Download an application for 2010
Established Curators
Apprentice Curators

The deadline for applications for the 2010 Curatiorial Initiative is October 30 , 2009
Please submit the completed application, along with a resume and writing sample, to:

DC Arts Center
2438 18th St. NW
Washington DC, 20009

Or email to:
info@dcartscenter.org

The Curatorial Initiative

Through the Curatorial Initiative, DC Arts Center pairs an experienced curator with someone who has a strong interest in curating. The apprentice curator assists the experienced curator with an exhibition, before taking charge of the planning for a second exhibition later in the year. The program provides an opportunity for an emerging curator to gain experience with the process of planning and mounting an exhibition and reflects DCAC's commitment to curatorial practice as an integral part of the organization's mission of supporting emerging artists. By nurturing new curators, DCAC hopes to bring fresh blood into our own programming, while assisting a new generation of curators who will take the knowledge they learn through the Initiative out into the arts community and beyond.

The program began in 2005 with a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. It continues today through the generous support of DCAC's members and private donors.

The role of curators in the DC Arts Center Gallery

We are excited to have the possibility of experienced curators working closely with us to help select engaging exhibitions and dialogue with our audiences. Having a group of established curators in an ongoing relationship with DCAC will enable us not only to create a much needed program of curatorial development, but to augment our monthly discussion series with topics directly related to our exhibits and the concepts they embody. Currently our discussions are hosted by local artists and arts professionals on topics of their choosing, not always related to the exhibition in the gallery. By adding the curators into the mix we hope to make some of the talks more relevant to that which the audience can immediately relate.

Also, with a group of curators planning exhibitions farther in advance than our Visual Arts Committee has in the past will enable us to give more continuity to our programming, perhaps even creating blocks of two or three exhibitions that are thematically or conceptually related. While this is not a requirement of the program, we hope to engage the curators in our overall planning for the gallery. Even in a consulting role the experience and artistic views of these collaborators will be extremely beneficial to the overall vision of our Visual Arts Committee and long range planning they present to the board of directors.

How the program works

There are two parts to the process in this program.

The first part is an exhibition selected and planned by an established curator. They will show the apprentice curator the ropes; how the idea takes shape, what is involved, how to meet deadlines, develop themes, curate the actual work, writing essay material and having all PR materials ready. The established curator will also introduce the apprentice to key individuals in the art community and hopefully help forge relationships that will assist the apprentice with future projects. In this phase the apprentice will assist and learn.

For the second part of the plan the apprentice curator will do it all; select, plan and execute the exhibition and all its aspects. The established curator would still be available for assistance if needed, but at this point the apprentice works directly to the gallery staff. In this phase the apprentice is basically autonomous but with the option of checking with mentor occasionally. Optimally they will have created a relationship with the established curator that results in them meeting artists and making connections that they would not have made on their own.

Selection of Apprentice curators

We are looking for serious participants who will complete the program. Writing samples and references are mandatory. After an interview with the program director to clarify the requirements of participation, applicants meet with the established curators and the Visual Arts Committee. Once a pool of qualified applicants has been identified selection will begin. As the program requires a good working relationship between the established curator and the apprentice we will defer to the established curators choice, if they have one. In cases where the established curator is a professor, they may want to select their own assistant from their students. In any case, the Visual Arts Committee will work closely with the curators in defining, and if necessary redefining the selection process as we learn how best to attract good participants.
Normally there will be 1 apprentice per exhibition.

Criteria for selection of Apprentice Curators

We are not necessarily looking for art history majors; we are actively pursuing artists, bloggers, teachers and people with experience with art. This is not to say that we are excluding art history majors or students in art programs in schools, but stressing that we are open to any serious applicant who is willing to participate in what will most certainly be a time consuming and lengthy process. To our minds it is important to shatter any impression of elitism or preferential treatment for any reason, including but not limited to economic status, race, gender, education, or sexual preference. The committee is also unanimous in declaring that writing samples and references will play a critical role in the selection. We have a three step process:

• After an application has been received, the writing sample reviewed and references checked out, a one on one interview with the program director will be arranged.

• If the applicant is acceptable to the program director they will be invited to attend a gathering of the applicants who passed the first phase, the Visual Arts Committee, and the established curators. There they will have the opportunity to present themselves, their reasons for wanting to participate, and some of their ideas about art. The established curators will also present themselves and briefly outline their ideas for exhibitions. Resumes or biographies will be available and there will be ample time for casual introductions and personal meetings between the curators and applicants. The applicants will leave with a form that instructs them to comment on which of the curators interest them and why. The form will be returned to the program director.

• After the forms have been gathered they will be distributed to the curators. The curators will then meet together with the Visual Arts Committee and state their preference, if any, for one of the applicants. We hope that the paring could be established at that meeting; however, if the curators prefer to meet with one or more of the applicants, there would be a later meeting to determine the pairing. All of the curators we have spoken to about the program express a strong desire to choose the apprentice themselves and we are aware that it is vital to the program that the pairing be as harmonious as possible. Therefore, we will be open to, and most likely defer to the desires of the curators.

Forming such a program is a learning experience for us as much as the participant and we will seek at each stage to better our understanding of how our process is functioning and improve itif possible. While the outline may sound rigid at this point, we are simply trying to best explain our intentions in this program while stressing that we are flexible and are committed to the bestpossible relationship between the curators, the apprentices and the DC Arts Center.