How Arrival’s Curators Review an Application
A useful exhibition application makes the work easy to see and the artist’s intention easy to understand. Here is how to prepare yours for a considered curatorial review.
Start with the work
Arrival’s published guide to its Lisbon application process describes a review that considers originality, quality and how the work fits the exhibition. These are connected questions: what makes the work distinctive, how convincingly is it realised, and how could it sit within a shared presentation? They are not a points system or a promise of acceptance. The requirements for your chosen open call remain the place to start.
Give the image enough information
Use a clear overall photograph and include a detail or second view where the form allows. A photograph of a three-dimensional object should communicate its shape, surface and scale. State the medium precisely and give dimensions with units. If the work depends on sound, movement or a particular display, describe that requirement rather than leaving it for the installation stage.
Explain the idea in ordinary language
Describe what you made, how you made it and the question or experience behind it. A few specific sentences are more useful than a list of broad claims about creativity. Make the statement relevant to the submitted work, then add a brief biography that gives context to your practice. Check that your website and public social links open correctly.
What happens next
If a proposal is accepted, follow the instructions in the response: deadlines, participation arrangements and physical delivery or digital-file requirements may differ between programmes. Keep a copy of the application and correspondence. If something is unclear, ask before sending work. Read our Lisbon process guide for a documented example.
From our artist submissions: Mia Okruashvili
Mia Okruashvili is a Tbilisi-born multidisciplinary artist based in Brussels. Her practice includes printmaking, collage and ceramics, often assembling fragments and exploring ideas of comfort and control. Her submitted porcelain-and-glass work Psalms shows why a precise material description and a clear view of an object belong together.
This work was shared through Arrival’s submissions. The exhibition photograph documents a separate past show.
