Do I submit a proposal for one new work or a full exhibition? Does my exhibition have to be entirely new work?
ACCA has a long and celebrated history of investing and nurturing the careers of contemporary artists by supporting them to make new, risk-taking and experimental work that challenges our thinking, encourages new perspectives, and connects and resonates with a wide range of communities.
It is intended that the production budget for this project is directed towards the production of a new commission. Depending on the nature of your practice, this commission may extend through all four galleries. Alternatively, your major new commission may be presented in one or more of ACCA’s galleries and complimented by a selection of existing works from your back catalogue.
In your proposal, please consider how the new commission may be exhibited at ACCA, whether as a stand-alone work or ensemble, or as part of an extended exhibition of new and existing works. In the latter case, the artist and curator will also discuss any additional production that may be required to present existing work. Please note that should very extensive additional production be required to support the presentation of existing works alongside a new commission (beyond what is reasonably achievable with ACCA’s exhibitions and installation team, such as large amounts of rigging or large-scale wall and furniture production), the curator and artist will need to discuss the distribution of the production funds to support both these elements and the new commission.
When will my exhibition be presented at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA)?
The exhibition and accompanying public programs will be programmed in ACCA’s spring season from September to November 2023 (exact dates to be confirmed). The exhibition will be presented for a minimum of eight weeks during this period.
When will my exhibition at ACCA be announced?
The successful artist/s will be notified in June 2022, this will be embargoed until the public announcement in July 2022 upon confirmation of an Exhibition Agreement. The exhibition will also be announced as part of ACCA’s 2023 artistic program announcement, which is scheduled for January 2023.
Where will my exhibition be presented?
Your exhibition will be presented throughout the entirety of ACCA’s four galleries. This includes Gallery 1, the main, large-scale commissioning hall, and the three side galleries 2, 3 and 4.
ACCA is located at 111 Sturt Street, Southbank VIC 3006. It is strongly recommended that you make an independent site visit (where travel permits), and/or view the floor plans and gallery images in the Information Pack to familiarise yourself with the unique gallery spaces. ACCA’s website also includes a comprehensive archive of past exhibitions which include extensive installation views.
How do I find out more about ACCA’s galleries and what is possible?
The ACCA Information Pack is accessible on ACCA’s website here. The Information Pack includes an overview of ACCA’s vision and mission, a floorplan and images of ACCA’s galleries and a summary of available technical equipment.
Who will curate my exhibition at ACCA?
Your exhibition will be curated by ACCA’s curatorial team. You are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with ACCA’s program of previous and current exhibitions, particularly the annual Australian solo exhibitions.
What kind of support will I receive for the production of the exhibition?
ACCA’s curatorial team will support the conceptual development and production of the new commission, and where relevant, work with the artist/s on the selection and presentation of their additional works for the exhibition. ACCA’s exhibition manager will assist with the scheduling, planning and delivery of the exhibition and its installation. The ACCA installation team will provide standard installation support.
Where a new commission requires substantial production support or specialist skills beyond those of the artist, such as in the fabrication or technical realisation, ACCA will work with the artist to identify professional support. ACCA will also produce a dedicated catalogue publication that will accompany the exhibition, and will include curatorial and/or guest essays, colour illustrations and/or installation views of the exhibition, a list of works, and artist and contributor biographies.
Can my exhibition take place beyond ACCA’s galleries?
You are welcome to propose projects that include both in-gallery, digital, hybrid, performance, public space interventions and other expanded formats. However, your exhibition proposal must comprise a substantial in-gallery project that is publicly accessible by audiences over the duration of the exhibition period.
Will you support artists developing their applications?
ACCA will not work with artists one-on-one in the development of their proposal. If you have enquiries that are not addressed in these FAQs or in the Info Pack, please contact, cuatorial@acca.melbourne. Due to the high volume of enquiries and applications, ACCA will seek to address enquiries by interested artists within a timely manner.
Will unsuccessful artists receive feedback?
All unsuccessful applicants will receive formal notification via email. Due to the volume of applications, only shortlisted applicants will be eligible to contact ACCA to receive feedback.
Q&As from live discussion:
Is the artist fee to cover my production time and the production budget to be used for other forms of production?
The artist fee is a fee that goes directly to the artist. This is a recognition of your intellectual property and conceptual labor in contributing to the exhibition.
In relation to the production fee, if you are an artist who makes your own work in the studio, it may be that some of the production funds will go to that process as well as the related materials. The production funds might also cover costs such as studio hire specific to the production of this project, or studio assistants. Other artists might work with fabricators or other forms of external production, in which case the production funds could be directed to external suppliers or fabricators.
What kind of detail do you need in terms of costings? Do you need productions quotes and or estimates?
Ideally, as much information as possible will help frame the proposal and help give an understanding of what’s involved. It is helpful to have project costings informed by real quotes where possible to reflect the viability of the project.
Is it possible to include in kind and prospective income (such as from other funding bodies), or should applicants keep the total proposed budget within the allotted grant of $60,000?
Applicants are welcome to present a budget which extends beyond the $60,000 commission budget. At the same time, the production budget needs to be realistic, and it needs to be able to be achieved within the scope of the commission, timeframe and context of ACCA.
The opportunity to present a major project at ACCA, such as this, can also be an opportunity for the artist to leverage additional production funds. ACCA often supports exhibiting artists to apply to other funding bodies to extend the scope of projects. While this opportunity comprises a generous production fund allocation by the Copyright Agency, and is augmented by ACCA contributions to exhibition-related costs, ACCA welcomes conversations and proposals that outline additional contributions.
