Art POP Curatorial Residency

Contract period: April 15, 2022 to October 15, 2022
Contract amount: $4000 (≈200 hours)
Deadline to apply: Sunday March 13th at 11:59 PM EST

Art Volt and POP Montreal have formed a partnership to support recent alumni of Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts through a Curatorial Residency opportunity. 

POP Montreal International Music Festival is a not-for-profit grassroots organization that champions independence in the arts by presenting emerging and celebrated artists from around the world.  Now starting its 21st year, POP’s main event is a five-day music and arts festival taking place in the early fall, featuring musicians as well as films, art, fashion, panels and special events. In addition to the main festival, POP presents multidisciplinary events locally and internationally throughout the year.

Art POP is the contemporary art component of POP Montreal. During the festival, Art POP’s mission is to provide a curated platform for local artists to exhibit alongside international artists; to advance a curatorial space that is distinct and relevant to the local contemporary arts community while remaining closely connected with the identity of POP Montreal and its programming.

The Art POP Curatorial Residents’ chief objective is to co-curate, and coordinate five days of contemporary art programming as part of the POP Montreal International Music Festival, September 28th - October 2nd, 2022.  The two residents will work closely as co-curators and with mentor Bronson Smillie, who has held this position for the past 2 years. The selected candidates will also be supported by Jennifer Dorner (POP Montreal’s Executive Producer) and a dynamic POP Montreal team that includes marketing, communications, music programming, production and finance departments. 

The goal for these positions is to graduate into the role of mentor for the 2023 edition of the POP Montreal festival, offering guidance to the future curatorial residents. 

Timeline and Tasks:

April (approx. 20 hours)

• Art POP introduction with Bronson Smillie (Mentor) and Jennifer Dorner (Executive Producer), budget preparation, project scope determined.
• Develop curatorial themes, public engagement goals and community partners. 

May – June (approx. 40 hours)

• Draft concise curatorial statement/ exhibition framework. 
• Research potential artists to include in the exhibition; prepare and circulate calls for submissions. 
• Artist selection and invitations sent to artists.
• Outreach to potential community and organizational partners. 

July – August (approx. 40 hours)

• Secure venue (with support from Executive Producer).
• Artist technical, shipping, and production needs determined; contracts signed. 
• Final curatorial text and artist bios, images, collected for program.
• Communicate with community and organizational partners. 
• Pre-event planning: liaising with POP Montreal staff for planning the promotion, installation, budgeting, partnerships. 

September – October (approx. 100 hours)

• Coordination and on-site management of the Art POP events, including artwork transportation, installation, scheduling; rental/procurement of required equipment (in coordination with POP Montreal’s production team); submitting volunteer needs; running programming.
• After the conclusion of the exhibition, ensure artworks are safely returned to artists. 
• Work with the Financial Manager to ensure artist fees and invoices have been paid, budget updated with actuals. 
• Post-event wrap-up, ensuring that partner and sponsor agreements are fulfilled and wrap-up meeting with Jennifer Dorner and Bronson Smillie.

Applicants must be registered for graduation or have graduated from Concordia University’s Faculty of Fine Arts, within the last three years.

Qualifications and Competencies:

• Demonstrates curatorial or creative programming experience
• Awareness of current trends in contemporary art (emphasis on local and Canadian) 
• Has skills in general and strategic management and planning, analyzing and decision-making
• Has strong writing skills 
• Has experience creating and managing budgets