The Nordic-Baltic Curatorial Research Programme (NBC) is inviting emerging art professionals of the region to apply for the 2020 project assistant position.
The project assistant positions are an opportunity for students or recent graduates of curating, art history and art management to gain first-hand work experience and be part of preparing and producing a major art event. This programme offers paid internship opportunities for young art professionals and promotes cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic countries.
There are three different positions available, one in each institution: Tallinn Art Hall (Tallinn, Estonia), Luleå Biennial (Norrbotten, northern Sweden) and Frame Contemporary Art Finland (Helsinki, Finland).
Application process
The deadline for applications has been extended. New deadline is 30 April, 2020.
Please file your application via opencall@cca.ee and specify your preferred location of assisting. For more information about each institution, see below. A jury consisting of representatives of the partners will select three applicants, each of whom will work at one institution.
• Documents to be submitted before the deadline in English:
- CV
- Motivation letter stating the preferred institution that outlines the applicant’s interests in the selected institution/event.
- Recommendation letter. We encourage an academic reference or a letter from previous colleague or superior stating the applicant’s skills and experiences within the field of contemporary art. (optional)
• Requirements:
- Higher education (at least BA level) in the field of visual arts.
- Fluent English speaker.
- Must be based in Estonia, Finland or Sweden.
- Job experience in the visual arts will be regarded as an advantage.
The Programme offers a scholarship of €2400 plus return travel costs for each participant. Accommodation agreements must be made by the participants themselves but NBC can cover partly the expenses depending on the price. The applicant must be willing to work in Tallinn, Luleå or Helsinki.
The assistant will work closely with an appointed supervisor, supporting them in various responsibilities related to exhibition and event production, management and communication. The training takes place between September and December 2020.
Please note that we encourage applicants to choose an international project (e.g. Estonian-based applicants are advised to choose either the Luleå Biennial or Frame Contemporary Art Finland, not Tallinn Art Hall, Finnish-based applicants to choose either Tallinn Art Hall or Lulea biennial, and Sweden-based applicants to choose either Tallinn Art Hall or Frame Contemporary Art Finland).
About the 2020 partner institutions
- Tallinn Art Hall
Tallinn Art Hall is a contemporary art institution established in 1934 with an international exhibition programme in three galleries on the central square of Tallinn – the Tallinn Art Hall, the Art Hall Gallery and the nearby City Gallery. Mediating an active exchange of ideas between local and international art scenes, Tallinn Art Hall also organises exhibitions abroad.
The assistant is expected to work in Tallinn during one of two periods of choice. From September to October the Art Hall is organizing the first in a series of artist residencies leading up to the exhibition Beyond Matter, opening at Art Hall in 2022. From November to December the assistant can work alongside the team on the upcoming solo exhibition of Flo Kasearu (EE), titled Fall Out and due to open at Art Hall on December 4. The assistant can choose either of the preferable projects.
- Luleå Biennial
The Luleå Biennial is Scandinavia’s first biennial, with its first edition already in 1991. The biennial was initiated by the local art collective Kilen Art Group, but since 2018 it is run by the Swedish organization Konstfrämjandet – The People’s Movements for Art Promotion. Since 1947, the mission of Konstfrämjandet has been to support “art for all” and ensuring that cultural activity is equally distributed across the country.
The Luleå Biennial, takes place in the far north of Sweden and aims to combine a high-profile program of international contemporary art with a palpable presence in local communities. It aims to strengthen and spread an interest for art in the region of Norrbotten, and engage new networks and audiences.
The program of the 2018 edition Tidal Ground enacted art events and exhibitions in the cities Luleå, Boden, Jokkmokk, Kiruna, and Korpilombolo, and included artist such as Francis Alÿs, Monira Al-Qadiri, Ingela Ihrman, Didem Pekün, Britta Marakatt-Labba, Agnieszka Polska, and Ulla Wiggen. A total of 37 artists participated, of which eight artists contributed with newly produced works. The biennial broke audience records and received substantial criticism in both Swedish and international press. The artistic directors for the Luleå Biennial are Emily Fahlén and Asrin Haidari (two out of three artistic directors for the 2018 biennial edition).
The assistant is expected to work in Luleå during the production period for one month (mid-October to mid-November 2020).
- Frame Contemporary Art Finland
Frame is an advocate for Finnish contemporary art. Frame supports and promotes international projects, facilitates professional partnerships, as well as acts as an information centre for Finnish contemporary art. The assistant is expected to work at Frame’s office in Helsinki for a duration of one month in September in the framework of Frame’s public programme Rehearsing Hospitalities.
In 2020, Frame will continue to ask how art and institutions can be hospitable towards different ways of situated knowing. Frame will also look into the accessibility of knowledges and communities in different areas of Helsinki. Who has the cultural and social entitlement to hegemonic forms of knowing? How can art and curating bring forward ecologies of knowledge and accessibility rather than reduce hospitality to assimilative processes of inclusion? The event in September 2020 is organised with multiple partners in different areas of Helsinki. It includes discussions, performances and different other forms of artistic presentations.
More information on Rehearsing Hospitalities Programme.
The program is coordinated by partners of the Nordic-Baltic Curatorial Research Programme (NBC) – the Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, and Curatorial Residency In Stockholm (CRIS), The Nordic Art Association, Sweden.
The programme is supported by the Nordic Culture Point.
Additional information:
Kaarin Kivirähk
Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art
Participants listening to Wet Code by Myriagon in Suomenlinna as a part of Rehearsing Hospitalities 2019 programme. Photo: Ida Enegren