www.worldofart.org
Call for application to Summer school for curators

International Summer Seminars for Art Curators
Post Socialism and Media Transformations: Strategies of Representation

July 21-August 1, 2008, Yerevan, Armenia

Application deadline: April 15, 2008

AICA-Armenia is announcing the call for the 3rd International Summer School Program for contemporary art curators, which will take place from July 21-August 2 in Yerevan, Armenia. The project is being realized in collaboration with SCCA-Ljubljana in Slovenia, SCCA-Alma-Aty in Kazakhstan and Beral Madra Center for Contemporary Art in Istanbul.

The program is comprised of a series of lectures, presentations and workshops that center around issues related to the methodologies of curating, the role of the curator in the ever increasing globalization of the art market, strategies of representation and institutional structures in the contemporary art world.  The theme of the 2008 project Post-Socialism and Media Transformations: Strategies of Representation will focus on aspects of new media representation in the specific context of post-Socialism. The aim is to look at transformations in the uses of media for artistic production and the mechanisms of representation in the artistic scenes of former socialist countries, with an awareness of ideological connotations of new media utilization.  We will look at the transformation of the media use historically, taking into account those larger social and cultural conditions that have shaped dominant modes of new media art production, representation and reception in the post-Socialist context.

Coinciding with the 10th Giumry Biennale held in Giumry, Armenia, the participants of the program will have an opportunity to contribute to the Biennale. The format of the contribution can be developed throughout the workshop depending upon the workshop leader's and participants' initiative.

The intensive two-weeks program will comprise of a theory and method courses, as well as a curatorial workshop.  The courses will be combined with presentations by local and international artists, curators, art historians and cultural workers as well as with visits to artists' studios, galleries and museums in Yerevan.  The participants will gain knowledge not only about theoretical and methodological issues related to curatorial practices but will also get acquainted with Armenian artists, curators, critics, curators as institutional structures in the field of contemporary art in Armenia.  The experience of the past two years have shown that the participants have developed a lively forum of alumni networking through collaborating with each other on common themes in the form of exhibitions, symposia and publications. The courses and the workshop are conducted by internationally renowned academics and curators.  

Further development of the school National Association of Art Critics (NAAC) plans with regional partners, who sistematically and on long-term basis reestablish platform for stimulation and understanding of contemporary curatorial practices and critique. SCCA-Ljubljana along with Soros Center for Contemporary Arts from Almaty (Kazahstan) collaborates on curriculum of the new school in the region.

The deadline for submitting applications is April 1st 2008.

All the applications should arrive before the closing date. The applications and related materials should be submitted to the relevant partner-organization in your region by e-mail.

Please see the information below for submission information according to your country of residence. NAAC's partner institutions will choose several applications for the first round of the competition and forward it to NAAC in early April. The second and final round will be carried out and the funding decisions will be made by NAAC.

Residents of:

• countries of European Union,
• Albania,
• Bosnia and Herzegovina,
• Croatia,
• Serbia,
• Montenegro and
• Macedonia

should send completed electronic application and supporting materials to: svetumetnosti@scca-ljubljana.si

Application guidelines (MS Word file, 53 kb)

NAAC website: www.naac.am

More information:

Zavod SCCA-Ljubljana, Metelkova 6, 1000 Ljubljana
(working hours: 11.00-15.00)

Contact: Saša Nabergoj (head of World of Art) or Maja Lozić (coordinator of World of Art)
Tel.: + 386 (01) 431 83 85
Fax: + 386 (01) 430 06 29
E-mail: svetumetnosti@scca-ljubljana.si

SCCA-Ljubljana is a member of Asociacija, the association of non-government organisations and independent creators in the field of culture and art in Slovenia.