22 Apr 2013

The Foundation for a Civil Society: YVAA - Vilcek Curatorial Fellowship Open Call

The Foundation for a Civil Society is pleased to announce the Young Visual Artists Awards: Marica Vilcek Fellowship.

Fellowships will be awarded to two US-based curators, critics and art historians with demonstrated experience and excellence in engaging with international contemporary art. The fellowship is composed of two main features: First, fellows will be provided with an opportunity to travel to one or more of the YVAA countries in Central and South-East Europe to serve as guest jury members for the national awards, as well as conduct short-term independent research, curatorial projects and develop professional networks. Second, fellows will serve as guest critics for the 10 YVAA artists in residence at International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) from September 2013 to May 2014, should they reside in NY. Fellows may be asked to write and publish features on the resident artists for the YVAA blog and other outlets. Furthermore, fellows may be invited to a six-week curatorial residency at ISCP between December 2013 and January 2014. The fellowship will cover economy air travel to and ground transportation within the YVAA countries (up to $1700), accommodation and per diems (up to $600), and honoraria ($500). A panel of professionals who live in, or have extensive knowledge of the region, will select the successful applicant. The YVAA juries convene in June and October and short-listed candidates will be contacted by YVAA Program Director for an informal conversation to establish eligibility and availability.

The Young Visual Artists Awards is an international network of awards and a New York residency program in Central and South East Europe. First established with President Havel and a group of artists in Czechoslovakia in 1990, this highly successful program has grown to 10 countries and has to date awarded and presented in the US 111 artists.

The YVAA awards and their local organizers are: ARDHJE AWARD – TICA , Tirana, Albania; ZVONO AWARD – Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Arts, Bosnia and Herzegovina; BAZA AWARD – Institute of Contemporary Art – Sofia, Bulgaria; RADOSLAV PUTAR AWARD – Institute for Contemporary Art, SCCA, Zagreb, Croatia; JINDRICH CHALUPECKY AWARD – Jindrich Chalupecky Society, Prague, Czech Republic; ARTIST OF TOMORROW AWARD – Kosova Art Gallery, Prishtina, Kosovo; DENES AWARD – Contemporary Art Center, Skopje, Macedonia; DIMITRIJE BASICEVIC MANGELOS AWARD – Remont Gallery, Belgrade, Serbia; OSKAR CEPAN AWARD – Foundation/Center for Contemporary Arts, Bratislava, Slovakia; OHO AWARD – P74 Center and Gallery, Ljubljana Slovenia.

This fellowship is made possible by the generous gift of Marica Vilcek – an art historian and co-founder of the Vilcek Foundation.


Please submit the following with your application:

1. One page cover letter stating the applicant's interest in the fellowship and particularly in the artistic scenes of the YVAA countries. Please note how the applicant is qualified to recognize artistic excellence? And how the applicant's practice will benefit from and incorporate YVAA artists. Preference for a particular YVAA country will be taken into consideration, but fellows will be assigned according to the needs and availability of all participating countries.

2. A current CV (abridged to no more than 4 pages).

3. Two writing samples.


Requirements:

1 Candidates must have a Master's Degree or higher in art history or related field with emphasis on modern or contemporary art.

2. Minimum 5 years curating and writing about contemporary art experience. Independent curators and those with institutional affiliations may apply.

3. Availability to travel in June or October 2013

Please direct questions and submit PDF applications to the attention of YVAA Program Director, Eriola Pira, at eriola@fcsny.org.

Deadline: April 30, 2013