The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum: hallFellowship

The Hall Curatorial Fellowship

Print the complete guidelines and application [PDF]

Guidelines

The Aldrich
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is a non-collecting museum of contemporary art located in Ridgefield Connecticut, USA. Founded in 1964, today's Aldrich Museum serves as not only a viewing place for contemporary art but also a venue where art, education, and culture converge to expand traditional ways of thinking. Before you apply, to gain a greater understanding of the Museum, our mission, and our programs please explore our website: http://www.aldrichart.org

Our Mission
It is the mission of The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum to be a national leader in the exhibition of significant and challenging contemporary art with an emphasis on emerging and mid-career artists, a world-class innovator of museum education programs, and a vital cultural resource for our community.

The Program
The Hall Curatorial Fellowship program is intended to offer an exceptional opportunity to a visiting international curator to gain United States curatorial experience in a United States museum setting, and to support the professional development of curators. In order to bring an international perspective to the Museum’s curatorial practice, the Hall Fellow will be primarily responsible for curating an original exhibition in keeping with the Museum’s mission, overseeing its installation at The Aldrich, and the development of appropriate complementary cultural and educational programs.

The Hall Curatorial Fellowship program is NOT a residency program.
Applicants are invited to submit a proposal for a solo or group exhibition of contemporary art created within the past five years, the proposed exhibition must be his/her original idea and has not previously been presented; in accordance with the guidelines under How to Apply For a Fellowship. All forms of visual art, with no media restrictions, are eligible. The exhibition should be an original idea of interest to viewers of all ages, which offers the opportunity for a United States exhibition to an international emerging and mid-career artist(s). The applicant should describe the concept of the exhibition, appropriate participating artist(s), and create a feasible budget not in excess of US$70,000 for the project.

American citizens are not eligible to receive the Fellowship; eligible curators must be citizens of a country other than the United States of America; they also must currently live and work in a country other than the United States of America.

Applications are due on February 15, 2008.

Please note, this opportunity is not intended to fund research for the completion of an academic degree; and is not a residency program.

In selecting the Hall Fellow, all of the following will be considered:

Commitment to the Mission of The Aldrich
Quality of the works of art to be included
Intellectual quality of proposal’s premise
Degree of innovation
Potential for the exhibition to have an impact on the general public
Significance of the exhibition within the curatorial profession
Feasibility of proposed exhibition
Specific artist(s) and works that are proposed to be included and likelihood of successfully securing loans for the exhibition
Capacity of exhibition space to successfully execute the concept
Academic and/or professional qualifications of the applicant
Proposed time schedule, including travel plans and time to be spent at The Aldrich
Proposed budget
Potential for complementary educational programming
Strength of professional recommendations
Potential of the exhibition to travel

The Award
The Hall Fellow will receive a stipend of US$25,000 over an eighteen-month period.

Please note the Hall Curatorial Fellowship program is NOT a residency program. The Museum will provide round-trip travel and accommodations for up to three visits to The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. The first two visits: up to one week each; and the third visit: during the installation period (not to exceed a two week period.)

The Aldrich will pay the actual costs of the exhibition, not to exceed US$70,000, from its exhibition fund. The Fellowship period will run from June 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009. The exhibition will be on view from September 2009 through February 2010.

Eligibility
An applicant for the Hall Curatorial Fellowship must:

Be a citizen of a country other than the United States of America
Currently live and work in a country other than the United States of America
Be a full-time art professional, or currently devoting a significant part of his/her professional life to creating, organizing, or analyzing contemporary art, with the objective of full-time employment in the field
Be proficient in English (verbal and written)
Have had prior experience as the curator or co-curator of at least three professional exhibitions of contemporary art
Be able to travel to the United States of America

It is the sole responsibility of the fellow to secure the necessary permissions to travel to and work in the United States, including: proper permissions, paperwork, (visa) licenses, and insurance to enter, function, and travel within the US. It is important to begin proceedings as soon as the Fellow is announced.

Adjudication
The Hall Fellowship will be awarded through an open competition administered by The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. Applications will be reviewed by a jury comprised of distinguished contemporary art world professionals appointed by The Aldrich. Finalists may be invited to The Aldrich for an interview. The final selection will be made by The Aldrich.

To ensure a fair and objective review process, it is the policy of The Aldrich not to comment on the deliberations of its Awards panels. Thus The Aldrich is unable to provide written or oral evaluations of applications after a Fellow has been chosen.

Terms of the Hall Fellowship
The Aldrich regards the successful applicant’s acceptance of the Hall Curatorial Fellowship as a contract, which will require the fulfillment of the following terms:

The Hall Fellow will execute his/her proposed exhibition during the assigned fellowship period.
The Hall Fellow will certify that the proposed exhibition is in keeping with and in support of the Mission of The Aldrich Museum.
The Hall Fellow will certify that the proposed exhibition is his/her original idea and has not previously been presented.

