This September, Independent Curators International (ICI) produces the Curatorial Intensive: Curating Now, a ten-day professional development program that offers curators the opportunity to discuss, among colleagues, the concepts, logistics, and challenges of organizing exhibitions, public programs, and other discursive formats.

The Curatorial Intensive is designed to immerse participants in a rigorous itinerary of conversations and presentations that support the process of developing an idea for an exhibition or program into a full proposal, and is targeted toward self-motivated individuals—working independently or in institutions—who would benefit from a week of intensive discussions around the issues and questions that arise for curators. Topics range from the pragmatics of developing a program and building working relationships with artists to the theoretical aspects of understanding how to turn a concept into a project and effectively communicate ideas.

Seminars, site visits, individual meetings, and roundtable discussions will be led by a group of professionals that includes María del Carmen Carrión (Associate Director of Public Programs & Research, ICI, New York), Holland Cotter (Co-chief Art Critic and Senior Writer, The New York Times), Reem Fadda (Associate Curator of Middle Eastern Art, Abu Dhabi Project, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York), Lia Gangitano (Founder/Director, PARTICIPANT INC, New York), Elizabeth M. Grady (Director of Programs, A Blade of Grass, New York), Larissa Harris (Curator, Queens Museum of Art, New York), and Renaud Proch  (Executive Director, ICI, New York), among others.

Application guidelines 

Application deadline: July 25

12–14 applicants working internationally will be selected to participate in the Curatorial Intensive. The applicant must have 3+ years of curatorial experience. All applications must include a 500-word description of an exhibition or program idea that the applicant would like help in developing. This description should outline the proposal concept and any artists that the applicant is considering. Also required are a current 250-word bio, a 500-word letter of intent, and a 300-word text that describes a recent curatorial project that has made an impact on the applicant. To apply, and for full application guidelines, visit ICI’s website.

Fees and scholarships

The program fee is 1,900 USD. Participants are also responsible for covering travel and accommodation expenses. Scholarship packages that subsidize or eliminate the program fees, accommodation and travel expenses are available and awarded based on merit. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please include a letter of motivation with your application. Scholarships are available for curators from Turkey, supported by SAHA.

For more information or questions, visit ICI’s website or email kimberly@curatorsintl.org.

The Curatorial Intensive is ICI’s short-term, low-cost training program that offers a group of curators the chance to develop project ideas and make connections with professionals in the field. It also provides the invaluable opportunity for peer-group education, forging new networks internationally. The Curatorial Intensive takes place twice annually in New York, and in other locations in conjunction with institutional partners worldwide. The Curatorial Intensive is made possible in part by grants from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and the Hartfield Foundation; and by generous contributions from Toby Devan Lewis, the ICI Board of Trustees, the ICI Gerrit Lansing Education Fund, and the supporters of ICI’s Access Fund.

ICI  Independent Curators International connects emerging and established curators, artists, and institutions to forge international networks and generate new forms of collaboration through the production of exhibitions, events, publications, and curatorial training. Headquartered in New York, the organization provides public access to the people and practices that are key to current developments in curating and exhibition-making around the world, inspiring fresh ways of seeing and contextualizing contemporary art. Since it was established in 1975, ICI has produced 128 traveling exhibitions and profiled the work of more than 3,700 artists and curators, working with 478 museums, university art galleries, and art centers in 49 states and 42 countries worldwide.

www.curatorsintl.org