Open call ARCOmadrid 2024

Open call for the selection of a curatorial project for the International Contemporary Art Fair ARCOmadrid 2024

1. Object of the call

The Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics (IEB), together with the organizers of the International Contemporary Art Fair ARCOmadrid 2024, creates an open call for the selection of a curatorial project for the IEB stand in ARCOmadrid 2024, which takes place from the 6th to 10th of March 2023 at IFEMA Madrid, Spain.

2. Description and objective of the project

The IEB is an organization of the Government of the Balearic Islands dedicated to the promotion of the language and culture of the archipelago. Through its area of ​​culture, its strategic objective is to consolidate the Balearic Islands as a structured cultural market, in addition to promoting the external projection of the music, performing arts, literature and visual arts of this territory.

In order to promote and give visibility to artistic creation in the field of visual arts in the Balearic Islands, the IEB is participating in the ARCOmadrid 2024 international fair with an institutional stand in the ARCO Espais Culturals section, where a project is shown individual exhibition of a Balearic artist.

The project is accompanied by a small promotional publication, with a short curatorial text and information about the participants' careers.

The IEB exhibition project at the ARCOmadrid 2024 fair is conceived as a project to promote Balearic artistic creation, with no commercial activity or objective.

3. Conditions of participation in the 2024 edition

To participate in the 2024 call, the curatorial proposal must be a single project by an artist born in the Balearic Islands or resident in the archipelago.

Both the format and the exhibition concept of the project are free and you can use any of the artistic practices related to the visual arts.

Curators who have the profile described in point 6 can submit proposals.

In relation to the selection of the artist, it should be borne in mind that the ARCO fair is one of the main contemporary art fairs on the international circuit. With the aim of disseminating and consolidating the recognition of the latest artistic trends, this fair pays special attention to the works that best reflect their time and position in the world.

The works included in the exhibition must be produced.

If applicable, a budget item is foreseen for the framing of the works or similar.

The exhibition project proposal must be adapted to the dimensions of the stand contracted by the IEB at the fair.

The curator and the artist selected in 2023 cannot participate in the 2024 edition.

4. Stand

The IEB stand will be 24 m² and will be located in the ARCO Espais Culturals complex. The configuration will be 6 (background wall) x 4 meters (side walls).

5. Budget and technical coordination

The forecast for the general budget of the exhibition project is €25,000.00 (see annex 1) and includes the concepts of renting the stand; concentration and dispersion transport; turnkey insurance; fees of suppliers, professionals and artists; dissemination material; framing, and displacements.

The final exhibition proposal must conform to the technical and budgetary specifications provided by the IEB.

The IEB is responsible for the organization and management of the project, which includes the hiring of suppliers and budgetary control and supervision.

The curator must coordinate closely with the IEB for the correct and timely fulfillment of all curatorial tasks stipulated for the project (see point 11, "Curator tasks").

In the event that the curator does not reside in the Balearic Islands, if deemed necessary, the IEB will cover travel expenses and a maximum stay of two days in the Islands to facilitate the preparation of the final exhibition proposal. For this purpose, only the costs of a return plane ticket in tourist class with origin and destination at an airport in the European Union will be covered.

6. Recipients

This call is aimed at art curators who have led relevant projects in the field of programming in fairs, festivals and spaces for the dissemination of contemporary art in the Spanish and international spheres.

Taking into account that ARCOmadrid 2024 is defined as one of the main contemporary art fairs on the international circuit, those profiles that demonstrate experience in projects and initiatives focused on the international promotion of artists will be particularly valued.

Interested professionals can be natural or legal persons and participate in the call individually or collectively (in the latter case they must nominate a representative of the authors of the curatorial project).

7. Project assessment criteria

The assessment criteria for the selection of the winning project are as follows:

a) Adaptation of the project to the conceptual framework of the ARCOmadrid 2024 fair (up to 10 points)

The project's contribution to the dissemination and visibility of the latest artistic trends is valued, as well as the interest and the opportunity to be presented by the IEB at the fair.

b) The quality, artistic interest and rigor of the project (up to 15 points)

The thematic interest of the proposal, the clarity of writing and coherence of the project, the degree of innovation and originality, the impact and/or contribution to reflection in the field of contemporary art are assessed.

c) The adequacy of the curator's professional profile (up to 10 points)

The projects and collaborations carried out with spaces for the dissemination of contemporary art relevant in the national and international spheres are valued.

d) The technical and economic feasibility of the project (up to 5 points)

The correct correspondence between the technical requirements raised and their cost is assessed, within the framework of the maximum budget allocated by the IEB.

