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What we are doing

Open Call
Deadline: June 15, 2024
All applicants, whether preselected or not, will receive a response to their applications by August 2, 2024.

Orbitals is a program that takes four curators and arts researchers to an international location to learn about a different artistic context in the Global South and share this knowledge with their communities. During the eight-day guided research trip, the participants, along with members of Mophradat’s team, meet and share experiences with peers from the art scenes they are visiting. Past editions of Orbitals visited Mexico City (2018), Delhi and Chandigarh (2019), São Paulo/Rio De Janeiro (2022), and Dakar (2023).

This year’s edition of Orbitals is scheduled for November 1 to 17 (exact dates to be confirmed), and will take place in Indonesia. The program will focus on the question of the economy of art, and aims to learn from the different ways in which individuals and groups find the means to pursue their artistic and cultural practices, and how that transforms their personal as well as their community’s lives and livelihoods. Mophradat will provide flights, travel insurance, accommodation, and per diems, and reimburse visa costs. Participants in the program commit to taking part in and contributing to all the program’s organized activities prior and during the trip, and also sharing their reflections after the trip in written, recorded, visual, or other format to be assigned by Mophradat.

Specific eligibility criteria

In addition to complying with the general eligibility criteria that you can read here, please note the following:

  • Applicants must be from or living in the Arab world
  • Applicants must be curators, researchers in a field of contemporary arts, and/or artists whose practice extends into forms of public programming (all disciplines are welcome)
  • Applicants must have at least five years’ professional work experience in a field of contemporary arts, and be able to demonstrate prior experience working on international projects, exchange, or collaboration in their home country or abroad
  • Applicants must be engaged in a specific project that they are developing
  • To be considered, applicants must provide their CV, and a portfolio including documentation of three previous projects, along with the application form

Process

  • All applicants, whether shortlisted or not, will receive a response to their applications by August 2, 2024.
  • Shortlisted applicants will be invited for an online conversation to elaborate on their interests on Monday 29 July 2024.
  • Selected applicants commit to attend and engage in two to three preparatory webinars related to the trip in August and September, and any other preparatory meetings as needed.
  • During the trip, all members of the group will provide their reflections on their trip in a format that will be assigned by Mophradat (e.g. diary, podcast, essay etc.) with the aim of sharing their experience with a broader arts community.

*Please note that due to the high volume of applications and the confidentiality of the selection process, Mophradat cannot provide individual feedback explaining why an application was not selected.

Application

In order to prepare your application, you may already see the questions here.
You can only apply by filling an online form here.
Any material sent by email will not be considered.

For any questions, please email grants [at] mophradat [dot] org.

Orbitals is implemented as part of the project “Future Acts”, which is partially supported by the Federal Foreign Office, Germany, and with additional support by Teiger Foundation.