Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis are launching the fourth iteration of the Fellowship program for applicants based in the Caribbean. The initiative aims to foster and support research based practices and stimulate mutual exchange between the Caribbean region and the Dutch cultural field. Together with the leading partners - Nieuwe Instituut and Tilting Axis - other cultural institutions including Amsterdam Museum, De Appel, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, and Kunstinstituut Melly will engage with the selected applicant during the Fellowship.
About the Fellowship
This Fellowship focuses on applicants living and working within the Caribbean region offering the space to think through research and practice. The selected applicant will be based in Rotterdam at Nieuwe Instituut and will have access to other partner cultural institutions in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The Fellowship will be developed through independent research; individual support and interaction with the Research Department team at Nieuwe Instituut; monthly meetings to discuss thematic and methodological aspects of the project; and diverse collaborations with partner institutions.
Applicants are invited to submit a proposal that addresses their current investigations and research interests through the lens of architecture, design and digital culture.
Read more about the past editions of the Tilting Axis Fellowship with Fellow Sean Leonard in 2020 and Fernando Martirena and Anadis González in 2021-2022.
For a video introduction to the Open Call click here.
For Whom?
One researcher, designer, writer, curator, or cultural producer based in the Caribbean region interested in building new links with cultural institutions in the Netherlands, and with an interest in developing their research practice around themes related to architecture, spatial practice, design or digital culture.
There is no age limit for applicants.
Neither a curriculum vitae nor letters of recommendation are requested. The Fellowship is open to all degree levels in design, architecture and digital culture. Equal priority will be given to those without a degree or institutional affiliation who can also demonstrate a high level of creativity, critical thought and other potential in their respective fields.
Artists who are residents of and based in the following countries can apply:
Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saba, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Saint Martin, Sint Martin, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands.
Resources offered by the Fellowship
Stimulate and visualise curatorial, design, and artistic realities coming from the Caribbean region;
Enhance knowledge exchange and collaboration with a cross-section of Dutch cultural institutions;
Network and exchange with a variety of platforms for professional experience;
Produce critical knowledge on inter-disciplinary exchanges as well as visual culture;
Offer practical support for travel to the Netherlands;
Engage with hosting and collaborating institutions to interrogate and challenge their institutional structures and methodologies;
Utilise the existing Tilting Axis network.
The Fellow will be invited to:
Make a series of presentations in Rotterdam & Amsterdam at host and partner institutions on their research/practice;
Produce a monthly text/sound/video/photo essay as potential options to be discussed with the fellow. The fellow’s research could lead to an installation, exhibition, or further events at partner institutions during or after the Fellowship;
A final reflective report on the Fellowship experience is required and will be posted on the websites of Tilting Axis and Nieuwe Instituut, with links to the partner institutions.
Research Stipend and Travelling to the Netherlands
A total stipend of €12,000 will be granted by Nieuwe Instituut to cover living expenses and in addition to the stipend, Nieuwe Instituut will cover one round-trip airfare from any country within the Caribbean to the Netherlands. Accommodation costs will be reimbursed to the fellow for the period of stay in the Netherlands for a maximum of €800 per month. Stipends may be subject to a withholding tax.
Specific details about the position will be discussed with the selected applicant. Developments around COVID-19 and/or the restrictions imposed by governments including visa restrictions will be taken into account. The Fellowship might be undertaken partly remotely for applicants who are only able to reside in the Netherlands for 90 days given visa stipulations.
Crossovers Programme
This Fellowship is part of Nieuwe Instituut’s crossovers programme that aims to stimulate the international exchange of knowledge and research through collaborative fellowships, events, exhibitions, and publications involving designers, researchers and partners across the world. Broader alliances can contribute to cultural and political change, and eventually to policy adjustments.
Application process
Applicants for the Fellowship are invited to develop an independent proposal clearly outlining their areas of research/practice while also highlighting their interests in some or all of the partner organisations. The proposal should be content driven and can be based on already existing research or offer new projects. The Fellow is not expected to produce an outcome or finished artwork or product but will be encouraged to publicly present the ongoing research interests whilst in the Netherlands. The research will also be published on an ongoing basis via Nieuwe Instituut and partner institutions’ websites, newsletters, or other publications.
Proposals will be considered by an international committee consisting of the Tilting Axis and Nieuwe Instituut teams along with representatives from the partner institutions including curators, academics, creative practitioners and museum professionals.