To re-iterate, ACCA, in partnership with the Copyright Agency, will also be contributing in-house installation, operational and staffing costs to the project. These include the time and support of ACCA’s curatorial and exhibitions staff, the installation crew, standard equipment, opening event, publication, public programming, education, publicity, and other such standard exhibition costs.
If my proposal includes equipment that visitors require assistance to use, can ACCA provide this staffing support in the gallery? Or would this be something that would need to be budgeted for in the proposal?
ACCA has a dedicated and engaged Visitor Experience team who are on the floor of the galleries at all times during an exhibition. The Visitor Experience Team are able to help visitors engage with ACCA’s exhibitions both conceptually and practically.
If a commission or a project does require substantial additional support and guidance, such as dedicated Visitor Experience Team members attending to each visitor in relation to their engagement with a work or a piece of equipment used by each audience member, and if there were multiple pieces of equipment and staff members required, then yes, some additional scope for staffing may need to be included in the commission budget proposal.
What kind of inventory of digital presentation equipment does ACCA have?
ACCA holds a basic in-house inventory, which includes items such as bulb-based projectors, rear and front projections screens, LED monitors, audio speakers at a range of scales, and Lupa media players. As this inventory is not extensive, at times ACCA will take the opportunity to add additional general use technology to this inventory in support of an exhibition. At other times, where specialist equipment is required, this will need to be accommodated with the artist’s production budget. ACCA can also support the artist to explore options for such technology to best support each project through loan, hire, purchase or sponsorship.
What sort of work does ACCA support?
ACCA supports contemporary art practice in all forms. With a long-standing tradition of adventurous, provocative and ambitious programming, ACCA has an outstanding track record propelling artists’ careers, and a significant legacy of major commissions which continue to circulate and influence the understanding, appreciation and recent history of contemporary art. Please take some time to review ACCA’s previous exhibitions, which include but are not limited to forms of practice such as video, installation, performance, sound, painting, sculpture, among other experimental approaches to contemporary art practice.
The Copyright Agency Partnership is an opportunity to present a major exhibition within ACCA’s galleries over September to November 2023, which is ACCA’s spring season in the annual exhibition program. As such, the proposal will need to reflect the scale and ambition of the project which will be presented as a keynote project within ACCA’s program and physical gallery spaces over the three-month period.
Do I have to use all four of ACCA’s galleries?
Yes. Each of ACCA’s exhibitions occupies all four of the gallery spaces.
ACCA has distinctive architecture in each of the gallery spaces. While the galleries can seem large, it may not be necessary to fill the space with many works. We encourage you to review previous exhibition images online. In some instances small numbers of works have held their own within ACCA’s grand commissioning hall, (gallery 1). This space can also be animated by many works. We encourage you to be consider both the particular characteristics both of your work and of the gallery spaces.
Do you need a detailed Sketch-Up or other schematic mock-up in the proposal?
Sketch-Up and other illustrations of the proposals can be helpful, but not essential at this stage. Some idea of how the exhibition might take place within ACCA’s spaces could be valuable in this proposal, to additionally illustrate the conceptual rationale. However, please note this is not a stipulated inclusion in the application.
Is there a preference for a solo survey plus new work, or a new work that extends through all four galleries?
No. These two approaches, among others, are equally relevant. This is something that the recipient will speak about extensively and test with the support of the ACCA curatorial team. For the purposes of the proposal, the form of the proposed project should reflect the type of practice you have as an artist and the interests and ambition you have for your new commission. The proposal should also take into consideration the four gallery spaces that ACCA has available. Please carefully review the floor plan and images, or if you are in Melbourne, please visit ACCA’s gallery spaces.
If my project includes collaborations, should this be included my proposal?
Yes, it is helpful to include reference to key collaborators in your proposal if they are germane to the realization of the work, and whether they are confirmed. Collaborators may be conceptual, technical, fabricators, and/o other contributions beyond the scope of your own practical skill-set in production. Collaborators may also include additional organisations who might be involved.
Is this an acquisitive commission?
ACCA is a non-collecting institution, which means that we do not have a have a permanent collection. ACCA’s focus is on commissioning and presenting contemporary art in our galleries in the Melbourne arts precinct, as well as beyond ACCA’s walls at times. Quite a number of the major commissions that ACCA has supported over the years for major solo and group exhibitions have subsequently been exhibited in other institutions, or indeed acquired by private and public collections.
Who are ACCA’s audiences?
ACCA is situated in the heart of the Melbourne art precinct and we have a strongly engaged community of people who visit cultural institutions in the neighbourhood. ACCA welcomes between 120-150,000 visitors per year to both onsite and offsite projects. Close to 12,000 primary and secondary students engage with ACCA’s exhibitions per year, through our dedicated education programs. General public from across Victoria, interstate and internationally visit ACCA and also engage with our public programs, which include tours, talks, forums, workshops, performance and other events. ACCA also sits alongside the Victorian College of the Arts, and we hold strong relationships with tertiary institutions generally, whose staff and students are also regular and welcome visitors.
ACCA’s team also includes marketing and publicity staff who contribute to the extended reach of each exhibition. While we genuinely do have a wide and diverse audience, ACCA is always interested in engaging new audiences, constituencies, and different cultural contexts. ACCA is interested in encouraging diverse perspectives, and not only through the artists that we show, but the audiences that we engage. ACCA also boasts a dedicated online audience who engage with our podcasts, videos, archives and education resources, and other digital content.