Art Jameel Commissions 2019: Arts Writing and Research [Sponsored]

*This post is sponsored by Art Jameel.

With the Jameel Arts Centre opening in Dubai on November 11, another deadline is fast approaching—the open call for Art Jameel Commissions: Arts Writing and Research, which closes on December 1, 2018. The Art Jameel Commissions: Arts Writing and Research is currently inviting applications from writers, critics, art historians, curators and artists whose primary medium is writing. 

Art Jameel Commissions is an annual program anchored at the soon-to-open Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai. The program runs in a three-year cycle, focusing on sculpture (2018); arts writing and research (2019); and drawing and painting (2020). The 2019 commissioned series has a mandate to support the development of innovative research and the production of a substantial piece of writing.

The arts writing and research jury includes writer, curator and director of Dar al-Ma’mun, a library and artists’ residency in Marrakech, Morocco, Omar Berrada; and independent writers and critics, Negar Azimi and Nida Ghouse. Art Jameel Commissions is open to artists, writers and researchers from or based in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, as well as those from around the world with an interest in and familiarity with these regions. 

Art Jameel Commissions: Arts Writing and Research is open to all areas of inquiry, although preference will be given to those who engage with the thematic focuses within Jameel Art Centre’s current programming, which are: 

Confluence: Inspired by the UAE’s standing as an international meeting place and point of convergence, as well as Jameel Arts Centre’s waterside location on Dubai Creek.

Museology: As a new independent arts institution, the Centre is invested in critically investigating modes of art production and exhibition making.

The GCC: While the scope of its programme is intentionally international, the Centre is also rooted in its local context and includes artists’ works and projects that explore experiences of living and working in the Gulf countries.

The full Art Jameel Commissions brief is viewable here, and applicants can complete the Art Jameel Commissions: Art Writing and Research application online here. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2018.