OPEN CALL: ACCELERATOR. ART IN THE PUBLIC SPACE
Mentorship and production programme for emerging artists
ACCELERATOR. ART IN THE PUBLIC SPACE. Mentorship and Production Programme for Emerging Artists is a mentorship program that starts from the premise of the importance that a strategic approach to the career path can have for emerging artists and the understanding of this approach as a means used by both them and their partner institutions to educate a wider audience, not just a specialized one. In the current cultural context in Romania, there is still an acute lack of communication between the artist and the public due to the absence of a common language between the two parties. Through this programme, the Eastwards Prospectus Cultural Association aims to generate a context in which the artists and the audience will enter a dialogue. We consider the lack of information for emerging artists regarding the professional environment of contemporary art as an ecosystem in which the artist is not only a creator, but the core of processes of collaboration with other professionals in the field and direct communication with the public, which require knowledge complementary to creative knowledge.
From May to November 2024, the selected emerging artists will:
- Participate in four intensive workshops supported by four mentors specializing in the themes: The contemporary art system – the artist, part of an ecosystem; Art in the public space – how to coexist; Curating – artist-curator collaboration; PR, art communication and writing in the context of art practice – the artist concerning the general public;
- Participate in individual mentoring sessions with the four mentors.
- Participate in the digital content project “MEET THE ARTISTS”, a project dedicated to their professional work available on the website:https://accelerator-mentorat.ro/.
- Produce artworks on a theme decided in the working groups, works that they will present in different spaces around the country made site-specific.
ACCELERATOR. ART IN PUBLIC SPACE selects 5 emerging artists and has them in contact with Romanian art professionals for 5 months. Throughout the program, the artists will be permanently coordinated and supported by a team of professionals consisting of the project manager Andrei Breahnă and the technical coordinator of the project, Georgia Țidorescu, whose main goal will be to provide, together with the mentors of the program, a framework for professional development through a strategic and coherent approach and to provide the artists with the necessary tools to develop the skills of presentation, organization and communication of their practice.
Through ACCELERATOR. ART IN PUBLIC SPACE, we aim to provide artists with insights and pragmatic solutions to effectively manage their career path. Participants will gain knowledge on issues such as how the contemporary art system works, the inner workings of a contemporary art organization, production budgets, presenting their practice, and communicating to different audiences and will receive support in producing artworks to be exhibited in public space or site-specific, depending on the concept agreed with the curator, Georgia Țidorescu.
Five emerging artists will be selected to participate. Each of them will receive a gross fee of 10.000 lei for each of the two stages of the project – mentoring programme and production of works and their exhibition in public space.
The program accepts applications from artists who:
- Are emerging artists*
- Are over 21 years of age, with no requirement to have a degree
- Have a maximum of 10 years of continuous experience in the visual arts
- Have the possibility to participate in the workshops that will take place in Bucharest (June 2024)
- Have the possibility to participate in the meetings organized by the project team to exhibit the works made individually or in collaboration with other artists in the public space
- Are available to be involved in a mentoring and production of new works program for 5 months (June 2024 – October 2024), through physical and online participation in all activities carried out within the program, depending on how each stage is carried out
* By “emerging artists” we mean artists with less than 10 years of professional experience. We have opted for the term “emerging” instead of “young” because we also accept applications from those who have made a career change or decided to prioritize their artistic activity in recent years, regardless of age.
Application files must contain:
- CV
- Cover letter, reflecting the complexity of the ACCELERATOR. ART IN PUBLIC SPACE programme and the intentions of emerging artists in line with the structure of the project and the types of activities proposed (max. 400 words).
- A feasible project idea for the ACCELERATOR. ARTS IN PUBLIC SPACE programme to take place in a city in Romania and can be implemented by the artist.
- Artist’s portfolio with max. 10 works (max. file size: 20 MB; for video works, include links and, if necessary, passwords).
Send files by email to accelerator@eastwardsprospectus.com.
Deadline: 29.05.2024, 23:59
Subject: Open call for emerging artists
We will send you an email confirming receipt of your application file.
If you have any questions about the application process, write to Georgia Țidorescu at accelerator@eastwardsprospectus.com
Registration: until 29.05.2024, 23:59
Selection of participants: 30.05 – 5.06.2024
Announcement of participants: 6.06.2024
Workshops and physical meetings (in Bucharest): 17 – 20.06.2024
One-to-one mentoring sessions (online): 8 – 12.07.2024
Production of artworks: 1.07.2024 – 5.09.2024
Start of series of activations of artworks in public space: 6.09.2024
Period of the series of activations of works of art in public space: 6.09.2024 – 15.10.2024
Registration: until 29.05.2024, 23:59
Selection of participants: 30.05 – 4.06.2024
Announcement of participants: 5.06.2024
Workshops and physical meetings (in Bucharest): 17 – 20.06.2024
One-to-one mentoring sessions (online): 8 – 12.07.2024
Production of artworks: 1.07.2024 – 5.09.2024
Start of series of activations of artworks in public space: 6.09.2024
Period of the series of activations of works of art in public space: 6.09.2024 – 15.10.2024
We have opted for the term “emerging” instead of “young” because we also accept applications from those who have made a career change or decided to prioritize artistic activity in recent years, regardless of age.
