Application deadline: August 15, 2022
Since 1968, Graz and Styria, Austria, have hosted the multidisciplinary Steirischer Herbst festival of modern art. It was initially focused on the postwar avant-garde, but it keeps evolving with every new director. The festival has been focusing on new creations in a variety of media—performative as well as installative, cinematographic as well as discursive—shown mostly as site-specific works in unconventional settings and in public space under the direction of Ekaterina Degot (since 2018).Through compelling narratives that have an impact both locally and globally, the festival analyzes the context of Central and Eastern Europe as well as the eroding line between the West and non-West. It is relevant to local efforts and speaks to audiences outside the confines of the art industry. The present version of Steirischer Herbst challenges both the performing arts festival’s and the biennial framework. Its primary goal is to critically assess the festival’s avant-garde past while developing forms, contexts, and languages appropriate for the decentralized world of the twenty-first century.
Steirischer Herbst is looking for a curator in the field of visual arts and performance to strengthen its existing team from 2023 onward.
Your areas of responsibility:
Programming
–researching and monitoring art scenes internationally, nationally, and locally, developing networks
–researching histories and contexts of Graz, Styria, Austria, and Central and Eastern Europe in relation to the whole world
–proposing artists’ projects and program elements to the chief curator, developing them further in case they are confirmed
–supporting the chief curator in all curatorial matters
–contributing, within a team of curators, to festival’s yearly scenario, structure, and themes
Realization
–location scouting for site-specific projects, researching history and basic feasibility
–budgeting, organizing, managing, and realizing/installing confirmed projects together with artists and the festival’s production team
–proactive approach to funding and contributing content to funding applications (researching and writing)
Contextualization
–developing the public/discursive program, participating in the educational program and audience development
–writing about art projects
–developing documentation strategies together with the communications department
Local outreach
–developing connections to local institutions and the art scene in Graz and Styria and collaborating with them, showing a strong local presence
–selecting projects for the festival’s parallel program as part of a jury, monitoring and responding to artists’ proposals
Your profile
–substantial experience in curating and organizing art projects in various media, installative as well as performative
–a substantial network of international artists
–an art network within Graz, Styria, and Austria (alternatively, a willingness to develop one)
–an in-depth knowledge of contemporary art and its discourses
–an anthropological interest in the development of society as translated into artistic forms
–an ability to think outside the box
–a high sensibility to art and the forms it is presented in
–fluency in German and English (the two working languages of the festival)
–good organizational skills, clear and quick thinking, reliability in observing deadlines, and flexibility in uncertain and constantly changing situations
Steirischer Herbst values a diverse and socially inclusive workplace and encourages all applicants to apply, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, political views, physical or mental limitations, or sexual orientation.
General information
Place of employment: steirischer herbst festival gmbh, Sackstraße 17, 8010 Graz, Austria
The curator needs to be ready to relocate to Graz, if not already based there.
Start of employment: January 1, 2023
Duration: unlimited
Working hours: 40 hours per week
Application
Please submit your application to Rita Puffer, [email protected], by August 15, 2022.
Your application (all documents included in one PDF file) should consist of:
–a cover letter (maximum 1 A4 page) including a few names of artists with whom you would like to work immediately (existing contacts) and in the future (wish list), as well as themes and approaches that interest you;
–a CV with a summary of your professional experience as a curator.