Open call IMPAKT Full Spectrum Curatorship programme

IMPAKT invites emerging and aspiring curators with a specific interest in media art and its relationship to technology and society to apply for the Full Spectrum Curatorship Programme. Applications are open until March 1, 2021.

Full Spectrum Curatorship is a programme from IMPAKT that aims to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and the practical and substantive aspects of curation in the field of media art and contemporary arts dealing with digital technologies and online environments. IMPAKT, as the oldest media art festival in the Netherlands, offers recent graduates and curators at the beginning of their career the opportunity to develop their own curatorial programme under expert guidance. The experience of internationally recognised curators will be complemented by IMPAKT’s extensive archive and contemporary critical programming. In the framework of this training programme, history, theory, contextualisation, organisation, and execution of media art related programmes will be discussed. The programme covers a.o. developing a curatorial concept, critical and societal contextualisation, selection of works, budgets and funding, and presentation formats. The focus will be on time-based media. There will be specific attention to its aspects like technological and logistical character, challenges and possibilities of multi-channel and interactive formats, presentation formats and perception of the public.

The list of coaching curators is still in progress, the following curators are confirmed:

-Paulien Dresscher (independent researcher, curator and advisor. Curator of the Interactive programme of the Dutch Film Festival and of Into the Great Wide Open, formerly curating for Cinekid)
–Katerina Gregos (curator, writer and lecturer. Chief curator of the 1st Riga Biennial 2018 and curator at the Schwarz Foundation, Munich/Athens. In 2011 she curated the critically acclaimed exhibition for the Danish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennial)
-Bart Rutten (artistic director of the Centraal Museum Utrecht. He was previously the head of collections at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the Netherlands Media Art Institute)
-Angelique Spaninks (director and curator at MU Hybrid Art House, Eindhoven. She was director and artistic manager at STRP Festival from 2012 to 2018 and international curator for the 6th Guangzhou Triennial in 2018)
-Florian Wüst (independent film curator, has been working for transmediale, Impakt, Werkleitz and many other international festivals and venues)

The programme will take place online from April to June 2021. The opening weekend will feature presentations by curators presenting their practices in lectures, panels in which curators will discuss key topics and meetings between the participants in the programme. Afterwards, the programme consists of weekly meetings, from April to June, in which participants present and get feedback on their curatorial ideas by their assigned coach and the other participants. All meetings will be held in English. The participation fee is EUR 250.

Recent graduates and upcoming curators are specially invited to apply. Talented students can also apply, but it is not possible to receive ECTS. As a participant you are expected to attend all sessions, including the ones in which fellow participants present and discuss their projects. In addition to the collective sessions there will be one on one sessions between participants and coaches. Expect that participation in the programme, including the preparation and research you’ll need to do, will cost you about 8 hours per week.

To apply, please send an up to date CV and answer the questions in the application form. The application should also include a brief proposal for one or more subjects to be explored over the course of the programme. You can apply until March 1, 2021, 11:59pm (CET) via this link.

About IMPAKT
IMPAKT is a media arts organization based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and founded in 1988. With a yearly programme of events, we present critical and creative views on contemporary media culture and arts, in an interdisciplinary context. Our aim is to identify emerging paradigms in transglobal culture, by focusing on the relationship between society, media, technology and arts.
impakt.nl