2013 Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Travel Award for Central America and the Caribbean

Application deadline: April 1, 2013

The Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC) and Independent Curators International (ICI) are pleased to announce an open call for curators: The 2013 Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Travel Award for Central America and the Caribbean. In its second edition, this travel award will support a contemporary art curator based anywhere in the world to travel to Central America and the Caribbean to conduct research about art and cultural activities in the region. Intending to generate new collaborations with artists, curators, museums, and cultural centers in the area, this award will cover curatorial residencies, studio visits, and/or archival research.

The CPPC Travel Award will support a curator to visit either one or multiple locations in Central America and the Caribbean, and will prioritize first encounters, allowing curators that have not traveled to the region to make connections and develop networks. The travel period can be anywhere between three weeks and three months, and take place between May and November 2013. The grant will cover costs of up to $10,000. Funds can be requested to visit one or more of the following countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama; and, in the Caribbean: The Antilles, The Bahamas, Colombia (Caribbean region), and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Independent curators and those with institutional affiliations may apply. Applications from established and emerging curators (3+ years professional experience) will be considered.

APPLICATION PROCESS + GUIDELINES
To be considered a candidate for the 2013 Travel Grant, a full proposal must contain the following:
•  A letter of approximately 1,500 words (3 pages) describing the proposal for curatorial research for which funds are being requested. This should include a short summary on the reasons why the research is important and why it should happen now, the applicant’s relationship to the region, as well as the names of any artists, curators, collections, archives, or institutions with which the applicant hopes to spend time.
•  A travel itinerary or plan for the residency program with proposed dates of travel (one page)
•  A budget covering all travel research costs including any per diem, fees, and translation expenses (one page)
•  A Curriculum Vitae (abridged to no more than 3 pages)

Format: The required documents should be sent by email to research@curatorsintl.org with Travel Award in the subject line. No printed versions should be sent via post. The letter, travel itinerary, budget, and CV should be page-numbered and sent as one single PDF.

Language: Applications may be submitted in English or Spanish.

A jury of professionals who live in, or have extensive knowledge of the region will select the successful applicant.

Grantees are expected to make their own travel arrangements, including securing Visas, if needed. If not fluent in local languages, grantees must allocate funds for a translator. On completion of travel a report of approximately 1,500 words on the outcomes of research is required, together with a budget outlining how the money was spent. Awardees are also expected to submit photographs and a research report on activities in the region that will contribute to the online Journal resource on ICI’s website.

For further information or questions, contact Misa Jeffereis at misa@curatorsintl.org.

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The first CPPC Travel Award was granted in 2012 and was given in honor of curator Virginia Pérez-Ratton (1950-2010) who was internationally renowned for working with contemporary artists in Central America and the Caribbean. As a resource complementing the CPPC Travel Award, ICI hosts an online platform that provides information about Pérez-Ratton as well as the institutions, archives, collections, and cultural activities in the region. This resource will also eventually include accounts from the Travel Award grantee.

About the Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros
The Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (CPPC) works to increase understanding and awareness of Latin America’s contributions to the history of art and ideas, and to support innovation, education, creativity, and research in the field of Latin American art. Through grants and partnerships, the CPPC also supports the professional development of Latin American artists, curators, and scholars. Recent initiatives include, among others, a sponsorship to create a Curatorial Fellowship at dOCUMENTA (13) in Kassel, Germany; a partnership with Hunter College (New York) to create the Patricia Phelps de Cisneros Professor of Latin American Art; and an alliance with the Bard Graduate Center (New York) to organize the Cisneros Seminar in the Material Cultures of the Ibero-American World.

www.coleccioncisneros.org