Platform: Curatorial Opportunity

Platform: Curatorial Opportunity

Image in header courtesy of Soft Shoulder exhibiting artist, Jason Rohlf

About | The Cambridge Art Association (CAA) is pleased to announce an open call for Curatorial Proposals for a 4-week exhibit, to be held in January 2022 at our Kathryn Schultz Gallery (located at 25 Lowell Street, Cambridge MA 02138). This call is open to New England-based curators.

In 2019, the CAA launched an invited curator platform with Patricia Miranda’s thought-provoking exhibit, Material Lamentations: Art, Grief, and the Land. The focus of the exhibit was the impact of environmental change on female-identifying bodies, and included artists from the Northeastern United States. The exhibit was featured in The Ticket in the Boston Globe. In 2020, invited curator Cathleen Daley presented Soft Shoulder, an exhibit of 10 artists using fiber in innovative and exploratory ways. The exhibit was “a flexible address of surface and structure.” This exhibit was reviewed in Art New England magazine and The Boston Globe.


For our 77th season, we are opening this curatorial Platform to proposals from New England-based curators. We are seeking new voices, and exhibits that are thought-provoking, transformative, and those that present new ideas. This platform is a unique opportunity for both emerging curators to present a project or idea with support from CAA’s full-time staff. In addition to presenting a curatorial exhibit, the selected curator will also jury a complementary exhibit in our University Place Gallery. Please see recent examples here: Art, Grief, and the Land (January 2019); Broken Beauty (January 2020) 

Benefits

A $1,000 stipend
Support from our full-time staff in the following areas:
  • Exhibition advertising and promotions, including print, online, and social media
  • Creation of exhibition-related materials, including wall labels, promotional postcards, and an exhibition catalog
  • Creation of online gallery of work featured in the exhibition
  • Installation of the final exhibit
  • Staffing of the gallery during the exhibition

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

  • The proposed exhibit may not have been presented previously – this is an opportunity to explore a new curatorial idea!
  • Work by the curator may not be presented as part of the proposed exhibit
  • The curator will be asked to write a curatorial statement for the exhibition catalog and lead a curatorial walk-through during the exhibition
  • The curator will jury a complementary exhibit, with a theme of their design, in our University Place Gallery (or online*)
  • Adhere to all agreed-upon dates and deadlines, as established with the CAA staff
  • The curator must be available for a minimum of two in-person or ZOOM meetings with CAA staff; as well as the exhibition installation, reception, and curatorial walk-through
  • In order to receive the advertised stipend, curators must be able to complete a W9 form. CAA cannot offer visa sponsorship.
  • Any installations must require less than 25% of floor surface area of the Kathryn Schultz Gallery. Please see our general artwork guidelines for additional information.
  • Any A/V equipment required for the exhibit will need to be provided by the artist(s).
  • Exhibitions must be installed in under 3 days.
  • We encourage you to visit the Kathryn Schultz Gallery before applying for this opportunity or schedule a virtual tour* of the space.
    *Email us at info@cambridgeart.org to schedule your tour.
* Please note: due to the unknown duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person events/exhibits scheduled for University Place Gallery are subject to change. Any in-person events scheduled for the Kathryn Schultz Gallery may shift to online-only or hybrid events.

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR PROPOSAL

  • A statement of purpose
  • Exhibition proposal summary
  • Curator bio + CV
  • Bios + CVs for all proposed artists
  • Images of proposed artworks
  • Image list of proposed artworks, including title, media, dimensions, and price/value
  • Optional: A portfolio of 2-3 past curatorial projects

Please save the above components in a single .pdf, .doc or .docx document.

DATES & DEADLINES

Deadline to submit | February 15, 2021, at 11:59pm.
Acceptance Notification* | April 1, 2021, after 5pm
*No emails or phone calls, please.
Proposed Exhibition Dates | January 7 – February 3, 2022

FAQ 

How many artworks should be included in the proposal? 

  • This depends. We recommend applicants review the Kathryn Schultz Gallery floor plans (see below).
  • On average, we exhibit a maximum of 40 works at the Kathryn Schultz Gallery, dependent on size.
  • If your proposal is successful, CAA staff may ask you to alter the number of works included in the final exhibit to meet space requirements.
Who can submit a proposal?
  • Any emerging or established curator based in New England.
  • Proposals must contain a minimum of three (3) artists.
Where/how do I submit my proposal?
  • All proposals must be submitted through the CAA website via Submittable
  • Documents must be saved as Word documents (.doc or .docx) or PDFs.
  • All additional images must be saved as follows: ArtistName_title.jpeg
Who reviews the Curatorial Proposals?
Proposals are reviewed by the CAA Exhibitions Committee, which is comprised of CAA members, Board members, staff, and Boston-area curators.

 

When will I be notified if my proposal has been accepted?
All applicants will be notified no later than April 1, 2021 regarding acceptance for the January 2022 curatorial opportunity.

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Click here for the Kathryn Schultz Gallery floor plan

Click here to download a PDF of Curatorial Considerations

SUBMIT

 

submit

Have questions? Please email Norma Jean Calderwood Director, Erin Becker at ebecker@cambridgeart.org, or call us at 617.876.0246

All decisions/selections are made by a committee All decisions are final.