Emerging Curator Fellowship

To be eligible for a fellowship, you must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada:

• this includes individuals residing outside of Alberta

Proposals will be accepted from any of the following:

• emerging curators, that is persons with less than 10 years of professional artistic practice or less than 10 years of experience curating exhibitions in Alberta, Canada or abroad (equivalencies and combinations of experience will be considered)
• individuals, sole proprietors, or groups of individuals (for example, ensembles) working in professional partnerships or curatorial collectives as long as all members can be classified as “emerging curators”
• individuals enrolled in graduate level post-secondary education

The following applicants are ineligible:

• individuals currently enrolled in undergraduate programs
• applicants, including ensembles, must not be incorporated under either provincial or federal legislation

Please note: applicants that currently hold an open AFA project grant are eligible to compete for, and enter into, a contract with the AFA through the Emerging Curators Fellowship.

This fellowship supports online exhibitions of Albertan visual art. A contract worth up to $10,000 per proposal is available for this project. A maximum of one fellowship will be awarded.

Each exhibit will be posted on the AFA website and the Google Cultural Institute (GCI) website and is intended to create exposure for the AFA collection, especially for artworks that cannot be used in regular AFA programming.

• all artworks included in the exhibition must be from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection

Ineligible projects

The following projects are ineligible:

• exhibitions prepared as part of post-secondary programs or where academic credits are given
• exhibitions already completed or due to be completed before the commencement of the funding period (funding will not be provided retroactively)
• exhibitions that have been previously published, produced or exhibited
• costs for business start-up and the purchase of basic equipment (for example, personal computer and software)

The AFA will accept fellowship applications by mail or email at the address listed below. Email applications must be received by 11:59pm of the deadline date; while all mailed applications must be postmarked with the application date. Please note:

• the AFA does not accept late or incomplete applications
• applications must be received prior to the commencement of the project
• projects involving more than one artist must be submitted by one individual on behalf of the ensemble or group
  • the AFA does not accept separate applications for the same project

Applications can be mailed or emailed to:

Gail Lint, Art Collections Consultant
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
10708 105 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
T5H 0A1

What to include in your application

Applicants must include the following:

• a curatorial statement outlining the exhibition theme/idea/concept to be developed
• suggested artworks from the AFA collection (images are encouraged)
  • you can browse the AFA collection for images online
• the target audience for the exhibition;
• a sample or proposal for educational packages and/or interpretive guides which will support the exhibit
• a statement outlining the approach to interpretive materials
• the proposed timeline for the project including a suggested minimum of one on-site visit to the AFA collection in Edmonton, AB
• a proposed budget for the project, including curatorial fees, and travel costs
• resumes of all curators involved in the submission
• completed checklist of all mandatory application elements

This funding is administered at the discretion of the AFA board on a project-by-project basis.

All submitted proposals will be reviewed by an experienced panel of art professionals. The panel assesses the merit of each application both on its own terms and in relation to all other applications received for a given deadline.

 Assessment of a project is based on the following general criteria:

• quality, innovation and originality of exhibition proposal
• the applicants’ experience and profile
• feasibility of exhibition, timeline and budget
• approach to audience engagement and development
• quality of proposed interpretive package

The projected start date for successful proposals is November 2021.

Successful proposals will be developed and finalized in partnership with Arts Branch staff, taking into account financial constraints, artists’ requirements and other programming specifics.

The final contract between the AFA and the successful applicant will generally include the following information:

The successful candidate will be required to:

• curate an exhibition of 15 to 25 artworks from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Collection
• prepare a curatorial statement/overview for the exhibition
• research and prepare artist statements and/or biographies for all artists included in the exhibition
• provide interpretive text as required for the artworks included

The AFA will provide:

• curatorial consultation on AFA collection
• high resolution digital files of AFA artworks included in the exhibition (for use in interpretive guides/educational packages etc.)
• access to individual artist files at the Capital Arts Building in Edmonton
• the technical development, production and online hosting of the exhibition on the AFA website and Google Cultural Institute website

Please note: successful Fellowship recipients are not precluded from applying to AFA project funding streams while the terms of the contract are being completed.

Funding acknowledgement

Whenever possible, you must acknowledge the AFA for financial support in any publicity prepared in relation to the project, including electronic, print, or visual material.

Download versions of the AFA logo and guidelines for usage.

Any specific reporting requirements will be outlined in the final contract between successful applicants and the AFA.

The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) collects, manages, and provides access to the largest collection of visual artwork by Albertan artists. Established in 1972, the AFA Art Collection is a unique representation of the history, development and achievements of Alberta's provincial visual arts community. Today, the AFA is proud to manage one of the strongest, most active provincial art collections in Canada. View the collection online.

• Emerging Curator Application Checklist
• Direct deposit form (fillable*)
• Direct deposit form (print to complete)

*Unless you are using Internet Explorer, this Adobe PDF will not open in your browser. Please download the fillable direct deposit form and open with either Adobe Reader or Acrobat to view and complete.