We define contemporary art as visual art that was made from the 1960s onward. Projects and programs need not focus exclusively on contemporary art or visual art, but should take place within a contemporary visual-art framework or context to be eligible for funding. 

Visual art is our focus. We do not support projects in the fields of film, design/decorative arts, or architecture unless they have a significant visual art framework. We recognize that distinctions among genres of art are not always clear and welcome proposals that include contemporary work in various disciplines as long as they are conceptually and formally defined in dialogue with visual art. If you are unsure whether the content of your project or program aligns with our focus on contemporary visual art, check out our recent grantees for examples of eligible projects. If you are still unsure, reach out to us.  

Cultural and community organizations of all types working with visual-art curators to pursue projects and initiatives involving contemporary art are encouraged to apply. These programs can involve other artistic disciplines or eras of art, but contemporary art must form a primary component. 

Yes. The job title of curator is not a requirement for eligibility. We acknowledge that institutions are structured differently depending on scale and other factors. If you are performing a curator-like role in relation to the proposed project or program, you are welcome to apply. The same standards will apply in terms of the evaluation of your past projects. You must convey a serious commitment to curatorial practice in the visual-art context, even if your role or prior work involves focus areas other than or in addition to curatorial work. 

Yes. If you are applying for multiple projects or a series of programs developed and administered by different curators (for instance for the three years of funding category), please be sure to give weight to the unified curatorial vision of your program while also offering highlights from each curator’s work and proposed projects. If some projects are more developed than others at the point of application, please feel free to weight those accordingly.

  

Traditionally, Teiger Foundation supports professional curators, but there are many instances in which an organization brings in special expertise for a project in the form of a professional from another discipline, or a person with uniquely relevant knowledge and life experience. In your application, make sure to convey your expertise in your subject area while also articulating why the visual-art context and your proposed project are the right expressions for your work at this time.  

Curators at all levels are welcome to apply. If your prior curatorial experience is minimal, please pay special attention to the past projects section of the application, and use it to illustrate other activities and experiences that have helped inform your point of view and professional strengths as a curator.  

We encourage curators to partner with colleagues at other cultural institutions, and also with community organizations, institutions of higher learning, etc. For efficiency's sake, we ask that one curator and/ or organization take the lead on the application itself. Please tell us clearly how you're working together in your project description, images, and budget. Make space in your application to add more background as needed, from either of the partners or both if you have worked together before. Partnerships require a lot of work and time, and collaborative applicants should include related expenses in project budgets.  

Funding can support the development, realization, interpretation, and documentation of exhibitions, related public programs and publications, as well as microsites and other online components of on-site projects.

Funding can support group or thematic exhibitions, single-artist surveys, new commissions, participatory and community-engaged art projects, live and online performance in the context of the visual arts, and as-yet-unknown, experimental forms involving contemporary visual art and artists. Try us!  

We invite proposals for curatorial projects at the research stage and do not require that research projects lead to an exhibition or public-facing project. A research grant award does not guarantee additional support for resulting exhibitions, though such projects will be eligible for future consideration. Eligible costs for research proposals include those related to travel, convenings of colleagues, scholars, practitioners, and community members, and/or collaborative investigations around critical cultural, social, and political issues. This grant can also cover costs related to research assistance and provide institutional support for curators to take leave to conduct their research, comprising up to 60% of the requested award.  

Currently, we do not support stand-alone publishing projects, but grants can include support for print or digital publications related to the proposed program(s) or project(s). Publications should reflect informed decisions about whether and how to make a book, a website, or deploy another digital medium such as a podcast, live or edited video interview, etc. Traditionally, publications have extended the life of an exhibition and brought it a wider audience. Our aim is to empower curators to retain control over how their work exists online, and drive innovation around methods for doing so. 

We invite requests from curators who wish to present an exhibition that has originated elsewhere for touring funds. The jury will evaluate your proposed new configurations, programs, and learning around the touring exhibition and how those reflect the distinct context of the hosting institution and community. Eligible expenses include touring fees and all aspects of mounting the exhibition, as well as costs associated with additional programs, artworks, and other means you are using to integrate the exhibition into its new context. The organization planning to host the touring show should be the applicant. Please make sure to include appropriate fees for featured artists and also originating curators involved in your presentation of the exhibition.  

No. Please communicate with one another about this.  

Yes, but the organization must have a minimum of two years of sponsorship with the same fiscal sponsor.  

Selections will be made by a jury of peers–curators, artists, and other arts professionals–led by Teiger Foundation staff. Given the focus of the Foundation, the curator's creativity, engagement, and learning are the most important part of the application. The jury will be encouraged to think about the relationship between the past and the proposed project or projects. This is to help us understand and visualize the proposed show, but it’s also an opportunity for a curator (and/or organization) to actually look at their work and frame it as a practice.  

If I receive a grant award, how long do I have to wait before I can apply to the Teiger Foundation yearly open call again? 

Recipients wishing to reapply in a category with the same funding threshold as their award must skip an open call cycle before doing so.