Here are the top five opportunities you cannot afford to miss as an artist before the year runs out:
1. BLACK ROCK SENEGAL RESIDENCY
The open call for applications for the 2024–2025 cycle of Black Rock Senegal will be open from November 15, 2023, at 12:00 PM (EST) until January 15, 2024. All applications must be submitted before 11:59 PM (EST) on January 15, 2024.
The application portal can be accessed on picter here
Applicants will be prompted to create a login to access the portal. This will also allow them to save versions of their application and contact technical support. If you created a login to apply last year, you can use the same login details to apply for the new 2023 season.
Each application will require the following:
1. Cover Letter
2. Current CV
3. Portfolio Works (Description and Images)
Please note that the number of portfolio works required changes depending on your selected medium on the first page of the application. Interested applicants should submit all required materials via our online application form. Please note that we will not accept applications that do not follow the guidelines. There is no application fee.
For any additional questions, contact apply@blackrocksenegal.org.
2. MICHAEL ELLIOTT AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN AFRICAN STORYTELLING
The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), in collaboration with the ONE Campaign and the Elliott family, is inviting entries for the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling. Established in honour of Michael Elliott, a distinguished editor and former ICFJ director, the award aims to recognize emerging journalists in Africa who amplify voices and shed light on transformative changes on the continent. Entries must showcase groundbreaking journalistic work published between December 1, 2022, and December 1, 2023.
Winners, chosen based on article quality and community impact, will receive a $5,000 cash prize, a personalized award certificate, and a unique two-week opportunity at The Economist headquarters in London.
Eligibility
- The contest is open to English-speaking journalists working in Africa for print, broadcast, and online news media. Applicants must have no more than 10 years of journalism experience.
- Applicants must submit one published piece that exemplifies Africa through thoughtful reporting and excellent storytelling. We are looking for impactful investigative or explanatory pieces, especially those illuminating transformational change in Africa.
- A copy of the published story or broadcast clip must be submitted in English. Works in other languages must include English translations. We welcome submissions from print, broadcast, or digital journalists. Multimedia submissions may include web, audio, video, visual, or mixed media.
- The submitted story must be published between December 1, 2022, and December 1, 2023.
- A distinguished international jury including media leaders from the US, UK, and Africa will select the winners. We will reach out to all applicants to notify them of their status by the spring of 2024.
The application form for the 2024 cycle is available here. The deadline for applications is January 31, 2024.
For more information, please visit the Michael Elliott Award for Excellence in African Storytelling
3. KUENYEHIA PRIZE FOR CONTEMPORARY ART
The Kuenyehia Trust for Contemporary Art is a non-profit organization founded by Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia in 2013. Its mission is to promote and advance contemporary art, particularly focusing on African origin. The trust aims to support young, emerging, and mid-career artists in Africa, cultivate a robust local and international market for African art, advance art education on the continent, and invest in creative enterprises fostering the development of the arts in Africa and beyond.
As part of its initiatives, the Kuenyehia Trust annually hosts the Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art, an art prize specifically recognizing and rewarding outstanding artists in West Africa aged 18 to 40. The prize serves as a platform to identify and celebrate the most exceptional artistic talent in the region. The open call for the 2023 Kuenyehia Prize for Contemporary Art has been announced, inviting submissions from West African artists within the specified age range.
Winners and runners-up benefit from prize money, tools to enhance their practice, and exposure through the network of the Kuenyehia Trust.
The trust says “The prominence that the Prize gives to its artists provides them with an accelerated boost in their careers, direct financial gain, and opportunities both locally and internationally.”
Application Closes on December 31st, 2023.
Visit www.kuenyehiaprize.org to apply.
4. CAP PRIZE 2024
The International Prize for Contemporary African Photography (CAP) has also announced an open call for entries for the CAP Prize 2024
Awarded to five photographers annually since 2012, the CAP Prize recognizes photographers whose works were created on the African continent or engage with the African diaspora.
To select the winners, a panel of international curators, publishers, editors, and artists will review the submissions. 25 artists will be shortlisted, and five shortlisted artists will be awarded the CAP Prize 2024.
The CAP Prize is free to enter, and the winners will be announced in July 2024.
For information on how to enter, please visit here
Application Deadline is February 7th, 2024.
Also, visit capprize.com for the application link and application guidelines.
5. KUTA ARTS RESIDENCY
Kuta Arts Foundation, a pro-youth arts organization that facilitates programs centred on art education, creative expression, and community development, has announced the open call for its 2024 Art Residency program.
Located in Ogun State, Nigeria, Kuta Arts Foundation is empowering young artists and cultural workers in Nigeria by creating an enabling environment where artists and other cultural workers develop their skills, exhibit and promote their works, and ultimately impact their communities by speaking through art.
This in-person residency program provides a safe space and art materials,, among other educational resources to participating artists. Furthermore, the resident artists connect with established artists who guide them as they develop their work significantly and thematically over the course of 4-12 weeks.”
The residency program offers accommodation and welfare, studio facilities, production materials & utilities, workshops, exhibitions & visiting artist programs, and guaranteed standard and adequate working environments.
The focus areas of the program are;
Sculpture: wood, metal, clay, or stone.
Visual Art: Painting, Photography, Mixed Media
Textile: Fabric or fibre art, Fashion Pieces, etc.
Other areas of interest are creative Writing and Curating.
Per the information made available, phase 1 of the program will take place from February to April 2024 and the Phase 2 will take place from July to August 2024. Both phases will include the residency, workshop, and exhibition.
This initiative is crucial to revive engagement in our local cultural centres and to place youths as the force for reactivating cultural expression, presenting contemporary works whilst connecting them to historical contexts, and urgent subjects in our society while collectively imagining and innovating a better future.
Who Can Apply?
• Artists living and working in Nigeria. Especially Artists based outside of Lagos & Abuja who lack access to cultural facilities in their cities.
• Women artists living and working in remote parts of Nigeria are highly encouraged to apply. This program offers a fully funded residency experience for up to 10 female artists. This includes accommodation, feeding, stipend, art materials, educational resources, and studio space at no cost.
The residency is open to all and not for females only. However, there will be periods when the residency program will be specifically curated to support women artists and only accommodate women.
Application Deadline is November 30th, 2023.
To enter visit the application link. For more information visit Kuta Arts Foundation.
