As part of a shared commitment to enhancing learning and collaboration between UK and international Curators, Liverpool Biennial and the British Council are joining forces to offer 8 fully funded opportunities to attend a Curator’s networking and development week, within the 13th edition of Liverpool Biennial.

This programme will consist of talks, workshops, performances, tours, trips and networking opportunities with national peers and artists, all of which will be tailored to the individual ambitions and practices of the selected delegation. The aim is the support and offer development opportunities for international curators to make links with UK practitioners and institutions and to foster future collaboration.

Applications are open to mid-career Curator’s living and working in select countries within Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Please see the Who Can Apply? section for more details.

About the Curator’s Week Programme

These opportunities are open to Curator’s who are looking to expand their international networks and knowledge. In particular, those are invited whose practices or approach might resonate and connect with the Liverpool Biennial 2025 theme of BEDROCK.

BEDROCK draws on Liverpool’s distinctive geography and the beliefs which underpin the city’s social foundations. It is inspired by the sandstone which spans the city region and is found in its distinctive architecture. BEDROCK also acts as a metaphor for the social foundations of Liverpool and the people, places and values that ground all of us.

The city’s geological foundations and its psyche have provided the starting point for the conversations of Liverpool Biennial 2025, with the invited artists bringing us their own definition of BEDROCK. Definitions which include family and chosen family, cultural heritage carried across the generations, and the environments that nurture and restore them. Central to this understanding of BEDROCK is the sense of loss that comes from the ongoing legacies of colonialism and empire so formative to Liverpool’s foundations.

Successful recipients (8 places available) will attend a week-long research and development trip to Liverpool (UK) at a key point in the festival. The week is designed to offer opportunities for discourse, inspiration, knowledge and skills exchange, and to encourage Curators to build professional relationships with one another and their UK-based peers and artists.

Across the week, recipients will have opportunity to participate in a number of curated talks, workshops, trips, studio visits, presentations and events, all of which aim to facilitate sharing and connectivity between practices and geographies. This will include attending performances by Liverpool Biennial 2025 artists, opportunity to present your practice or interests to the group, hospitality events with local and national organisations, artists and curators, studio visits with local artists, and tailored opportunities for individuals based on their own practices and research. There will also be an opportunity to discover the broader cultural scene in the North of England with a daytrip to Bradford City of Culture 2025.

Participants will also have opportunity to contribute to our digital resource journal Stages, alongside the ongoing evaluation of the programme.

Deadline for applications: Sunday 2 March 2025, 11:59pm GMT

Which parts of the trip are funded?

There is funding available for return economy flights and UK travel, visa applications, accommodation and per diems for a 7 night trip to Liverpool, arriving Tuesday 22nd July – returning Tuesday 29 July 2025. (Please note that some delegates may need to travel overnight on Monday 21st July depending on outbound location and flight availability).

The per diem policy is £5 for breakfast, £8 for lunch and £8 for dinner where food is not provided. There will also be several lunches/dinners provided, plus refreshments.

The programme also includes a trip to Bradford City of Culture 2025, and free entry into a number of exhibitions, performances and events.

There is an accessibility budget available for those who have access requirements and require provision. A full access rider will be issued and Liverpool Biennial’s Access Liaison Officer will be happy to help you.

Delegates are welcome to extend their trip, however any costs associated with an extension must be covered by the individual, including additional nights or travel, and any increase in return travel costs as a result of date change.

Key Dates

Application deadline
Sunday 2 March 2025, 11:59pm GMT

Shortlisting decisions to be communicated to all applicants
w/c 24 March 2025

Delegation dates
Tuesday 22 July – Arrive in Liverpool, optional welcome dinner
Wednesday 23 July – Programme Day 1
Thursday 24 July – Programme Day 2
Friday 25 July – Programme Day 3
Saturday 26 July – Programme Day 4
Sunday 27 July – Programme Day 5
Monday 28 July – Programme Day 6
Tuesday 29 July – Programme Day 7 – Optional farewell event, Depart Liverpool

How to Apply
Applications should be submitted via online form here by no later than 11:59pm (GMT) on Sunday 2 March 2025.

• Provide a short overview of your Curatorial practice (up to 100 words)
• Explain why is the opportunity crucial to your professional development at this
  time? (up to 150 words)
• Additional Links / Website / CV
• Remember to include your name, country and any access requirements you may have (a full access rider will be issued for successful applicants)

Upon receipt of your application, you will receive a link to our equality monitoring form for you to complete and submit online. The information on the form will be treated as confidential, stored anonymously, and used for statistical purposes only. The completed form will not be treated as part of your application.

For more in-depth guidance on how to answer these questions, please see our FAQ section at the bottom of this document.
Unfortunately, no guidance or feedback on individual applications will be provided, however if you have any questions that aren’t covered in the guidance below or if you require the application form in an alternative format you can contact Liverpool Biennial by email via applications@biennial.com.

