EMERGING WRITERS PROGRAM

APPLICATIONS OPEN: 2012 GERTRUDE CONTEMPORARY AND ART & AUSTRALIA EMERGING WRITERS PROGRAM

DEADLINE: 5PM MONDAY 19 MARCH 2012

In 2005 the Gertrude Contemporary and Art & Australia Emerging Writers Program was established to provide
a unique opportunity for emerging visual arts writers to contribute to the critical discussion of Australian contemporary art.

Run in partnership with Australia’s leading art magazine Art & Australia, this program offers four emerging writers the opportunity to develop their writing practice, publish their work and gain further insight into the field of contemporary art writing. 2012 will be the second year the program will be offered in both Victoria and New South Wales. The aim of the Emerging Writers Program is to professionally support emerging arts writers who are committed to a career in the arena of contemporary art and criticism. This program contributes to the growth of a rich and insightful critical culture around contemporary art, providing participants with professional development and mentorship.

This is the longest-running program of its kind in Australia and offers unparalleled access to professional networks and the opportunity to publish in Australia’s most important art magazine. Each year four applicants are selected to participate in this program. Each Emerging Writer is teamed with a mentor who is a leader in the field and with whom they work, to create two pieces of professional writing for publication.

Each writer creates a catalogue essay for a Gertrude Contemporary Studio 12 exhibition and an exhibition review for publication in Art & Australia magazine. This year the Emerging Writers from New South Wales will be required to travel to Melbourne to meet with the Gertrude Contemporary Studio Artist on whose work they will be writing for the Studio 12 exhibition catalogue.

To view previously published outcomes of this program please see the Emerging Writers section on our website: http://www.gertrude.org.au/programs/emerging-writers/ emerging-writers-32/

The 2012 Mentors:
Blair French: Executive Director, Artspace, Sydney
Rachel Kent: Senior Curator Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Nikos Papastergiadis: Professor, Cultural Studies and Media & Communications, The University of Melbourne
Jason Smith: Director, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne