The Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI) and Contemporary And (C&) invite emerging art writers based and working in Caribbean contexts or diaspora to participate in a virtual Critical Writing Workshop in July led by Grace Aneiza Ali, Chris Cyrille, and Abdiel D. Segarra Ríos.

The CCI x C& Critical Writing Workshop will provide participants with the opportunity to hone their writing skills by exploring the art-writing process and engaging in conversations about various writing practices and strategies as well as the challenges faced in different Caribbean contexts. Following CCI’s goal of promoting cross-cultural dialogues and exchanges, the workshop will enable participants to expand their networks regionally and internationally and to explore the possibility of publishing on C& and in C& América Latina magazine, CCI Forum, and other outlets.

This Critical Writing Workshop is part of CCI’s ongoing effort to support and generate spaces for self-reflection and collective learning rooted in Caribbean perspectives and experiences. By facilitating conversations that bridge diverse approaches and languages, this workshop aims to encourage new collaborations and solidarities within and beyond the region.

Itinerary

This online workshop will take place over four weeks in July. It will be divided into collective sessions (weeks 1 and 4: Tuesdays, July 2 and 23) and breakout sessions (weeks 2 and 3) in English (Tuesdays, July 9 and 16), French (Wednesday, July 10 and 17), and Spanish (Thursdays, July 11 and 18). Sessions will run from 1:00 to 3:00 pm EST.

Elegibility

The workshop is open to writers in the early stages of their career who are interested in contemporary art of the Caribbean and related practices. Applicants should have writing experience in the fields of art and culture, and be fluent in oral and written Spanish, English, or French.

How to Apply

A maximum of twenty-five applicants will be selected. Interested candidates should submit the following: 1) a CV, including emergency contacts; 2) a one-page letter of motivation; and 3) a writing sample (no more than 1000 words). Please indicate in your letter which breakout session you would like to attend. All materials should be submitted together in a single PDF document to info@contemporaryand.com by May 31, 2024.

Workshop Tutors

Guyanese-born Grace Aneiza Ali is a curator and assistant professor in the Department of Art and the Department of Art History’s Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies Program at the College of Fine Arts, Florida State University. She is a 2024­–25 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellow at The Huntington. Ali’s focus is on art of the Caribbean diaspora with particular attention to her homeland, Guyana. Her book Liminal Spaces: Migration and Women of the Guyanese Diaspora explores the art and migration narratives of women of Guyanese heritage. Ali serves as editor in chief of the College Art Association publication Art Journal Open.

Chris Cyrille is a poet, writer, and exhibition storyteller living between Guadeloupe and France. He graduated from the Faculty of Arts, Philosophy, and Aesthetics at Paris 8 University and has worked for several French and international magazines. His research is focused on anti-colonial and Caribbean literature. He is one of the founders of the project Mangrovité and is currently pursuing research on the Second Congress of Black Artists and Writers.

Abdiel D. Segarra Ríos is associate curator at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico (MAC) and a PhD candidate in Artistic, Literary, and Cultural Studies at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. He has published texts and photographs in academic journals, independent media, and newspapers, and was editor of Sin Norte (2019), Disfrute-los-inconvenientes (2023), and Conboca (2006). His current research explores migrant experiences and the production of diasporic identities.

About the Caribbean Cultural Institute

The Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI) is a curatorial and research platform at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) dedicated to promoting and supporting the artistic and cultural production of the Caribbean and its diasporas through exhibitions, fellowships, public programs, and collection development.

Please send application inquiries to info@contemporaryand.com with CCI x C& Critical Writing Workshop as the subject line.