Lima Rooftop Ecology (2012), organized by Carlos León-Xjiménez. Photo: Pablo Leon De La Barra, via Centre For The Aesthetic Revolution
apexart
Franchise Program
Where: Anywhere in the world other than New York City
Next submission period: 15 February – 15 March 2014
The Franchise is an open call for 500-word proposals for group shows that take place anywhere in the world outside of New York City. One of apexart’s two curatorial open calls, the Franchise asks for submissions for exhibitions that examine a specific idea or theme. Exhibitions can be about anything that the organizer finds compelling and can take place anywhere other than NYC. Past shows have explored construction in Mexico City, community in Memphis, and translation in Kampala. The Franchise is an opportunity to help bring a compelling idea to fruition and to illustrate that the center of the world is wherever you are. Please note that apexart is not a funding organization and exhibitions are part of apexart’s regular programming.
No prior curatorial experience is required and we invite submissions from people of all backgrounds. Proposals do not have to be for the city where the curator is based, do not need to take place in traditional gallery settings, and venues for the show and artist lists do not need to be confirmed in advance of submitting an idea. Three winners receive an $8,000 budget and administrative support to mount their exhibition in the location of their choosing, and apexart works with winning organizers on all of the details of the project. In addition, apexart produces a brochure in an edition of 9,000 with an essay from the curator, which is distributed to subscribers in more than 100 countries.
For its open calls, apexart has developed a form of crowd sourced jurying that asks as many as 150 people to take part in the voting process. Our jurying system is designed to be as democratic as possible and the jury identifies the winning exhibitions without knowing the names of any of the submitters. Jurors read and evaluate proposals online, each juror reads a random cross section of all the proposals, and we ensure that each proposal is voted on 20 times.
Application guidelines:
• Submissions are limited to 500 words maximum, emphasizing and explaining the idea behind the show.
• No images, catalogs, resumés, cv, or other support materials will be accepted.
For more information, please contact: info@apexart.org
or see: apexart.org/franchise.php