The application process for CUE’s open call for solo exhibitions and curatorial projects is currently closed. Open call exhibitions are still ongoing, but future cycles will not follow the pre-pandemic annual timeline. We’ve extended the duration of each show and deepened financial, curatorial, and editorial curatorial support to better meet the needs of emerging artists—especially those presenting their first organizational solo exhibition.
We’re grateful for your patience as we shape the next cycle and encourage you to follow us @cueart for updates.
OPEN CALLS FOR ARTISTS AND CURATORS
CUE’s open call provides emerging and underrepresented artists and curators the opportunity and resources to present an exhibition at CUE’s ground floor gallery space on West 25th Street in Manhattan, New York City.
The open call awards opportunities to artists for solo exhibitions and to curators to organize group exhibitions at CUE. Awardees are each paired with a mentor, an established artist or curator who offers professional guidance on their practice and exhibition plans. CUE provides a generous honorarium to each awardee, as well as a budget that covers transport of artwork, materials and fabrication for on-site installation of works, art handling, graphic design, photography, videography, honoraria for mentors and collaborators, and public programming costs. CUE staff also provides curatorial guidance on project conceptualization and exhibition design in our space, communications and outreach support, press materials, identity and graphic design development, visual assets, checklist development, professional development assistance, and more. All of these elements are created in collaboration with exhibiting artists, increasing their fluency and understanding of the exhibition-making process and its associated
Additionally, for each show, CUE produces an accompanying exhibition catalogue with a long-form essay commissioned through our Art Critic Mentorship Program, written by an independent emerging writer. The catalogue also contains artist and mentor statements, bios, and images of the work.
ABOUT CUE'S EXHIBITION PROGRAM
CUE is a small nonprofit organization that aims to present new and exceptionally strong work by emerging and underrepresented artists who live and work in the United States. We are committed to exhibiting work of all disciplines and mediums, and to building a varied program that is representative of the diversity of the contemporary arts landscape. CUE’s exhibition selection process consists of two models. The first model is via our annual open call, through which the majority of shows at CUE are organized. The second model is via direct nominations. For this, we invite established artists and curators to propose artists they think are deserving and ready for an exhibition opportunity. Generally, CUE presents three to four open call shows and one or two direct nomination shows each year, although we approach our timeline according to the needs of the work rather than through formulaic structures of planning. The program prioritizes those who have not had major opportunities to present their work to the public, and whose practices are not traditionally represented or would benefit from the deep engagement and agency our model offers. In line with CUE’s commitment to providing substantive professional development opportunities to artists and arts workers, each exhibiting artist or curator receives support in the form of a generous honorarium, as well as a mentorship relationship and guidance from CUE’s staff throughout the process of planning, organizing, and promoting their exhibition.MORE INFORMATION
Subscribe to our email list or follow us on Instagram at @cueart for updates. If you have any questions, you can contact us at opencall@cueartfoundation.org.