The Hall Fellow will be in a position to devote a significant and appropriate amount of time to working on his/her proposed exhibition during the assigned Fellowship period.
The Hall fellow, in cooperation with the Museum staff will develop and adhere to an agreed upon exhibition timeline.

The Hall Fellow will sign a binding contract setting forth the expectations of both parties for the fulfillment of the exhibition. Failure to comply with this contract will cause the delay or forfeit of the stipend and/or the proposed exhibition.

How to Apply for a Fellowship
Please read all the instructions carefully—your application will be disqualified if all criteria are not met.

Print the complete guidelines and application [PDF]

Before starting your application, you should be aware of the following:

Applications must be in English
All application materials become the property of The Aldrich and will not be returned
Only one submission per applicant
Please use the checklist provided: if any item is missing from the application, it will be considered incomplete and will not be presented to the Fellowship Jury
All application materials should be sent together and received at The Aldrich in one package.

All written materials should be presented single spaced on one side of letter-size white paper, using a typeface no smaller than 11 point. Please do not staple or bind the materials; secure with a binder clip or paper clip.

1.Application Information - Cover Sheet

Please fill in the required information on the Application Information Cover Sheet. Please do not expand this material to any more than the space provided on that one page.

2. Exhibition Proposal
This narrative should not exceed four pages (single spaced on one side of letter-size white paper, using a typeface no smaller than 11 point)

Please include:

How the exhibition relates to the Mission of The Aldrich
A detailed description of the proposed project
Potential artist(s) to be included in the exhibition
The project’s artistic and intellectual significance
What in your past experience makes you the appropriate person to mount this exhibition
A description of the potential of the exhibition to complement and inspire public programs for all age groups
Your assessment of the logistical challenges of mounting this exhibition
Special requirements (for example, will the exhibition require specialized audio-visual equipment?)

Exhibition Budget & Narrative
Please use the Exhibition Budget form to create your budget. The estimated proposed budget should be calculated in US dollars (use an online currency converter and indicate the original currency and exchange rate). Items to be considered include round-trip art transportation, art crating, framing, special supplies/materials for installation or construction, artists’ honoraria, and loan fees (if any). This budget should not include publicity and catalogue expenses. Your budget for this part of the exhibition’s expenses should not exceed US$70,000. Please attach a brief Budget Narrative, not to exceed one page, to the Exhibition Budget form to describe your anticipated expenses.

4. Supporting Documents
The following supporting documentation is required to ensure a complete review of your Hall Curatorial Fellowship application. Unless other instructions are given, please label all materials in the upper right hand corner with your name.

Supporting visual materials.
Images must be submitted on a DVD or CD with a script on a separate sheet identifying images in detail. Please send no more than 20 images total. The script should identify for each image the artist, date, title, and medium and dimensions.

Please see Appendix I - Hall Curatorial Fellowship Dos and Don’ts - for instructions/examples on how your images should be labeled and saved.

DVDs should be in either NTSC or PAL formats. CDs should be cross-platform compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems. Images should be formatted in either JPEG or TIFF formats.Powerpoint, Keynote, or slideshow presentations are preferred.

DO NOT SEND ORIGINALS; APPLICATION MATERIALS WILL NOT BE RETURNED.

Floor and site plans of The Aldrich. The plans show which areas of the Museum are available for the exhibition. Please download and print out these plans and indicate which areas you anticipate that your exhibition would use.

Please note: your exhibition does not need to fill all the available galleries indicated on the floor plans; and the final location of your exhibition will ultimately decided by the Curatorial staff of The Aldrich.

Catalogues or brochures from up to three exhibitions previously curated or co-curated by the applicant. Indicate your role: curator, co-curator, artist, essayist.. etc..

Curriculum Vitae/Resume (including education, employment, honors, awards, publications, past curatorial experience, projects).

Reference form: Three professional colleagues whom we may contact for a reference, listed on the reference form. If you have not done so already, please download and print the complete guidelines and application [PDF] which includes the reference form.

5. Checklist
Please complete this checklist and include it with your application packet. If you have not done so already, please download and print the complete guidelines and application [PDF] which includes the checklist.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

The DEADLINE for receipt of applications is February 15, 2008. Applications that do not arrive on or before this date will not be reviewed.

Confirmation of receipt of your application packet will be sent to the email address listed on the Application Information cover sheet.
All applicants will have been advised of the outcome prior to any public announcement.

For questions regarding the preparation of your application, email fellowship@aldrichart.org

The Aldrich regrets that it is unable to enter into any correspondence with regard to the adjudication of the Fellowship. All decisions of the Museum are final.