The Emerging Curator Program is designed to discover curatorial talent in Los Angeles and provides opportunities for emerging curators to partner with LACE. For the program’s eleventh installment, one project will be selected for presentation in 2026.

This year, the program is accepting curatorial proposals centered on moving image works that can be presented as a single program, or programming series, rather than an exhibition. Emerging curators are encouraged to propose projects that can be presented in a gallery space or theater over no more than four days/evenings. Exact format and scheduling to be coordinated in collaboration with the LACE team.

Note: this call is specifically for curators and not artists submitting proposals of their own work.

Submissions are expected to be open in nature because of the generous planning time allotted. The LACE team will work with the selected Emerging Curator/Curatorial Team in developing the project as it evolves over the planning year, and will collaborate on programming to ensure the work reaches its intended audiences. The project must be designed with a $6,000 budget in mind, including curatorial and artist fees. LACE will provide space, project consultation, presentation assistance, and marketing and promotion.

Guidelines for Curatorial Proposals

Applications may be submitted by an individual or curatorial team and must be based in the Los Angeles region.

• Online applications only; no in-person submissions are accepted.

• Applicants are limited to one submission; there is no submission fee.

• Submissions must be consistent with LACE’s tradition of supporting experimental projects.

• Visuals are optional but encouraged; include PDFs or web links. Video samples should be no longer than 5 mins in length total, with a maximum of 2 video samples per proposal.

• Proposal descriptions are limited to a maximum of 300 words

• The panel may request the submission of additional materials at a later date.

• Curators with artistic practices should not submit their own work.