Award for Curatorial Practices 2026 – Open Call

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World of Art | Award for Curatorial Practices

Submission deadline: 23 October 2026

Design: Lealudvik

To mark its 30th anniversary, the World of Art School (SCCA-Ljubljana) is launching the call for the Award for Curatorial Practices, recognising outstanding achievements in curatorial practice in the field of contemporary visual arts. The Award is intended for curators working in the Slovenian cultural arena, as well as for Slovenian curators whose projects are realised within the international scope in cultural institutions and galleries abroad. The Award is presented in partnership with Moderna galerija (MG+MSUM) and Cukrarna/MGML, joined by the Center for Contemporary Arts Celje as a guest partner organisation, for the 2026/27 period.

The Award comprises two prizes:

  • Small Award for Curatorial Practices – EUR 2,500 gross; eligibility requirement: at least 3 completed projects in the field of contemporary visual arts within the last 5 years.
  • Large Award for Curatorial Practices – EUR 5,000 gross; eligibility requirement: at least 10 completed projects in the field of contemporary visual arts within the last 15 years.

For the period of two years, the prizes will be awarded by a four-member jury consisting of Mara Anjoli Vujić, Ivana Bago, Lea Vene and Vladimir Vidmar.

The application or nomination must include:

  • a portfolio of selected projects (up to 5 MB);
  • a curatorial statement (up to 1-page A4);
  • a biography (up to 1-page A4);
  • a statement explaining the relevance of the applicant’s or nominee’s practice (up to 1-page A4),
  • the applicant’s or nominee’s consent.

Please combine all of the above documents into one single PDF file, named:

NAME_SURNAME_Award for Curatorial Practices_2026

or

COLLECTIVE_Award_for_Curatorial_Practices_20XY.

The materials must be submitted in English. The jury will not review external links or websites; so all documentation must therefore be included in the PDF.

Applications are accepted via the online form: https://forms.gle/8VtoUHouTGYUVedt7

Submission deadline: 23 October 2026.

The award ceremony will take place in December 2026. The recipients of the award will be announced several weeks before the ceremony.

For further information, please contact tia.cicek@scca-ljubljana.si.

The detailed eligibility conditions, assessment criteria and decision-making process are specified in the Rules on The Award For Curatorial Practices: Application, Selection and Awarding Procedures.

Mara Anjoli Vujić is a curator at Cukrarna (MGML). Between 2009 and 2015, she was artistic director of the City of Women festival, and between 2017 and 2018, programme director of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture project. In addition to her longstanding work developing PERFORMATIVA, Cukrarna’s performative programme cycle, she has also curated numerous exhibitions.

Ivana Bago is an independent researcher, writer, and curator based in Zagreb. With a PhD in Art History and Visual Culture from Duke University, she is a co-founder of the Delve Institute. She has contributed to publications such as e-flux journal and Artforum and received the Igor Zabel Award grant in 2020. Her curatorial projects include exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Zagreb, MUAC in Mexico City, and apexart in New York.

Lea Vene is a Zagreb-based art historian, cultural anthropologist and fashion theorist with postgraduate training at the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. She is a curator at GMK Galerija, a member of the curatorial team of the Organ Vida photography festival, and a researcher at the Centre for Fashion and Clothing Research (CIMO). She also lecturesat the Faculty of Textile Technology, University of Zagreb and the Universität für angewandte Kunst Wien.

Vladimir Vidmar is a curator at Moderna galerija (MG+) and previously served as artistic director of Galerija Škuc (2014–2018) and Mala galerija Banke Slovenije (2019–2024). He has curated numerous solo and international group exhibitions. Since 2016, he has lectured at the Ljubljana Academy of Fine Arts and Design.

Organised by: World of Art/SCCA-Ljubljana
Partners: Moderna galerija (MG+MSUM), Cukrarna/MGML, Center for Contemporary Arts Celje
Supported by: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia