RFP: Curatorial Fellow

Experimental Sound Studio (ESS) is seeking a Curatorial Fellow to explore virtual engagement and sonic art presentation in a two month period between July 1-November 30, 2022 (exact dates TBD). The Curatorial Fellow will be paid a stipend of $1,500.

ESS Mission, Values, & Core Activities

Founded in 1986, ESS is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to artistic evolution and the creative exploration of sound. As an international hub for sonic experimentation, ESS nurtures artists, heralds new works, and builds a broad, supportive community of makers, enthusiasts, and creative partners through production, presentation, education, and preservation.

Core Values:

  • The artist is at the center of the creative process

  • The past informs and inspires invention and innovation

  • Experimentation requires both artistic rigor and risk

  • Sonic-based expression has no boundaries and requires an inclusive environment that welcomes and values diverse perspectives and voices

  • Collaboration activates growth

Ongoing and often intertwined activities include:

  • Artist support: rehearsal space; artist residencies; fiscal sponsorship; public workshops/tutorials; recording studios.

  • Presentation in many formats from weekly concerts to site-specific installations throughout Chicago.

  • Documentation: Program recordings are archived in ESS’s Creative Audio Archive, which also stewards 9 additional collections.

TQC

ESS launched The Quarantine Concerts (TQC) virtual concert series in March 2020. This series has established ESS as a leader in streaming and virtual presentation in Chicago and, in the experimental music world, in the U.S. and internationally. Originally conceived as a temporary fix until in-person performances could resume, TQC has since proven to fill a larger need in the international music and performance community, to date presenting over 2,200 artists.

Based on feedback solicited from 100+ artists and curators who presented streaming work over the past two years, ESS has made the decision to continue TQC on as a platform for the online presentation of experimental sound, media,

and performance of all genres as well as related programming such as panel discussions, interviews, etc. We aim to be a resource for presentation and archiving of new work, whether it is created specifically for streaming or is the online presentation of a live performance.

Curatorial Fellowship

This program is intended to create space for the exploration of frameworks, strategies, and structures for presenting work and connecting artists and audiences within streaming and virtual presentation platforms.

Expectations:

  • Curate and produce three virtual performances for presentation on ESS’s YouTube as part of the TQC

    series. The Curatorial Fellow has access to a vast pool of international artists who have expressed interest in the series, as well as to ESS staff and the ESS archives. We hope that the Fellow will curate from a wide range of networks.

  • Produce at least one interview or piece of contextual writing per performance (3 total).

  • The Curatorial Fellow has the option to self-direct any other initiatives of their own design that can reasonably be implemented during the course of the Fellowship period.

  • Interest in working closely with ESS staff, resources, and programs.

  • Enthusiastic about connecting with diverse audiences through innovative programming.

  • Ability to clearly communicate program ideas, and to implement those ideas along a set timeline.

  • Provide feedback at the end of the Fellowship, towards the continued development of this program.

Who Are We Looking For
ESS is seeking applicants at any stage in their career who are interested in curating virtual presentations and enthusiastic about exploring the possibilities of this still emergent area of cultural programming. The Curatorial Fellow should have some experience in programming sonic arts and experimental media.

This is an intentionally nimble and self-directed program. We hope to work with someone who is interested in a collaborative, and at times improvisatory, working environment. All work currently takes place remotely.

We strongly encourage applications from BIpoc, disabled, LGBTQ+ folx, and members of other communities that have been historically excluded or underrepresented in contemporary arts and media.

ESS is committed to making this and all roles work for interested applicants with visible and invisible disabilities, and will work with the person selected for this Fellowship to make accessibility accommodations as necessary.

Please Provide

  • Resume/CV

  • A writing sample in the form of a statement about your curatorial approach and/or the ways in which you would like to explore virtual sonic arts curation in this present moment (500 word max).

  • Examples or links to past work

Send all materials to Managing Director Adam Vida at info@experimentalsoundstudio.org with the subject line “Curatorial Fellowship - [your name]”

Deadline for submissions is May 31 at midnight. Notification by June 15, 2022.

Olivia Junell