2021 Open Calls Frequently Asked Questions
Summary - Warehouse421 Open Calls Program
Warehouse421 2021 open-calls comprises of the Artistic Research Grant, the Curatorial Developmental Exhibition program, Warehouse421 Artistic Developmental Exhibition program, Warehouse421 Homebound Residency program, and the Internship and Mentorship program, all designed to support emerging practitioners from within the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia regions and who demonstrate a commitment to their chosen creative field.
The open calls fall under the Capacity-Building Programs, which continue to evolve from insights identified through focus groups and studying the response to Warehouse421’s general public programs.
Warehouse421 Artistic Research Grant
Summary
The grant targets topics that investigate the intersections of these disciplines with social and cultural issues, such as communal and public spaces, languages and linguistics, transportation and mobility systems, urbanity and its social and cultural fabric, economics and migration, and art institutions and ecosystems.
The grant will support social inquiry in creative disciplines. Practitioners whose research methodology is tactile and experiential, including material experimentation alongside community engagement, and whose outcomes extend beyond contributing to academia to include experiences, accessible content, and experiential artworks, are especially encouraged to apply.
The Artistic Research Grant aims to support a rigorous inquiry and in-depth artistic research across multiple disciplines by focusing on the arts and pushing for more substantial engagement between creative practitioners and their communities across the region.
Who can apply?
The grant is open to emerging artists within the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia regions, and supports practice-based research investigating new social questions through interdisciplinary methodologies.
Creative practitioners can work through disciplines including but not limited to visual art and curations, design and technology, literary arts, culinary arts, music, theater, and performance.
Creative Practitioners must not be affiliated with another Warehouse421-funded program up to a year prior to grant application; and must not be undertaking a residency or receiving a grant or be part of any other program which supports different research projects simultaneously;
Warehouse421 Artistic Research Grant selection aims to ensure that projects are selected in a transparent and fair manner, according to clear criteria and a rigorous selection process where due consideration is given to all proposals that meet Warehouse421’s eligibility requirements.
What are the eligibility requirements?
Applicants must hold a Bachelor's degree or artistic research experience.
Applicants must be over 21 years of age.
Applicants must be working from, based, or have a sustained relationship with the MENASA region.
Applicants cannot apply for the grant if he/she is affiliated or undertaking funding by the Warehouse421 or its commissioner.
Applicants who are undertaking a residency or receiving funds from different institutions/organizations simultaneously or during the residency's time are eligible to apply for the grant as long as it's for the same research/project.
Applicants must display previous experience in sustaining long-term inquiry, Which can include previous research experience or through presenting a cohesive line of investigation in their general practice.
Applicants must articulate why this grant is an appropriate next step in their practice.
How many grantees will be chosen?
A minimum of two grantees will be chosen.
Is there a financial award that will be given to the grantees?
Warehouse421 will award the grantees a budget up to AED75,000 to support their research and project.
What is required from the awarded grantees?
Grantees are required to produce a textual outcome detailing the research process. They are encouraged to conceive other formats of research expression as part of the grant’s purpose to promote wider dissemination of knowledge. Research applications can include but are not limited to performances, school or public programming, symposia, or exhibitions.
When can interested applicants start applying, and how?
The full application, including all supplemental materials, must be submitted online via warehouse421.submittable.com/submit. The applications will be opened starting May 16 until June 26.
When will the projects start?
Projects will start in October 2021.
Warehouse421 Curatorial Development Program
(FUTURE PERFECT: Catastrophe and the Contemporary)
Summary
In partnership with the Bombay Institute for Critical Analysis and Research (BICAR), the program invites curators to propose a group exhibition and publication on ‘Future Perfect: Catastrophe and the Contemporary’.
Future perfect is a perspective of the future on what the past (our present) will have been if we do not think, act, and create in the here and now of contemporary catastrophe.
The curatorial development program will entail rigorous study, artist and artwork selection, and writing on the future perfect, a tense introduced with modern science’s revolutionary break from ‘animism’ and the contemporary aesthetic turn to perspective.
Who can apply?
The program is open to curators within the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia regions.
What are the eligibility requirements?
Regional affiliation.
English proficiency
Applicants must be over 21 years of age
Applicants must not be enrolled in a degree-granting program for the duration of this program
Applicants must not be currently enrolled in Warehouse421 programme
Not participating in another program sponsored by SHF (Reword)
How many curators will be chosen?
One proposal will be selected. (number of curators of course varies since some proposals are by duos/collective/or just one curator)
Is there a financial award that will be given to the curators?
The successful curator/curatorial collective will receive an award of AED20,000
What is required from the successful curators/curatorial collective?
The selected curators will participate in a structured program in the English language, which will take place from August 2021 until February 2022 with specific deliverables, including: a weekly colloquium/workshop of reading, discussion, and presentation with invited and selected philosophers, historians, artists, curators, critics, and creative writers working on the theme of ‘Future Perfect: Catastrophe and the Contemporary’; and an independent collaboration with BICAR and Warehouse421 faculty and staff to hone the project and realize its publication and exhibition, scheduled to open in February 2022 at Warehouse421.
