Deadline: 20-Jul-2025
The Sharjah Art Foundation, in partnership with Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, Asia Art Archive, and Contemporary and (C&), is inviting emerging and mid-career art writers based in Asia and Africa to apply for PARA, a fellowship program that supports the creation and publication of new critical writing on contemporary art.
PARA explores the idea of being alongside, moving toward, standing against, or wandering beyond. It reflects on the adjacency and expansiveness of art writing—close to the subject but broadening its reach across diverse cultural fields. The program aims to challenge traditional art criticism by highlighting situated practices and diverse forms of criticality.
Five fellows will be selected through an open call to receive material, communal, and institutional support. They will have the chance to publish two pieces of art criticism and participate in biweekly online seminars and personalized feedback sessions with experienced art critics. The fellowship also includes a fully funded, week-long residency in Sharjah, featuring visits and peer-led gatherings.
PARA fosters collaborative and transnational networks by helping fellows build relationships with writers, editors, publishers, and academics. The program encourages collective discussions rooted in regional histories and specificities while contributing to global conversations about art and criticism. This creates a vibrant community where diverse voices come together to invigorate art discourse.
Selected fellows will receive a writer’s fee of 2000 AED for a text published in the compilation and 3000 AED for a text published in the anthology. They will also receive copies of both publications and mentorship sessions with five established critics. Flights, visa, accommodation, and a per diem are covered during the residency in Sharjah.
Cultural practitioners including writers, artists, curators, journalists, and academics living and working in Asia or Africa are eligible to apply. Submissions must offer insightful and expansive perspectives on contemporary art, be clear and well-structured, and show deep knowledge of the subject and context.
Applicants must complete an online form and attach one new, unpublished primary text, along with two published writing samples that represent their broader writing practice, and a CV (maximum two pages). The primary text must be no longer than 1000 words, respond to an artwork or exhibition seen in 2024 or 2025, and can be in English or accompanied by an English translation if originally written in another language. Submissions should be in Word or PDF format.
The piece can take any form—from traditional reviews to essays, features, or reportage—and may span various genres, including journalistic, essayistic, fictional, or ekphrastic writing. The text must be entirely the applicant’s own work, with no plagiarized content or AI-generated writing.
For more information, visit Sharjah Art Foundation.
