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The Baltic Art Centre (Visby, Sweden) residency program for artists, curators and contemporary art writers from the Baltic and Nordic countries – is now open for application.

Deadline: 15 January 2010.

To be eligible for the residency you have to be a professional working artist, curator or contemporary art writer from one of the Baltic or Nordic countries (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Greenland or the Faroe Islands), or be based professionally in one of these countries. Please note that we do not accept applications from Sweden this year.

Deadline: applications must be received on or before 15 January 2010. Successful applicants will be notified by 15 February.

There is no application form. You apply with a CV, documentation of previous works and a project description for the activities you wish to undertake at BAC. Please apply in English as the applications will be reviewed by an international jury. The applications are assessed on the basis of merit and the ability of BAC to support the proposed project.

You can apply to come to BAC for a minimum of 4 weeks and a maximum of 8 weeks during the period April – June, or September – December 2010. Please specify your preferred time and length of stay in the application.

Applications with a clearly formulated project description and indication of how you are planning to use your time at BAC will be prioritized. Please describe the project you intend to work on at BAC and how your working process would benefit from the residency. BAC welcomes projects at all stages of development; from the early stages of research through to production and post-production. All residents are expected to hold a public talk about their practice during their stay at BAC.

As an AIR resident at BAC you will receive a monthly stipend of 14 000 SEK. Travel expenses to and from Visby will be covered. You will be allocated an apartment and a desk space adjacent to the BAC offices. Should your project require a separate studio space or other facilities, this can be arranged if agreed in advance. Please state your needs clearly in the application. BAC offers modest financial support for specific production costs up to 20 000 SEK per project. Please include a budget should you require financial support for your project.

Applications should be sent by email to application -at- balticartcenter.com. Please write “AIR application 2010” in the subject heading of your email. We do not accept applications sent by post.

For further information about the residency please contact Anders Schweitz on 
anders -at- balticartcenter.com 
or call +46 (0)498 200337.

The AIR residency is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

PIR – the Production-in-Residence program for international artists at BAC – is by invitation only.

Gävle Konstcentrum is part of the municipal Department of Culture and Leisure. It is one of Sweden's leading galleries for contemporary art, with strong national as well as local connections, and a dynamic art education programme. Konstcentrum handles all municipal art activities. The city of Gävle has a large and comprehensive art collection including both permanent pieces placed in public space and art placed temporarily in municipal premises. Konstcentrum manages the so-called "one percent commissions" (art purchased for one percent of the cost of new construction), the acquisition, deposition, cataloguing and conservation of Gävle's municipal art collection. Konstcentrum is located in the Culture Centre Silvanum together with Gävle University College's programme for Design and Wood Technology, Gefle IF (Gävle's football club) and offices for various cultural departments within the county council. Gävle Konstcentrum provides an attractive gathering place for people who are interested in the contemporary arts and also in discussions and debates on timely cultural and social issues.

Position: Director/Chief Curator
Permanent post, starting 1 May 2009

Job Description

As Director of Konstcentrum you will have overall responsibility for everything relating to municipal art in Gävle. In addition to exhibition and programme activities, including art education, your responsibilities will include Konstcentrum's art collection: acquisitions, depositions and conservation as well as municipal public art commissions, which have, since 1998, involved the application of the one percent rule for artistic ornamentation in conjunction with renovation or new building construction. Konstcentrum is also an important institution for local art and artists and manages studio and artists' ateljé subsidies. You will be responsible for the gallery's economy, budget and its staff, which consists of four permanent and a number of temporary employees.Emphasis in the immediate future will be given to the further development of Konstcentrum's extensive educational programme, to investigating the position of art in public space and to internationalization.

Qualifications

The successful applicant should have a university degree in Art History and qualified knowledge of contemporary art. An international network and a particular interest in art education and public art. Documented experience of producing exhibitions is required as is experience of managing staff and being responsible for a budget. Experience of public administration is a merit.

Union Representatives
Per Berg, DIK, (tel +4626 179448), Sirkka Johansson, SKTF (tel +4626 17 97 19)

For further information
Contact Eva Nyberg, Personnel Director, Municipality of Gävle (tel. +4626 179411); Mats Öström, head of the Department of Culture and Leisure (tel. +4626 1794 01)

Apply via Gävle municipality's web site, http://www.gavle.se Lediga Jobb.
Deadline for applications is 15 March 2009.

http://www.gavle.se/konstcentrum / konstcentrum -at- gavle.se

[Italics are mine - I found the statements that I highlighted to be insightful, though sometimes contentious, viewpoints on the future roles of curators and critics. -Ed.]

Announcing a new, innovative and interdisciplinary two-year program in critical writing and curatorial practice leading to the Master of Arts degree at Konstfack, Sweden’s leading University College of Art, Craft and Design. Our curriculum develops and strengthens the student’s understanding and practice in critical writing and organizing exhibitions in the fields of art, craft and design. But it also promotes inventive responses to recent changes in visual culture and critical practice. As studio practices have become increasingly interdisciplinary, the roles of curator and critic have been reconfigured and new sites of practice have emerged alongside the continuing relevance of established publications, galleries and museums.

Our program is led by an exceptional international faculty, including Rolf Hughes, Ronald Jones, Sara Kristoffersson, Marysia Lewandowska, Håkan Nilsson, Måns Wrange, and Kim West. Students will also be able to study with an array of distinguished visiting faculty – speakers have included Vasif Kortun, Jennifer Allen, Marjetica Potrc, Tirdad Zolghadr, Bruce Hainley, Jens Hoffmann and Claire Bishop – and take advantage of our standing associations with international cultural institutions.

What is distinctive about our program is that students enroll either as a critical writing student or one studying curatorial practice, but collaborate across disciplines while deepening their own practice as a critic or curator. We assume a broad definition of art, craft, design, architecture and media, informed by history, criticism, and theory channeled though new forms of research. As a result, this program prepares students for positions in cultural and educational institutions, scholarship and research, journalism, the art market, and publishing.

Our work, while often speculative, remains practically engaged socially, culturally and ethically. We invite applications from scholars, critics, curators, artists and designers of unusual promise. Applicants should have completed a BA in art history, philosophy, aesthetics, architecture, art, crafts, design, new media or have comparable professional experience. Selection is highly competitive. The program is taught in English.

Applications to the MA in Critical Writing and Curatorial Practice must be received by the Konstfack Admissions Office by May 4, 2007. Please visit our website for further details, and the application form.