Who will be part of the colloquium?
Colloquium Guest Speakers and Participants include Ala Younis, Bijoy Jain, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Raqs Media Collective, Rohini Devasher, and Walid Sadek.
Will the rest of the applicants be considered to be part of the program?
Those who apply and are not accepted to exhibit and publish can choose to be considered for participation in the colloquium. Anyone from the humanities, social sciences, or arts can apply to participate in the colloquium only.
When can interested applicants start applying, and how?
The full application, including all supplemental materials, must be submitted online via https://warehouse421.submittable.com/submit. The applications will be opened starting May 16 until July 3.
When will the program start?
The program will start in August 2021.
Warehouse421 Artistic Development Exhibition Program
Summary
In collaboration with The Institute for Emerging Art, Warehouse421 launches its Artistic Development Exhibition Program, an exhibition process that emphasizes the professional and creative development of participating creative practitioners.
This program aims to provide opportunities to creative practitioners with rigorous and sustained practices. It will also encourage artists to think deeply about the reception of their work in a public institution and the connection, communication, and multidimensional interaction with their communities.
Who can apply?
The program is open to UAE-based early-mid career creative practitioners.
What are the eligibility requirements?
Applicants must be over 21 years of age
UAE-based
Applicants must not be enrolled in a degree-granting program for the duration of this program
Applicants must not be currently enrolled in Warehouse421 programme
Not participating in another program sponsored by SHF (Reword)
How many artists will be chosen?
Two artists will be choses.
How much will the selected artists receive for their participation?
Successful applicants will be awarded with a AED10,000 participation fee.
What can the selected artists expect from this program?
The selected artists will be supported by experienced art educators, interlocutors, and/or curators of their choice to sustain an ongoing dialogue through this process, supported by scheduled group-crits and discussion circles. With this support, the artists will develop their exhibition from the ideation stage all through to the installation of artworks, production of textual material, and the public engagement program. The realization and production of their projects will be exhibited at Warehouse421 in 2022.
When can interested applicants start applying, and how?
The full application, including all supplemental materials, must be submitted online via https://warehouse421.submittable.com/submit. The applications will be opened starting May 16 until July 31.
When will the program start?
The program will start in September 2021.
Warehouse421 Homebound Residency Program
DIGITAL COMMUNITIES
Summary
The Residency Program supports Warehouse421's mission to contribute to the regional cultural ecosystem by fostering a multidimensional engagement of local and regional talents with the public community. The program provides emerging creative practitioners the opportunity to develop their practices within a community-context. It builds on Warehouse421's public and programmatic offerings, providing a richer experience for artists and an entry-point for the public to access the artistic process, amplifying the residency's impact and allowing it to resonate beyond the nucleus of an artist's practice and into the community's education and cultural literacy.
The second iteration of the Homebound Residency will be led by guest-curator, Reem Shadid. The theme, DIGITAL COMMUNITIES challenges creative practitioners to think deeply about connection, communication, and multi-dimensional interaction with one another and with their respective communities, as well as the various ways in which we inhabit and occupy cyberspace.
Who can apply?
The residency program is open to creative practitioners of all disciplines over 21 years of age — including, without limitation to, Visual Arts & Curation, Design & Technology, Theatre & Performance, Literary Arts, Culinary Arts, and Music — from within the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia regions.
What are the eligibility requirements?
Applicants must be over 21 years of age.
Disciplines include, but not limited to, Visual Arts and Curation, Design and Technology, Literary Arts, Music, Culinary Arts, Theatre and Performance.
How many residents will be chosen?
Six residents will be chosen.
What is the production budget that will be awarded to the residents?
Successful applicants will be awarded with a production budget up to AED20,000 to be employed for any equipment or material required for the completion and realisation of their projects.
How long is the residency program?
The six-month program will culminate in an online presentation of processes and works.
When can interested applicants start applying, and how?
The full application, including all supplemental materials, must be submitted online via https://warehouse421.submittable.com/submit. The applications will be opened starting May 16 until August 7.
When will the residency start?
The residency will start in October 2021 and April 2022
Warehouse421 Internship and Mentorship Program
Summary
The program offers paid internship and mentorship opportunities for emerging-creative professionals from diverse backgrounds, providing professional preparation and career development to committed professionals in their early careers. The internship will offer the opportunity to be immersed in the operations of a cultural institution across various departments with a targeted focus on a specific field.
The internship can be structured to follow college requirements, or be tailored for a longer-term engagement for young graduates and art professionals.
Depending on the selected area of focus as well as Warehouse421’s requirements, interns would work with the Head of Warehouse421, Programs Manager, Education Manager, or Communications Manager.
How many interns will be chosen?
6 interns will be chosen to be enrolled in the program.
What is the internship program duration?
The program will run for four months.
Will the selected interns work from the Warehouse421’s space?
The internship program can be designed to be remote or on-site, and can be undertaken for college credit.
When can interested applicants start applying, and how?
The full application, including all supplemental materials, must be submitted online via https://warehouse421.submittable.com/submit. The applications will be opened starting August 3 until August 23.
When will the Internship program start?
The internship program will start in September 2021