatorial residents are paid a minimum curatorial fee of $2,000 out of the total budget and all projects must pay professional fees to participants at above CARFAC’s minimum fee schedule.

Deadline, Monday, February 3, 2014 no later than 11:59pm PST

Inquiries, Bopha Chhay, Projects Coordinator at bchhay@221a.ca