Open Calls: Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium Writing Fellowship

Art Practical, the online journal for visual arts criticism in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, and the Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium San Francisco (ACAC‐SF) announce a new writing fellowship and invite entries for its inaugural year this fall.

While the San Francisco Bay Area has a diverse and vibrant visual arts scene, there is little visibility for critical dialogue that contextualizes issues in Asian contemporary art. By providing a platform for emerging writers, the Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium Writing Fellowship (ACAC Fellow) aims to promote and encourage critical thinking and writing on Asian contemporary art practices and discourses, with a particular emphasis on the events and exhibitions in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The San Francisco Bay Area visual arts community positions itself within a global context; this fellowship will encourage the recipient to examine where the intersections lie between artists of Asian descent living and working in the Bay Area, those living and working internationally, and artists of non‐Asian descent living in Asia. Therefore, while priority will be given to exhibitions and events in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Fellow will not be restricted solely to coverage of this region. The winning entrant will be named the ACAC Fellow and will receive a $1,000 honorarium in support of his or her contributions as a writer for Art Practical. Over the course of a year, the ACAC Fellow will work under the direction of the magazine’s editorial team to contribute six reviews to Art Practical, with the potential to write a feature‐length article and to collaborate with Art Practical ’s partner Bad at Sports on a podcast interview. Art Practical encourages emerging writers to refine their practice amidst those already renowned for their critical insight and provides valuable professional development through its rigorous editorial process.

The Jurors
Britta Erickson Independent curator and critic
Glen Helfand Independent curator, critic, educator, and contributing writer to Artforum
Hou Hanru Curator and Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs at the San Francisco Art Institute
Santhi Kavuri-Bauer Associate Professor of Art History at San Francisco State University
Patricia Maloney Director of Art Practical

Eligibility
Entrants must be at least 18 years old. To qualify, entrants may previously have published
no more than two feature‐length articles on art in any regional or national newspaper, magazine, or online publication.

Application Guidelines
Entrants must submit the following materials in PDF format via email to info@asiancontemporarysf.org with the subject line “ACAC Fellowship Application”:
1) A letter of interest stating your motivation and interest in Asian contemporary art (approximately 500 words).
2) A resume with relevant experience, including a bibliography of relevant articles.
3) Two writing samples that reflect your writing skills and knowledge of contemporary art. These should each be a maximum of 500 words in length, with a preference for reviews; excerpts from longer texts will be accepted.
4) A list of two references, including names, titles, and contact information.
Please do not include additional materials other than those requested above.

The deadline is October 15, 2011. Late applications will not be considered.

Announcement of Finalists
Up to five finalists will be selected by the jurors and announced on November 1, 2011.

Special Edition of Shotgun Reviews from the Finalists
Published in Art Practical on November 17, 2011. Five finalists will be selected and each will be invited to write a 400‐word review on an exhibition of their choice relevant to contemporary Asian art. Finalists will work with the Art Practical editors in taking their articles from drafts to published texts.

Notification of the ACAC Fellow
November 18, 2011
The ACAC Fellow will be commissioned to extend his/her 400‐word Shotgun Review to a full‐length review for publication in Art Practical on December 8, 2011.

ACAC Fellowship Time Period
November 20, 2011, to October 20, 2012 During this time period, the ACAC fellow will produce six full‐length reviews that focus on relevant topics for publication in Art Practical, with the potential to produce a feature‐length article and an interview in conjunction with the podcast Bad at Sports.

About Asian Contemporary Arts Consortium 
ACAC-SF is a not-for-profit coalition dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding, to building audiences and to promoting and sustaining interest in Asian contemporary arts and design in San Francisco and the Bay Area.

About Art Practical
Art Practical is an online magazine that enriches critical dialogue for the Bay Area visual arts by providing comprehensive analysis of events and exhibitions. Since its launch in October 2009, we have worked with a network of partners to promote the Bay Area’s role in the international art scene, to create a historical record of contemporary artistic practices, and to foster artistic production through critical writing and public programming. Art Practical is emblematic of the collective and collaborative spirit of the wide‐ranging Bay Area visual arts culture, which combines a long local history of incubating experimentation and innovation with international perspectives.

For more information about the fellowship, please visit http://www.asiancontemporarysf.org/news