No, all artists are welcome to apply for the programme! All selected artists must be willing to travel to Bucharest to participate in the workshops organized by ACEP and to participate in all the activities in the program. During the selection phase, the jury will go through all the applications and will select the five participants based on an evaluation grid. We regret that we cannot provide feedback to those who are not selected.
Read here the rules of the call.
What does "emerging artist" mean?
In the context of this project, an emerging artist has less than 10 years of professional experience. We define this professional experience through various activities, from residencies and participation in group exhibitions to solo exhibitions and presentations of work at art fairs.
We are an artistic duo or collective. Can we apply?
Yes. Please include this information in your application. Please note that the fee will be awarded for the duo/collective and will be divided between the members.
Can I only participate online?
ACCELERATOR. ART IN THE PUBLIC SPACE is a five-month project, with activities taking place mainly offline, participation in all activities carried out within the programme is mandatory. We believe that the best way to participate in the workshops is in the same physical space as the other artists and mentors invited to the programme. Therefore, we will be waiting for you at Gaep Gallery, from 17 to 20.06.2024.
Each lab will physically take place over four days. Each mentor will allow you to deepen the knowledge you have acquired through the assignments you will be given, and afterward you will work on your own from the assignments given by the mentors and receive online feedback from each of them in individual working sessions held online.
I do not live in Bucharest. Will my travel and accommodation expenses be covered?
Travel and accommodation expenses for the workshops that will take place in Bucharest from 17 to 20.06.2024 will be covered.
We support the participating artists with a gross fee of 10.000 Lei, which will be paid in two installments, one of which for their participation in the digital project “Meet the Artists”, where the artists will answer questions about themselves and their practice, and the second for the preparation of the artworks.
What data should I remember?
For registration: until 29.05.2024, 23:59
To find out if you have been selected: 05.06.2024
To attend the intensive workshops in Bucharest: 17 – 20.06.2024
For one-to-one mentoring sessions (online): 8 – 12.07.2024
For the production of artworks in public space: 1.07.2024 – 5.09.2024
For exhibition of works: 6.09.2024 – 15.10.2024
What does the project timetable look like in detail?
ACCELERATOR. ART IN THE PUBLIC SPACE will take place over four months and includes the following phases: mentoring programme (four workshops over four days starting on 17.06.2024; production of artworks min. 1 work/artist); period 1.07.2024 – 5.09.2024 and exhibition of works in the public space: 6.09.2024 – 15.10.2024).
ACCELERATOR. ART IN PUBLIC SPACE starts with four days (17 – 20.06.2024) of in-person activities, held at Gaep Gallery (Strada Giuseppe Garibaldi, nr.8, Sector 2, Bucharest): one day for each of the four workshops organized in this first week (Contemporary Art System; Art in Public Space; PR, Communication in Art and Writing in the Context of Artistic Practice; Curating. The relationship between artist and curator). Between 8 – 12.07.2024, the activities will continue online in the form of one-to-one mentoring.
After completing the mentoring program, you will move on to the second phase of the project and will be guided by our team to start the production of the artwork that will be exhibited in different locations around the country. The curator of the programme will work with you to establish the concept of the artwork, with production taking place from 1.07.2024 – 5.09.2024 and the actual exhibition from 6.09.2024 – 15.10.2024.
What results does the project aim to achieve?
We aim that at the end of ACCELERATOR. ART IN PUBLIC SPACE, to:
- have more confidence and ability to follow your career path in the art scene,
- have the knowledge and skills to manage a personal exhibition project
- expand your professional network
- be part of a community that shares professional opportunities
Through the two stages – mentoring and exhibition of artwork made site-specific – ACCELERATOR. ART IN PUBLIC SPACE engages emerging artists in an experience with the potential to significantly transform their careers.
You will learn from mentors in four thematic workshops and individual mentoring sessions. You will gain insights on topics such as the artist-gallery relationship, the functioning of different types of contemporary art organizations, and the communication of artistic practice. In this way, you will receive tangible complementary information that formal education in Romania does not offer and through which you can improve your skills in organizing, presenting, and communicating your practice.
You will receive access to the resources needed to produce new work. You will produce these works and collaborate constantly with a curator throughout the process. Artistic creation will take place through individual works intended for public exhibition.
The structure of the programme facilitates your interaction within the core group of emerging artists, between you and Romanian professionals, as well as your interaction with the general public.
If I have further questions, who can I contact?
If you have any questions about the project, please write to Georgia Țidorescu at accelerator@eastwardsprospectus.com.