Curatorial Research Programme

Anyone who professionally produces exhibitions of contemporary art, manages exhibition venues that show contemporary art, or communicates contemporary art. In addition, applicants who can document significant experience with the same. 

The programme is primarily aimed at applicants who already have contacts on the Danish art scene or candidates who wish to develop a project involving specific Danish artists or institutions. Applicants must be able to organize meetings and studio visits on their own.

You cannot receive funding for:

• Travels related to participation at international art fairs, biennales, exhibition openings, conferences, seminars, or similar.
• Domestic flights or similar domestic travel in your country, local transportation over short distances in Denmark (<15 km), visa, travel insurance, entrance fees, per diems. Exception: Applicants from UN's list of least developed countries may apply for per diems. Find the current list here.

The Danish Arts Foundation’s Committee for Visual Arts Project Funding wishes to promote contemporary art in Denmark and Danish contemporary art abroad by allowing foreign curators to meet Danish artists and gain insight into the Danish contemporary art scene with a view to future collaborations.

Professional foreign curators can thus apply for grants to be spend only on the expense items:

• Roundtrip travel to Denmark
• Local transportation over longer distances in Denmark (>15 km)
• Accommodation costs in Denmark

A potential grant may thus not be spent on i.e.

• Local transportation over short distances (<15 km)
• Visa
• Travel insurance
• Entrance fees
• Per diems. Exception: Applicants from UN's list of least developed countries. Find the current list here.

Further attention points

• The duration of a typical research trip is 3-7 days
• the maximum amount you can apply for/receive is DKK 15,000.
• Applicants must organize meetings and studio visits on their own
• Applicants may find inspiration on the Danish art scene here - scroll down to the section OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION ON THE DANISH CONTEMPORARY ART SCENE.

Your application will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Your practice must meet the committee's criteria for high artistic quality or art professional level
• Your professional profile and experience must meet the applicant group
• Your trip must be a curatorial research trip aimed at future professional curating, art criticism, or art mediation.
• Your trip must enhance the network and dialogue between the Danish and foreign art scenes.
• Your trip must have a clear connection to a specific future project related to professional curating, art criticism, or art mediation.
• Your trip must promote and strengthen the international networks of Danish artists and/or Danish art institutions.
• Your trip must play a significant role in promoting awareness abroad of Danish artists and/or Danish art institutions.
• Your trip must foster specific collaborations between the Danish and foreign art scenes.

The Committee reserves the right to accommodate the application with a smaller amount than requested, based on an assessment of the application in relation to the overall pool of applications, the allocated funds, and the wish to ensure diversity and a spread of art funding.

If you receive a smaller amount than you have applied for, you will be able to read in your grant letter whether you need to submit additional information before we can disburse your grant.
If you have applied for a grant from the Foundation within the last three years, this information will be used as a basis for processing your application. A lifelong honorary grant from the State Art Fund is not considered in the processing of your application.

Sustainability
Danish Arts Foundation encourages applicants to incorporate green sustainability into their activities. 

You must attach the following 3 annexes:

1. The required official template in which you describe project, day program and budget*
2. CV detailing your curatorial practice
3. The required offical template for international bank wire transfers. Find and download here the form for countries with IBAN and countries without IBAN.

*In this first annex you must briefly describe (2,000 characters or less) why you want to carry out the given research trip and how you think the trip contributes to promoting contemporary art in Denmark and/or Danish contemporary art abroad.
For reporting reasons you must also state the specific goal/s planned for your research trip, for example specific meetings with named artists, curators, directors, or others who work professionally with contemporary art. If we ask you to report on your project, we will evaluate whether you have fulfilled the goals stated in your application. 
Additionally you must outline a day programme for the trip which clarifies what specific meetings and activities you have planned.
Finally you must include a budget, specifying the prices you have found for travel and accommodation

If you apply for funding for the same project from other Danish Arts Foundation committees, you have to state this in your application.

Please be aware of the following:

• Make sure that the application is properly submitted i.e. has the status "submitted". 
• The total size of the attached files may not exceed 15 MB.

• We accept the document formats PDF, Word, and Excel. We do not accept ZIP files.

• If you want to edit your application after it has been submitted, it is possible, but you must make us aware of it before so that we process the correct version of your application.

• The committee will process the most recently submitted application.
• Your application must include all the required attachments in order to be processed by the committee.
• You are responsible for ensuring that your application has been filled in correctly and that all required attachments are included. Therefore, check your submitted application in the portal to ensure that all documents are included.

The maximum grant amount is DKK 15,000. A grant must be spend only on the expenses:

• Roundtrip travel to Denmark
• Local transportation over longer distances in Denmark
• Accommodation costs.

Payment

Foreign applicants can get a potential grant transferred to their foreign bank account. For applicants with foreign bank accounts the required offical template for internation bank wire transfers must be attached to the application.
If the committee decides to award you a grant, you will receive the money as soon as possible.
We report the grant to the Danish Tax Agency, but tax has not been deducted from the payment.

The above guilnines also concerns Danes who according to the Danish Customs and Tax Administration have moved out of Denmark.

You will receive the committee’s decision via email within 8 weeks after you have submitted your application.

Throughout those days, we will read and process your application. We publish all awarded grants on our website (in Danish), once the applicants have received the committee’s decision.

The names of all applicants are made public on our website in the committees’ minutes (in Danish).

Once you have submitted your application, you will receive a screen receipt with the file number, but you will not receive an email receipt. You can also see your application and its status in the Grant Portal under "My applications". Here you can also see the appendices you have attached to the application. It is your responsibility that the necessary documents have been sent. Therefore remember to look through your application carefully.

Decisions are made in accordance with section 3(1), cf. (2) and (3) of the Danish Act on the Danish Arts Foundation’s Activities (Act no. 458 of 8 May 2013).

When the Danish Arts Foundation awards grants, it is important, and not least legally required, that the money is used for the purpose you have described in your application. Therefore, you must report on your project to the Agency for Culture and Palaces. How you must report depends on the grant amount you have received. Read more about how to report on your project.

Danish Arts Foundation's Committee for Visual Arts Project Funding.