2024 Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellowship in Asian Art

Held every other year, the fellowship supports two emerging contemporary art curators, one from Asia, one from the United States, with a unique residency opportunity for a period of up to three months with the Asian Art Museum’s Contemporary Art Department, under the purview of Abby Chen, senior associate curator and head of Contemporary Art. Fellows will contribute to the ongoing projects and events in the Contemporary Art Department by offering their insights and perspectives into current trends in the contemporary art world. The fellowship also includes a stipend to support a study tour for each fellow’s research, professional interests, and network building.

The 2024 fellows will work within the Asian Art Museum’s Practice Institute. Fellows will report to the Museum’s inaugural Assistant Curator of Games and Technology Cheng Xu, whose new exhibition RAD (Research And Development) opens in January 2024. Fellows will be chosen to support the following program areas:

• New Art Practices – Guidelines
  • The Asian Art Museum’s recently expanded contemporary art program is seeks guidance in developing criteria for presenting and new practices. Looking broadly at what other museums and collecting organizations have developed, the Museum would like to investigate and begin defining the qualities that will ensure an artwork speaks not only to the moment but will endure. New practices here encompass multimedia artworks, theater sound, performances, digital (especially AI generated) artworks, archives, community engagement, as well as nontraditional works that may exist independent of gallery spaces. The output of this research may include publications, organized talks, and a curated index of artists, artworks, and institutions.
• Interactive Experiences and Interpretive Technology – Video Games
  • The Museum plans a major exhibition in collaboration with visionary game designer Jenova Chen in Spring of 2025. In support of the current RAD “laboratory,” they are looking for a curatorial perspective as they develop the hardware and software to allow audiences to engage in the rich sensory experiences of Chen’s newest immersive world. The fellow will work closely with interpretive experts, game designers, engineers, and other specialists to beta test with diverse user groups, synthesize findings, and inform iterations on these interactions. Experience in building interactive prototypes and an interest in the fields of gaming, digital design, and engineering are not required, but valued. A desire to interact with the public will be vital to success.

The Fellowship Provides

• Round-trip travel to and from San Francisco for the residency at the Asian Art Museum.
• Housing and per diem for the duration of their residency in San Francisco from June 1 to August 31, 2024. Fellows should plan on being on-site at the Asian Art Museum for the majority of this time.
• A $10,000 stipend toward a self-designed study tour to support each fellow’s research, professional interests, and network-building. The study tour will comprise visits, consultations, meetings, and research. Fellows may choose to visit multiple cities and institutions over four or more weeks. This study tour will occur after, or separate from, fellows’ residency at the museum.
• An additional grant is provided by the museum’s Practice Institute to develop a special project or program that reflects their research—together or separately—preferably on-site and making use of the museum’s facilities or online, with a public engagement component. Ideally, these projects or programs will take place during the fellowship residency or before the end of 2024.

Eligibility

• They take an expansive approach to the concept of “curator,” and welcome applicants from within and outside institutional museums.
• Candidates should show capacity for connecting creative ideas, people, and artworks. They welcome applicants with experience outside of brick-and-mortar exhibitions.
• Ideal candidates will demonstrate leadership capacity, initiative, self-direction, strong communication skills, and the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders.
• Fully conversant in English.
• Able to commit to a three-month residency at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco in the summer of 2024.
• From the United States, Asia, or the Pacific Islands.

For more information, visit The Asia Foundation.