Curator Mentorship Initiative

The Curator Mentorship Initiative, supported by the Sidney Myer Fund, provides the opportunity for emerging and mid-career curators to further their professional development by supporting mentored placements within a gallery, art institution or university.

• Closing date: 10 April
• Notification: Beginning of June
• Four grants of up to $15,000 will be distributed annually, with up to $10,000 for the applicant and up to $5,000 for the partner organisation.

Applications must submitted online by the above due date. Printed applications will not be accepted.
Please read all of the information below before submitting your application.

Start Online Application

About

The program's funds may be used in any way that the applicant feels would benefit their proposed project. Examples may include: salary for the curator while developing an exhibition including research and/or writing, costs of exhibition space, printing, promotional material or developing a website.

Projects should be 3-12 months in duration and projects taking place in Australia will be given preference. Projects must start between July 2012 and June 2013.

In your application we would like you to outline the role your mentor will be undertaking throughout the project. If you would like more information on mentoring and advice on structuring a mentorship please see the Australia Council's mentoring guide - Getting Connected: Making your mentorship work

How to apply

• To apply for this grant you will need to submit an online application. 
• To start your application please click the ‘Start online application’ button at the top of this page. 
• Please read through the application form in full before completing.
• Click here to download the Guidelines and Terms & Conditions for this award.  

Support Material

As part of your online application you will need to upload the following support material:

• your Artist CV, no more than 1 x A4 pages in length and saved as a .pdf file*;
• the mentor’s CV, no more than 1 x A4 pages in length and saved as a .pdf file*;
• 10 images supporting your curatorial practice. These should be uploaded in one PowerPoint file, one image per slide. Click here to download a template; 
• an Image List, listing the titles of your images in the order they appear in the PowerPoint file. This should be saved as a .pdf file*. Click here to view an example Image List;
• a moving image file (if applicable to your practice), saved as an MP4 file;
• 2 professional references, saved as .pdf files*;
• an offer letter from the participating organisation/s, saved as a .pdf file*.  

*How to create a .pdf file from a Word document:

• In the Word document go to File and click ‘Save As’
• Select the drop down menu next to ‘Format’ and click ‘PDF’
• Click the ‘Save’ button

Assessment

The selection criteria for the Curator Mentorship Initiative will be based on the following:

• Demonstration of high quality and appropriate professional development opportunity for the applicant
• Demonstration of commitment from both the applicant and the partner organisation
• Demonstration of the quality of the applicant and the partner organisation
• Demonstration that the partner organisation will benefit from the project
• Inability for the project to take place without funding

Support

If you would like to discuss your application please contact NAVA on (02) 9368 1900 or nava@visualarts.net.au