Apply
The Open Call for 2024 is available from May 15th 2023, with a deadline for submission on June 23, 2023.
Proposals should be submitted to ta-fellowship@nieuweinstituut.nl with the subject Tilting Axis Fellowship 2024/<surname> <first name>.
In order to be considered, proposals should include the following information:
An introductory video of max 3 minutes in which applicants introduce themselves, their initial project idea and what inspired them to apply.
A written proposal of max 1000 words in which applicants detail:
A statement of intent which should explain the applicant’s research focus and its methodology, highlighting its connection to architecture, design, or digital culture.
The relation between their interests and the hosting partners and institutions.
A proposed working calendar with availability to take up the fellowship from February- July 2024.
Relevant documentation of previous work (maximum 10 works), and/or links to audio or video files (maximum 5 minutes) in PDF format with an accompanying caption list.
Proposals should be written in English and applicants must have a working knowledge of English. While we understand that English proficiency may vary or that English may not be the applicant’s first or primary language, unfortunately, we are not able to offer translation support at this time. Applicants with specific questions are encouraged to contact ta-fellowship@nieuweinstituut.nl about the availability of any support service.
Selection Process
Proposals will be considered by an international committee consisting of the Tilting Axis and Het Nieuwe Instituut teams along with representatives from the partner institutions including curators, academics, and museum professionals. Find a full overview of the jury members here. The review committee includes:
Ramon Amaro, Senior Researcher, Nieuwe Instituut
Holly Bynoe, ARC Magazine, Sour Grass and Tilting Axis co-founder
Annalee Davis, Visual Artist, Founding Director of Fresh Milk, Sour Grass and Tilting Axis co-founder
Jessy Koeiman, Curator of Collective Learning, Kunstinstituut Melly
Mark Raymond, Director of the Graduate School of Architecture at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa.
Lara Khaldi, Direct at De Appel
Imara Limon, Curator, Amsterdam Museum & Lateesha Verwey, Curator-in-Training, Amsterdam Museum
Charl Landvreugd, Head of Research and Curatorial Practice, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview with members of the selection committee. Candidates must hold the dates July 4th 2023 for the interview.
More Information on the Partner Institutions:
Amsterdam Museum
The Amsterdam Museum is an innovative city museum. We present exhibitions on a wide range of urban issues. We share knowledge, show art and heritage, and tell relevant stories – past, present and future, through our public and education programme and encourage others to tell stories as well. We do this at our museum locations in the historic city centre – the Amsterdam Museum Wing at the Hermitage, House Willet-Holthuysen and the soon to be completely renovated Burgerweeshuis complex. And we also do this together with partners at locations in city districts such as Nieuw-West, Zuidoost and Noord.
What is offered: The fellow has access to the facilities at the locations of the Amsterdam Museum, including the library, archives, exhibitions, workspaces, and presentation spaces. The team is willing to have in-depth conversations with the fellow and encourage proposals by the fellow for a (public) event such as a talk, screening, or a different form of presenting their work and research.
De Appel
De Appel is an Amsterdam-based contemporary art institute that brings together people, objects, and ideas to explore the unknown. With an experimental, open-minded, and inclusive focus, the programs of De Appel serve the intellectually and emotionally curious, (non-) specialised art enthusiasts as well as seasoned art professionals.
De Appel organises exhibitions, performances, film screenings, lectures, and gatherings that cross boundaries between the arts and other disciplines. These programs facilitate artistic and socially relevant dialogues with various cultural and societal organisations, both in Amsterdam and beyond. In addition, De Appel is home to a world-renowned curatorial programme and houses an extensive archive and library. De Appel is continuously developing its programs and goals in order to remain critical towards its changing societal and cultural contexts.
What is offered: The fellow will have daily access to the facilities of De Appel, including the library, archive, exhibition, workspaces, and presentation spaces. The archive is specialised in performance arts and contains books, magazines, drawings, letters, and ephemera. The team and Curatorial Programme participants are also ready to welcome the fellow and provide contacts, feedback and are happy for the fellow to learn from new voices coming from De Appel.
