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Call for proposals for the Icelandic contribution to the 2017 Venice Biennale

The Icelandic Art Center calls for proposals for the Icelandic Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017.

The Venice Biennale has for over a century been one of the most prestigious international art forum in the world. Iceland has participated in the exhibition since 1960. The Icelandic Art Center is the organiser of the Icelandic Pavilion on behalf of the Icelandic Ministry of Education, Science and Culture.

Deadline to send in an application is 1 April 2016 and the application process will be done in two steps. The Scientific board of the Center, together with two guests, will invite 3 applicants to develop their proposals further.

In June the Center will announce one project that will present Iceland in the Icelandic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2017.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

What is the procedure?
The application process is in two stages

-Submission of proposals in the first step is 1 April 2016. All proposals will be reviewed by the scientific board of the Center.

-Three proposals will be shortlisted for the second step for further development. Deadline for the second step will be 3 June 2016.

Who can apply?
Artists, curators as well as a team of curator and artist/-s can apply. One of the applicants must live and work in Iceland or be an Icelandic citizen.

-The artist/-s must have significant exhibition experience of major international art projects.

-The curator must have a broad experience of curating international exhibitions.

-The curator must have an experience in managing complex projects, budget control and production planning and reporting.

How to apply?
Deadline to send in proposals in first stage is the 1 April 2016

Project proposals must include the following:
-CV of artist/-s

-CV of curator and others of the team

-Description of the proposal, the subject or the concept that the artist / the team will be using as their source. (max 2000 words)

-Arguments why the proposal and its makers should present Iceland in the international context of the Venice Biennale. (max 500 words)

What is the procedure of Stage 2?
22 April 2016 the names of the 3 shortlisted proposals will be made public.

The shortlisted applicants will receive an amount of 250.000 ISK for developing the project further.

3 June 2016 the shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their proposals to the Scientific board. Each artist/team get one hour to present their final proposal.

The shortlisted proposals must include the following:

-The concept of the proposal and the value of the artist/-s and the curator in the context of Icelandic and international art scene.

-Thorough description of the proposal.

-Budget and production plan based on actual price estimates.

-Proposal of a program in connection with the exhibition (guided tours, symposium and events) can be included together at this stage.

Applicants must hand in all documents listed above to the Scientific board after the presentation.

The winning proposal that will present Iceland at the Icelandic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2017 will be announced in June 2016.

Scientific board
The Scientific board of the IAC and director together with two experts from the international art scene select the best suited proposal and articulate their choice in a recommendation to the Board of the IAC for the definite appointment.

The IAC assists the representatives of the Icelandic Pavilion with technical and beurocratic issues and is the responsible institution for the production to the Venice Biennale and Icelandic authorities.

How to send in proposals?
Proposals must be sent to the Icelandic Art Center through e-mail to: icelandicpavilion@icelandicartcenter.is.

Deadline for submission is 1 April 2016.

All documents must be sent in digital format. We encourage the use of platforms such as Youtube, Vimeo and Wetransfer to send in documents and links on digital material.

Read more about Venice Biennale