Curating image-based works and art practices

Applications are now closed for this programme. Thank you for your submissions!
Watch this space for updates, and join us for our series of public talks.

Application deadline: Mon 9 Nov, 2359h
Details here

Curatorial (Case) Studies is a two-week long programme in curating image-based works and art practices. Created with young curators, programmers, art writers and individuals who have an interest in curatorial explorations in mind, the program consists of lectures, reading seminars, case studies, exhibition visits and exhibition exercises. Its curriculum focuses on a close reading and examination of existing exhibitionary practices, with the aim of developing peer dialogue, spatial thinking and a working knowledge of the exhibition histories of photography, film, video and other image-based work.

Curatorial (Case) Studies is borne out of conversations between Chelsea Chua, programme director for Objectifs, Jason Wee, artist and founder of Grey Projects, and other cultural workers about the ways in which younger curatorial development could be more closely supported, by peers as well as by more experienced practitioners. These conversations shaping the thinking behind a curriculum that involves both spatial and theoretical engagements about image-based exhibitions, a curriculum that also lies outside the requirements of graded appraisals, certification and other academic demands.

The sessions will involve discussions with practicing curators and artists from a range of backgrounds, namely:

  • Charmaine Toh, curator at National Gallery Singapore
  • Jason Wee
  • Artist-curator Zulkhairi Zulkiflee
  • Artist-curator Seet Yun Teng
  • Marc Glöde, film scholar, curator and Assistant Professor at NTU ADM
  • Wei Leng Tay, visual artist
  • Chua Chye Teck, visual artist
  • Hilmi Johandi, visual artist

Chelsea and Jason are the key facilitators for these discussions.

Alongside these sessions are a series of public talks. Speakers include Charmaine Toh, May Adadol Ingawanij (Professor of Cinematic Arts and Co-director of the University of Westminster’s research centre CREAM) and Manit Sriwanichpoom (photographer, curator, founder of Kathmandu Gallery) will address various lines of inquiry within photography and film in Singapore and Southeast Asia. The talks will be held on zoom, free of charge.


Programme

#1 – Wed 2 Dec, 2pm to 5pm
#2 – Sat 5 Dec, 2pm to 5pm
#3 – Wed 9 Dec, 7pm to 10pm
#4 – Sat 12 Dec, 3pm to 6pm



Application requirements

5 participants will be selected for this programme.

Applicants should be based in Singapore, and be committed to attending all 4 sessions of the programme.

Submission requirements:

  • A one page CV (single spaced, font size 10)
  • A one page writing sample (single spaced, font size 10), which can take the form of one of the following
    • An exhibition review
    • An exhibition proposal
    • A description of a recent curatorial project that has made an impression on the applicant

Submissions should be emailed to chelsea@objectifs.com.sg, with the subject line: Application to Curatorial Case Studies

Fees and scholarships

The programme fee is SGD$100.

Full and partial scholarships are available. If you would like to apply for a scholarship, please include a letter of motivation with your application.


About the facilitators

Chelsea Chua curates and manages programmes at Objectifs. She is the curator for Stories That Matter, an annual programme at Objectifs that showcases the possibilities of non-fiction visual storytelling. Other programmes she manages at the centre include the Objectifs Documentary Awards, Curator Open Call and the centre’s artist residency programmes, which supports the development of filmmakers, photographers, artists and curators in Singapore and the region. 

Jason Wee is an artist and the author of two poetry books, including the 2020 Singapore Literature Prize finalist An Epic of Durable Departures. He edited SQ21: Singapore Queers in the 21st Century (Math Paper Press), We Contain Multitudes: 12 Years of Softblow (Epigram), and Boring Donkey Songs: Lee Wen 2012-2016 (Grey Projects). He has participated in residencies and fellowships such as The Arts House-National University of Singapore (2014-2015), NTU-CCA Singapore (2016-2017), and IdeasCity New Museum (2020).

Recent curatorial projects include Stories We Tell To Scare Ourselves With (Taipei MOCA, 2019), and Singapur Unheimlich (ifa galerie Berlin, 2015). Other curatorial projects include Useful Fictions by Shubigi Rao (2013), Mirrors in the Dark by Lee Wen (2014), When You Get Closer To The Heart, You May Find Cracks by the Migrant Ecologies Project (NUS Museum, 2014). His artist-initiated projects include Tomorrow Is An Island (Villa Vassilieff, 2016), ART OPENINGS: The Expanded Field of Art Writing (CCA Singapore, 2018) and PostSuperFutureAsia (Taipei Contemporary Art Center 2017, Ilmin Museum, 2019)