Open Call for Exhibition Proposals 2021

A Tale of A Tub is pleased to announce the open call for the second edition of our summer exhibition series, aimed at facilitating exhibition projects conceptualized within the context of Rotterdam. The open call is defined in collaboration with CBK Rotterdam and is aimed at exhibition proposals by international curators at all stages of their professional careers for an exhibition to take place at A Tale of a Tub in the summer of 2021. We understand the position and role of the curator broadly, and we warmly welcome proposals by artists, designers, theorists, architects and practitioners from different fields of inquiry, excluding proposals conflating roles for the sake of self-representation.

This open call is part of A Tale of A Tub’s longstanding commitment to foster dialogues between artists, international curators and cultural (art) practitioners to work in the context of Rotterdam. We are looking for proposals that are context-responsive, seeking their inscription into the cultural and socio-political backdrops against which Rotterdam is posited, and establishing meaningful connections between artists and audiences in relation to the diversity of living and working practices the city includes. In so doing, the curator of the selected exhibition proposal will be invited for a brief working period in Rotterdam in the beginning of 2021, to conduct studio visits and familiarize further with the city’s fabric and cultural institutions, prior to and in preparation of a more grounded exhibition project taking place from July onwards. Additionally, we would like to seize this forthcoming edition to democratize the process of the open call further by publishing the curator’s exhibition concept before the work visit, so that artists can express their interest in participating.

The open call platform is devised to provide the opportunity for a curator to develop a project benefitting from the resources, support, guidance, promotion, and infrastructure made available for similar exhibitions at A Tale of A Tub. The budget for the exhibition will be set between €15.000 and €20.000—depending on the projects’ scope and the need for additional fundraising—to cover the curator and artist fees, travel and accommodation for the invited curator, production and material costs, as well as funds for advertisement, documentation, promotion and public programming. Additionally the project is aimed at talent development and adding a more polyphonous dimension to A Tale of A Tub’s program, welcoming different international curatorial perspectives and relations previously unknown to the institution and the city as a whole.

Requirements & Criteria

1] A proposal (maximum of 500 words) for an exhibition project, which includes a concept and a preliminary list of artists considered for A Tale of A Tub’s venue.

—In the proposal stage the artist list is provisional and open to revision as we understand that the studio visits conducted by the curator of the selected proposal may inform a different final composition of participants.
—For an overview of artists registered in Rotterdam we recommend visiting this database.
—The exhibition project should ultimately include a strong majority of artists born and/or currently based in Rotterdam.
—Image material may be used as part of the application.
2] A list and description of potential educational and public activities that will enhance and enrich the exhibition (maximum of 250 words).
3] A curriculum vitae, with an extensive description of relevant working experience.
—The applicant curator should not be based and commonly practicing in The Netherlands.
—Duo’s and collectives can equally apply.

Please send completed applications digitally in PDF to info@a-tub.org. Applications should be written in English. Please use the same address for requesting A Tale of A Tub’s floor plans, or for other questions.

The open call for exhibition proposals is made possible with the support of CBK Rotterdam. Additional support is obtained through structural funding provided by the municipality of Rotterdam and the Mondriaan Fund.

A Tale of A Tub is a platform for contemporary art exhibitions in Rotterdam. Our program revolves around questions of how art can contribute to and enhance our understanding of present-day social, political, and ecological issues. From the former bathhouse at the heart of the monumental Justus van Effen complex, A Tale of a Tub offers a testing ground for artists and other (art) professionals to develop new artistic productions that are often based on long term-research and interdisciplinary dialogue.

CBK Rotterdam is the central address for art, artists and the public in the city of Rotterdam. With exhibitions, local and international art in public space, projects, commissions, contributions and investment schemes, we bring the visual arts, the city, artists and the public into contact with each other. We do this with our programs TENT, Sculpture International Rotterdam, BKOR and Art Office with the intention to jointly stimulate the artistic climate and the vital role of artists and visual arts for and in Rotterdam.