If you are submitting a video application, please ensure it is no more than five minutes maximum in length (the selection panel will only watch the first five minutes of any longer videos) and that it is submitted as an mp4 or mov file, answering the questions outlined above. It must be delivered in English and/or with an interpreter if necessary. Applicants are request to clearly state the question before their responses and submit a clear recording with no distracting background noise. Please note that videos do not need to be professionally recorded. No more than 20MB (please note you may need to compress your file to do this – as long as it is a clear recording then the production quality does not matter). Video or audio applications must be submitted directly by emailing applications@biennial.com.

Who can apply?

Liverpool Biennial x British Council Curators’ Week Programme is open to mid- career Curators who are seeking a development opportunity in order to expand their international reach, networks and knowledge.

Applicants may have a specific outcome they are hoping to achieve from this delegation, such as exhibition research, networking, or knowledge and skills building, or a mixture.

Applications who have not received support from British Council or Liverpool Biennial in the last two years will prioritised. – Provide a short overview of your Curatorial practice (up to 100 words)

Curators  who that meet the following criteria are welcomed to apply:

• Living and working in eligible countries (please see below) within Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia or Southeast Asia
• Consider themselves as mid-career (guidance for this is outlined below)
• Are working independently or within an organisation
• Are able to demonstrate a clear rationale for why they’d benefit from this opportunity
• Are friendly, generous and open in their approach, with a willingness to share, connect and learn from others
• Are over 18 years old Have a valid passport at the time of applying (please note, your passport must be valid for at least three months after planned departure date from the UK)
• no formal education or qualifications are necessary

Eligible Countries

Sub-Saharan Africa:
Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Southeast Asia:
Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia

South Asia:
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka

Unfortunately, the following applications can not be accepted:

• Organisations or companies (Applications must be from individual Curators. Curators working within organisations are welcome to apply, but must do so individually)
• Full-time students
• Curators living or working outside of the stated geographical areas
• Curators within 12 months of completing an undergraduate course

Collectives are welcome to apply, but please note that only one funded place will be allocated per successful application. We cannot accept multiple applications from the same collective or project.

The programme will be delivered in English.

For the purposes of this programme, we define mid-career as a curator who has at least one of the following:

•  Began working as a visual arts curator either within an arts organisation or independently within the last 5-10 years. Are able to demonstrate a clear rationale for why they’d benefit from this opportunity Are friendly, generous and open in their approach, with a willingness to share, connect and learn from others Are over 18 years old Have a valid passport at the time of applying (please note, your passport must be valid for at least three months after planned departure date from the UK) No formal education or qualifications are necessary
• Led on the curation of at least one high-profile exhibition that has received significant press coverage.
• Undertook research/critical study which links to the theme of Liverpool Biennial 2025, either for exhibition development or publication.

Other requirements
Participants will be asked to:

• Provide information including a biography and media of past work, and participate
  in PR activity where necessary.
• Produce a blog or social media post about their activity for use on the Liverpool
  Biennial and British Council websites or social media channels. These can be
  completed by text, video, audio and/or images.
• Contribute to an evaluation of the programme.

What is the selection process?
Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel including the Liverpool Biennial and the British Council.

No assessment will be made of the writing style or the production quality of audio or video recordings. Applications will be assessed against answers to the application questions and eligibility requirements.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome by 18 April 2025.

Access Needs

We encourage applications from D/deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodivergent individuals are encouraged to apply and will be worked  collaboratively with to meet access requirements.

Please submit the format of application which is most accessible to you (either written or by video) using your support workers as necessary, to ensure we receive it in written or spoken English.

There is a section in the application where you can let us know about the kind of access support you may require during the delegation. It is important that you complete this section to provide us with the information we need to support you with access, should this be required.

Application Guidance

Please find some notes below to support you when you’re writing your application.

Please provide an outline of your curatorial practice (up to 100 words)

The shortlisting panel may not be familiar with your work, this is a space to introduce what you do, and how and why you do it.

Share your interests, motivation and process in a clear and concise way.

Remember that Liverpool Biennial specifically looks for curator who are interested in and can respond to the BEDROCK theme of Liverpool Biennial 2025, which you can read more about here.

Why is the opportunity crucial to your professional development at this time? (up to 150 words)

Explain why this activity will make a significant difference for you now. Try to be as specific as possible. It’s important to understand why this is the right time for you to be doing this.

Explain how these activities will impact on your current position and how you’ll benefit in the short and long term. Are there any barriers you face which might result in you being unable to complete your proposed activity without this opportunity, and what new opportunities could it open up for you?

Link the activity to your ongoing practice so we can understand why what you’re proposing is vital to your career.

Additional Links / Website / CV

Add a link to your website, online portfolio, CV or other means of viewing your work online.

If you do not have a website, alternative ways to share examples of your practice could be a Dropbox folder of images or a link to a video sharing website such as YouTube or Vimeo (if applicable).

Please do not include links to personal social media accounts unless they are solely dedicated to your curatorial practice.

 

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