Nieuwe Instituut
Nieuwe Instituut is the Dutch Institute for Architecture, Design and Digital Culture. The institute combines a research-driven museum, the State Archive for Architecture, the Agency for international programmes, and for 2019 an unofficial Academy under the title Neuhaus. In an era characterised by radical technological, economic, cultural, and social shifts, Nieuwe Instituut aims to illuminate and map the quickly changing world and foster discussion of it, in a networked fashion, with architects, designers, artists, knowledge institutes, cultural organisations, and other agents. The institute organises exhibitions, lectures, and fellowships, carries out and publishes research projects, and develops international programmes at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the Istanbul Design Biennale, and the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism and Architecture in Shenzhen, among other forums. All Nieuwe Instituut’s activities are grounded in the principles of design and innovation – two concepts bound up with changing value systems and conflict.
What is offered: The fellow has daily access to the facilities of Nieuwe Instituut, including the library, archives, exhibitions, workspaces, and presentation spaces. Other resources may be available in concert with other departments of Het Nieuwe Instituut as well as its ongoing institutional partnerships.
Kunstinstituut Melly
Kunstinstituut Melly was originally conceived as an art-house with a mission to present and discuss the ideas and work created today by visual artists and cultural makers. To fulfil the core mission of presenting contemporary art and theory, we organise exhibitions, commission art, publish and develop educational and collaborative initiatives. In doing so, we apply a practice of collective learning. This means we spatialize and socialise different forms of knowledge. Public engagement is intrinsic to our creative processes and artistic outcomes. We believe that experiencing art and theory this way is vital to enjoy our present and learn with and about culture. We have especially worked with artists and engaged audiences who pose challenging inquiries and articulations of our present. We are interested in catalysing thought and have been known for inspiring public debates. And while Kunstinstituut Melly’s program considers the contemporary, it also regards how art has been created and experienced in the past, and it imagines the many futures art can come to shape. Here, art is a motion; learning is porous.
What is offered: The fellow may choose to participate in a dedicated public programme at Kunstinstituut Melly to present existing or ongoing research on contemporary visual arts or cultural developments in the present. Alternatively, the programme could be organised as a private session, in the form of a think tank, professional networking event, or similar, with the goal of discussing the fellow’s research topic or sharing information collected to date. Whatever format is chosen, this programme would be organised within the frame of the institution’s collective learning initiative.
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
The aim of the Stedelijk is to enrich people's lives with art. Our collection, exhibitions, publications, research, and educational programs offer unique and compelling insights into today’s world and highlight topics that impact our societies and individual lives. Our interactions between audiences and art are driven by dialogues with artists. We explore complex topics of yesterday, today and tomorrow – as defined by artists and signalled by ourselves – in an adventurous program. This vision is guided by a fresh, energetic approach to displaying, caring for and renewing our world-famous collection. Our museum builds memories for the future.
What is offered: The fellow will have access to the research facilities, library, and archives at the Stedelijk Museum; will engage in a meeting with the Research Programme team; will be provided a platform to give a public lecture at the Stedelijk Museum and in so doing, contribute to the artistic life of the museum; will be supported to meet other cultural workers with similar research interests, and will receive critical feedback during the course of their fellowship.
Tilting Axis
Tilting Axis is an arts platform for, from, across, and through the Caribbean. It is a call to action to rethink the position and conditions of contemporary art practices in the region. Its perspective, informed by artist-led initiatives within the archipelago, recognises this space as central rather than peripheral and is fed by multi-generational voices. It aims to build support systems that sustain contemporary art practitioners in the region and serve as a catalyst for creative projects and collaborations.
Tilting Axis is an arts platform for, from, across, and through the Caribbean. It is a call to action to rethink the position and conditions of contemporary art practises in the region. Its perspective, informed by artist-led initiatives within the archipelago, recognises this space as central rather than peripheral and is fed by multi-generational voices. Tilting Axis was co-founded in 2014 by Annalee Davis of The Fresh Milk Art Platform and Holly Bynoe of ARC Magazine. From its inception, Tilting Axis has grounded its concerns in the Caribbean as a part of a wider creative ecology, and the health, evolution, and advancement, a primary objective of its annual meetings held inside and outside of the region. Bringing together artist-led initiatives, private and state sector arts institutions and artists, writers, researchers, and curators, Tilting Axis offers an intimate discursive space to reflect on how we might contribute to more inclusive and equitable art worlds. At each meeting, several themes have been identified including the following but not limited to Development; Curating strategies for the Caribbean; the archive, cultural ecologies; and Decolonisation and Art Criticism.
Tilting Axis is the organisational platform that manages the annual meetings and coordinates the Fellowships in partnership with host institutions.