MADRASSA 2017 : CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

Opportunity type : Calls for Proposals
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Madrassa is a programme of curatorial research and practice in contemporary art. It is one of the first of its kind in the region. The programme strives to educate and connect a community of young arts professionals through training and networking opportunities.
Madrassa supports innovative, independent curatorial practices that look beyond the dominant dynamics and modes of production, and seek to render art more accessible to all. It explores socially engaged visual arts practices, promotes collaborative projects and rich transnational exchange, and offers a platform for experimentation to the region’s emerging curatorial talents.

The first edition of the programme was launched in 2015 by l’Atelier de l’Observatoire (Art and Research) in Casablanca. The second edition of the programme will accept eight participants and is comprised of two components. The first is a training session in Casablanca (25 – 29 September 2017). It will include meetings, site visits, presentations and case studies led by regional and international curators and speakers. The second component is a ten-day curatorial residency in one of Madrassa’s partner institutions in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan or Morocco (see below). The training and residencies are specifically dedicated to alternative historiographical approaches that are being developed in North Africa and the Middle East through curatorial practices. In the specific context of the region, we will think and reflect about the essential role of contemporary exhibitions and curatorial essays and projects, in the important writing of narratives and histories of art and culture.

REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION :

Madrassa targets professionals (or students about to finish their studies) who wish to train or specialize, and who fill at least two of the following criteria:
∙ Experience in a structure such as a museum, an arts center, a gallery, a festival, a biennale, an artists’ residency, an arts or culture magazine, archives, etc.
∙ Studies in cultural management or arts
∙ A strong interest in curatorial practices and art history

All participants must be:
∙ Active in North Africa and/or the Middle-East
∙ Available for five days of training and for the ten-day curatorial residency
∙ Able to participate in training sessions which will be given – or translated – in English, as it is the common language of most participants and speakers.

Countries covered:

  • Algeria
  • Egypt
  • Jordan
  • Morocco