Initiated in 1994, the Curatorial Programme of de Appel arts centre wishes to offer young curators a condensed package of experiences and skills that can be used as tools and instruments during the development of their professional career. De Appel is an internationally oriented arts centre that functions as a site for the production of performances, research and presentation of contemporary visual arts through a series of exhibitions, publications and discursive events.

In September 2006, a remodelled version of the eight-month long Curatorial Programme was launched with a renewed curriculum and an extended tutorial team. It encompasses a dense array of theoretical seminars, thematic workshops, field trips in Europe, the US and Asia, practice-related assignments and encounters with artists and art professionals. Throughout the programme attention is paid to the history of exhibition-making, diverse curatorial practices, collection and institution building and project management.
The unique and special thematic focus is on the polarity between ‘free-lance’ and ‘institutional’ curating and on the examination of ‘context-responsive’ curating. The formats and methodologies that curators deal with in the presentation of art in the ‘expanded field’, outside of the white cube, are explored in the programme.
This focus culminates in a ’site-specific’ curatorial assignment: the participants of the course are invited to investigate a specific area and realise a project that relates to this site in a direct or indirect way. Through inviting the participants to work ‘off-site’ de Appel challenges the curators to reflect upon the current status and issues of art in (sub)urban public space and t upon the different ways in which art functions in processes of urban renewal/generation.

The following parts of the programme are considered to be of vital importance:
- the opportunity to research theoretical issues and developments in regular sessions with a tutorial team consisting e.g. of de Appel director Ann Demeester (BE/NL), curator Annie Fletcher (IR/NL), visual artist Steve Mc Queen (GB/NL), writer and curator Elena Filipovic (US/BE), curator Dieter Roelstraete (BE), independent researcher/curator Lisette Smits (NL) and philosopher/curator Henk Slager (NL).
- the opportunity to meet a large number of artists, curators, critics and other professionals from the Netherlands and abroad in a very condensed period of time, and having the chance to exchange ideas with them, either during thematic seminars or during informal encounters. Guest teachers in 2007 and 2008 were e.g. Carlos Basualdo (US), Gerardo Mosquera (CU/US), Paul O’Neill (GB), Teresa Gleadowe (GB), Nina Möntmann (DE/DK), Jan Verwoert (DE), Boris Groys (DE), Jalal Toufic (LE), Jacques Rancière (FR), Simon Sheikh (SE) and Pier Luigi Tazzi (IT).
- the opportunity to get acquainted with de Appel from ‘the inside’, and get a better insight into the mechanisms and governing principles of a contemporary institution for visual arts.

APPLICATIONS REQUIREMENTS
- A letter of motivation in which your personal drive is stated and what you expect from the programme.
- A proposal for a project (5-15 pages), including: concept and location of the project (main focus), the participating artists (including some image material), a budget sketch and a seminal publicity plan
- A résumé, including an extensive description of one’s relevant working experience.
- A published or unpublished essay and/or review
- Two written references of (former) tutors, professors or employers, in English.
On the basis of the submitted documents a pre-selection is made. Approximately ten candidates will be short-listed; they are invited to come to Amsterdam in the last week of March for an interview with an international jury.
Application deadline: 30th of January 2009
Send completed applications (in two-fold) to:

de Appel
Att: Ann Demeester
Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10
1017 DE Amsterdam
The Netherlands