Curator-in-Residence
Call For Applications: Curator-in-Residence in Social and Environmental Justice in the Arts
Applications for 2025/2026 due May 15, 2025
Call for Applications: Curator-in-Residence 2025/2026 (PDF)
Program Description
The Department of Visual Arts at Western University is seeking applications from emerging to established curators, for a one-year Curator-in-Residence. The Department of Visual Arts supports numerous projects committed to social and environmental justice and would welcome the successful candidate’s input and/or collaboration in these areas. Applications from curators with connections to, or living in, the region are particularly encouraged.
The Curator-in-Residence will collaborate with our program in Museum and Curatorial Studies and our module in Social and Environmental Justice in the Arts. They will benefit from proximity and exchange with numerous research projects in the Department of Visual Arts, most especially the work of the Centre for Sustainable Curating (CSC) and the Onkwehonwe Research Environment (ORE). The Curator-in-Residence will collaborate with faculty and staff, mentor students, and develop a curatorial project focused on social and environmental justice. They will be invited to undertake community engagement and other outreach activities that could include (but are not limited to) talks, workshops, and studio visits. During the timeframe of the residency, the individual may pursue other opportunities at Western University, as available and relevant to their expertise. For example, individuals may apply to available teaching opportunities or take part in volunteer or other events on campus.
We invite proposals that utilize curatorial projects as instruments to stimulate new ideas, challenge existing perspectives, introduce innovative research topics, and critically assess current practices, all with the aim of promoting social and environmental justice through the Visual Arts. Special consideration will be given to projects that highlight overlooked knowledge areas or amplify diverse and multifaceted voices. The successful candidate will demonstrate a strong dedication to equity, diversity, and inclusion within their curatorial endeavors, actively engaging with anti-oppressive and decolonized frameworks.
The Curator-in-Residence will have access to a shared office space and equipment, staff support, and other resources at Western University, such as use of the library and the Centre for Teaching and Learning. The residency will include periodic activities that intersect with coursework and departmental events.
The residency will be situated in the Department of Visual Arts for a period of 8 to 12 months beginning August 1, 2025 (negotiable). The stipend for the residency is $50,000 (inclusive of taxes) regardless of the length of the residency, and is intended to cover support materials, travel, accommodation, curator fees and costs related to the residency, although additional funds can be applied for through the Department. There is a limited budget available to support an exhibition.
The Department of Visual Arts offers programs in Art History, Museum and Curatorial Studies, and Studio Art, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We have strengths in digital media, photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, sound, sculpture, and installation. Department facilities include the ArtLAB Gallery, the Cohen Explorations Lab and Cohen Commons, the Centre for Sustainable Curating, and the Onkwehonwe Research Environment, as well as studio facilities including woodshop, sound studio, printmaking studio, painting studio, dark room, and black box media lab. The Department also supports an Indigenous Artist-in-Residence.
Local Context
Western University is located on the traditional territories of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnonton Nations, on lands connected with London Township and Sombra Treaties of 1796 and the Dish with One Spoon Covenant Wampum. With this, we acknowledge and respect the longstanding relationships that Indigenous Nations have to this land, as they are the original caretakers. We acknowledge historical and ongoing injustices that Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) endure in Canada, and we accept responsibility as a public institution to contribute toward revealing and correcting miseducation as well as renewing respectful relationships with Indigenous communities through our teaching, research and community service.
The Department of Visual Arts is located next to the Deshkan Ziibing, also known as the Thames or Antler River. This culturally and ecologically significant river reminds us of our responsibilities to the land and Indigenous Peoples, and offers meaningful grounding and inspiration to many students, staff and faculty.
London has a vivid artistic scene, and we collaborate on a regular basis with the McIntosh Gallery, also located on campus, Embassy Cultural House, Forest City Gallery, Museum London, and Museum of Ontario Archaeology.
