The Valletta 2018 Foundation is launching an international call for the engagement of a curator or a curatorial team for a high-profile multi-site exhibition and cultural project within Valletta and around Malta and Gozo. The working title of this multi-site exhibition and cultural project shall be ‘The Sea – Our Neighbour”.

The project shall be one of the keystones of the Valletta 2018 Cultural Programme and will be the opening exhibition of Valletta’s European Capital of Culture year. It shall be inaugurated in January 2018 and run for a period of three to four months.

The Valletta 2018 Foundation is seeking proposals from curators or curatorial teams with an international track record to curate this project. Expressions of interest can be submitted in the form of a concept proposal.

The call can be downloaded here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you looking for a curatorial approach firmly based on visual arts or might it be more interdisciplinary?

For the purpose of the call, we “consider inter-disciplinary within the broadest sense of the word”.  The approach can be more interdisciplinary as long as it satisfies the requirements of having the project/exhibition “inaugurated in January 2018 and run for a period of three to four months” and “the project must be located in two or more sites, with one being in the city of Valletta”.

 

Can I apply for the job of Curator with the Valletta 2018 Foundation?

Please note that our call is not a vacancy within the Foundation, but a call for the services of a curator/curatorial team to curate and implement an exhibition on the chosen theme.  As described in greater detail in Section 4 of the call, participation in this call requires the submission of: an outline of the proposed project, the proposed curatorial strategy, a detailed CV and portfolio, a statement of the applicant’s suitability for the role, a tentative budget breakdown, a tentative work plan and other relevant information.

 

Could you outline a rough budget for the exhibition?

The budget allocated for this project is indicated in Section 3 of the Call.

“The budget allocation for this project shall be Eur 400,000 to include all aspects and facets of the project.  This amount shall also include curatorial fees.  Additional funding may be sourced through third-party sponsorship as required.”

 

Can we send the project proposal in another language?

The proposal and all accompanying documents must be in English.

 

What do you mean with proposed strategic curatorial?

In the context of this call, Curatorial strategy refers to the curatorial approach you intend to take to create the project you are proposing.

 

How do we have to develop and deliver the workplan?

The call does not specify a format for the workplan so may choose to use standard formats such as gantt charts or make up your own. The workplan should clearly highlight the main milestones of your proposal between the signing of the contract and the opening of the exhibition in January 2018.

 

Once we know the final publication, when can we start with our work plan? And how long is our charge?

The selected curator or curatorial team will be able to start working as soon as the contract for service with Valletta 2018 is signed soon after the end of the evaluation.  The contract will end once the exhibition and any accompanying activities are finished.  Since the project has to start in January 2018 and run for a period of three or four months, this would be approximately May 2018.

 

In which format do we have to send the required documents? Do not you have certificated any email address?

All the documents outlined in Section 4 of the call should be submitted in PDF format. These can be sent as a single PDF document or as a group of PDF documents but they should be clearly numbered and titled.  All documents should be sent via email to [email protected] by 12pm CET on the 25th April 2016.  Any documents not sent to the indicated email address or sent after the deadline will be not be taken into consideration and the proposal will be considered ineligible.

 

How can we protect our project?

All proposals submitted will be treated as confidential documents and will only be made available to the Evaluation Board.

 

With regards to “Any other information 500 words or 10 pics”, do you mean 10 pictures regarding the artists involved or also some from our previous curatorial projects?

If you choose to submit Additional Information, the content of the 500 words or 10 pictures is at the applicant’s discretion so you may choose to submit whatever best explains your proposal. The only restriction imposed by the call is that only one format may be submitted – so it is either an additional 500 words, or 10 images.

 

Should we consider general costs – like communication and press office, translations, graphic and web design, etc – include in this budget or not?

Any costs – including communication, translation and design cost -related to the execution of the project should be included in the budget.

As for press, the Valletta 2018 Foundation will be carrying out its own marketing and publicity campaign for this exhibition/project, headed by the Foundation’s Communications Department, at its own cost.

 

Is there an extra budget for press and publicity, outside the budget mentioned in the curatorial call? Can you provide more information on potential locations, accommodation opportunities, potential participants and sponsors?

The Valletta 2018 Foundation will be carrying out its own marketing and publicity campaign for this exhibition/project, headed by the Foundation’s Communications Department, at its own cost.

More information on cultural spaces in Malta and Gozo is available through Valletta 2018’s Cultural Mapping exercise available on www.culturemapmalta.com.

At this point, I am unable to assist you further in your research.  However, further research will be made available to the selected curator/curatorial team via a research focus group led by a curatorial advisor, as explained in Section 3 of the call.

 

Would you considered an interactive design studio as admissible to be a curatorial team?

As described in Section 5 of the Call, the proposal will be assessed based on six criteria which include the profile and track record of the international curator and/or multi-national curatorial team. The call makes no further reference as to what constitutes a curator or curatorial team.

 

Could you send us lay-outs and some photos (interior- exterior) of the mentioned sites?

More information on cultural spaces in Malta and Gozo is available through Valletta 2018’s Cultural Mapping exercise available on www.culturemapmalta.com.

At this point, for the sake of fairness to all applicants, I am unable to assist you further in your research by providing information, plans or photographs of sites.  However, further assistance and research will be made available to the selected curator/curatorial team via a research focus group led by a curatorial advisor, as explained in Section 3 of the call.