The maximum score that can be achieved is 35 points.

8. Selection of the winning project

The selection of the winning project corresponds to an independent jury. The winning project will be the one with the highest score of all the submitted projects.

In case of equality in the score, the tie breaker criterion will be to give priority to the project that has obtained a higher score in section 7.b), corresponding to the quality, artistic interest and rigor of the project.

9. Jury

The jury in charge of evaluating the projects presented and selecting the winning project is made up of Carlos Jover, member of ACCAIB; Alexandra Laudo, curator; Bartolomé Marí, curator; Gisel Noé, curator, director of Mataró Art Contemporani; Antonio Ortega, artist and professor; Ester Prat, professor and cultural manager; and Karen Müller, head of the visual arts area of ​​the IEB (with voice and without vote).

The jury's decision is final.

10. Fees and collection of fees

The curator's fees are set at €2,500.00 (taxes included) and include the performance of the tasks described in point 11.

The fees for the artist of the winning project are also set at €2,500.00 (taxes included) and include the preparation of the exhibition and the assignment of the rights of reproduction and public communication of the project.

The fees do not include travel and accommodation expenses at the fair, which will be managed and covered by the IEB.

Fees will be paid against invoice at the end of ARCOmadrid 2023.

11. Tasks of the curator

The tasks of the curator are the following:

• Elaboration of the exhibition concept and proposal

• Selection of the artist (or artists) and the works

• Elaboration of the list of works for the exhibition, with the indication of the technical data sheet and all relevant information for the hiring of suppliers

• Preparation of the final project, agreed with the IEB in terms of technical and budgetary feasibility

• Writing of a curatorial text (maximum 500 words) and the biographical notes of the curator and the artist, which will be included in the publication that accompanies the exhibition and will be used as material for diffusion

• Provision of low and high resolution images of the selected works

• Support to the IEB in the supervision of the design, layout and printing of the promotional publication

• Stand assembly design, with assembly instructions

• Supervision of the assembly of the exhibition, with assistance during the days scheduled for the assembly

• Attendance at the opening of the exhibition, with availability for a two-day stay at the fair (March 6 to 8)

• Attention to the media

To carry out these tasks, the curator must coordinate closely with the IEB in relation to compliance with the proposed schedule (annex 2).

12. Presentation of projects

Those interested in participating in this call must present the following documentation:

a) An email with a short introductory text

b) The scanned DNI or passport, attached to the email

c) The project proposal in a single low-resolution PDF file (identified with the name and surname of the curator), attached to the email.

The project proposal can be presented in English but must include a Catalan or Spanish translation. It must also include:

◦ the cover page with the full name and contact details of the curator submitting the application

◦ a descriptive dossier and the proposal of the participating artist (maximum 2 pages of text, not including photos)

◦ the professional career of the curator, with a dossier of a representative selection of projects completed

◦ the professional career of the artist, together with a portfolio of a representative selection of projects completed

◦ low resolution images of the proposed works

◦ the calculation and item breakdown of the planned budget

◦ instructions relating to assembly or any technical specifications to be taken into account Only one project proposal per participant will be accepted.

13. Deadline for receiving projects

The deadline for receiving projects ends on January 14, 2024, at 11 p.m. Any participation request sent after the deadline will not be considered.

14. Sending the projects

Projects must be sent to the IEB email address opencall@iebalearics.org, indicating in the message "Open call registration: curation project for ARCOmadrid 2024".

The IEB will confirm receipt of the registration for the call.

15. Resolution

The curator of the selected project will receive an email confirming his/her selection by the IEB, to which he/she must respond by accepting the commission of curatorship.

Once this procedure has been completed, the IEB will inform all participants of the final result by email and will publish the result of the final selection on its website.

More information

In case of questions or queries, you can contact Karen Müller, IEB visual arts technician (kmueller@iebalearics.org; 971 17 89 96).