ACASA

Arts Council of the African Studies Association

ACASA Award for Curatorial Excellence

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2024 ACASA Curatorial Excellence Award
Call for Submissions – Due February 15, 2024

The submission window is now open for the 2024 Awards for Curatorial Excellence. Submissions must be received by February 15, 2024. The awards will be presented at the 19th ACASA Triennial, to be held in Chicago from August 7-11, 2024.

The Awards for Curatorial Excellence recognize the important contributions to the dissemination and understanding of African and African Diaspora Arts made through exhibitions. Exhibitions related to permanent collections, loan shows, commissioned works or community interventions organized by museums, galleries, cultural centers, and exhibition spaces of all sorts are eligible. Up to two awards for curatorial excellence will be given. Runners up may also be recognized.

Eligibility

The exhibition should have opened between Sept. 1, 2019 and Sept. 1, 2023.

Exhibition eligibility: Both nominator and nominee(s)—if different–must be ACASA members in good standing. Join ACASA

Incomplete or late submissions will not be considered.

Submission Process and Materials

Eligible exhibitions should be uploaded by the nominator to this form with the submission materials listed below. All submission materials must be received by February 15, 2024.

All submissions should include the following materials:

  1. Cover page indicating title of exhibition, dates, venue(s), curator(s) names
  2. Synopsis of exhibition (one-page)
  3. Sample publication where applicable. This can include PDFs of take-away brochures, exhibition preview article or other means of documentation and distribution of project. If no publication was possible, please submit a bibliography of 5 key sources germane to the show’s thesis or points of departure.
  4. Sample didactics (labels or other interpretive materials, such as on-line description, that demonstrate the exhibition’s intellectual content and curatorial vision. Not to exceed 3-pages)
  5. Visual documentation: up to 5 still digital images, at least one of which must show installation, context or performance space; up to 2 videos or links, not to exceed 3 minutes in length to document performance or time-based projects.
  6. Link to or documentation of innovative uses of technology or interactive engagement
  7. Description of institution, organization or entity originating the exhibition (for example museum, independent art space, pop-up…, including mission, history, collection (if applicable), size, staff, budget, audience and other information pertinent to understanding the context in which the exhibition emerged.
  8. Documentation of community response. Up to three (3) examples that demonstrate various perspectives. These might include emails, sample entries from audience response books, or social media postings and not just critical or press reviews.

Assessment Criteria

For consideration for this award, the awards committee will consider exhibitions that:

  1. Generate new scholarship across the humanities or beyond
  2. Open new perspectives on the field
  3. Collaborate with and/or contribute to local or stakeholder communities
  4. Demonstrate innovative approaches to exhibition design and presentation
  5. Expand understandings or uses of technology

Please contact Caroline Bastian, ACASA Project Manager, for any questions or comments at bastian@acasaonline.org.