Rencontres d'Arles Curatorial Research Fellowship

The World of Louis Stettner (1922–2016). 2024 Curatorial Research Grant.

The Rencontres d'Arles €20,000 curatorial research fellowship is open to all exhibition curators.

The project chosen will be carried out in two stages:

• Research

• Production (after approval, if the project is included in the Rencontres d’Arles program)

The maximum €20,000 grant includes:

• An initial amount of €5,000 in copyright acquired for the winner

• A second amount of €15,000 for producing the project; in case of approval by Les Rencontres d’Arles.

RULES OF PARTICIPATION

1. PURPOSE

The Rencontres d'Arles curatorial research fellowship is intended for curators wishing to carry out an original image/photography project.
It is supported by Jean-François Dubos.


2. APPLICATION

THE APPLICATION MUST BE FILED ONLINE BEFORE DECEMBER 1, 2025:
→ RENCONTRESARLES.TYPEFORM.COM

IN A SINGLE PDF (10MB MAX.), INCLUDING (IN ORDER):

• a biography of the curator (and co-curators or collective if applicable) with background, full contact details and a list of curatorial projects & exhibitions, including presentations and views (in the case of exhibitions) of the various projects undertaken by the curator(s).

• a text presenting the proposed exhibition project (maximum 5,000 characters), the body of works and the artists involved in the project (submitting visuals is strongly advised), a provisional research budget (€5,000), a research schedule and a provisional exhibition production budget (€15,000).
  
  The texts must be in French or English, ideally both.

3. RESEARCH & PRODUCTION

STAGE 1: RESEARCH

• Based on the project selected, the curator will receive a €5,000 grant for expenses and copyright fees throughout the length of the research.

• The budget and schedule will be submitted to the Rencontres d'Arles for approval.

• The curator will have six months of research time at the end of which he/she will propose a note to the artistic direction of the Rencontres d'Arles to validate the feasibility of the project and its restitution format (stage 2).

STAGE 2: PRODUCING & ORGANIZING THE EXHIBITION

After approval, if the project is approved by Les Rencontres d'Arles at the end of the 6-month research period, the project will enter the production stage funded by the Rencontres d'Arles.

The €15,000 budget managed by the Rencontres d'Arles includes:

• Loans of works

• Shipping works to Arles (round-trip)

• Production of the works: printing, framing, wallpaper, videos, etc.

• An invitation to the curator, and possible costs of the artists’ expenses in Arles during opening week (and/or the mounting of the exhibition).

• Insurance

The curator agrees to:

• Make a selection of the exhibition’s works and determine the presentation and reproduction rights

• Write a text presenting the selection of photographs

• Be present at the festival’s opening week and participate to the guided tour of the exhibition.

In addition to these items, the Rencontres d’Arles will cover the following expenses: scenography, mounting and dismantling of the works, security.

4. TIMETABLE

• September 15, 2025: Opening of applications

• December 1, 2025: Application deadline

• End February 2026: Announcement of the shortlisted project(s)

• Until Summer 2026: Research (stage 1)

• From September 2026: In the case of approval, production of the project (stage 2) 

THE CURATORIAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IS GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY JEAN-FRANÇOIS DUBOS.

CONTACT
JOHANNA TESTON: JOHANNA.TESTON@RENCONTRES-ARLES.COM