The Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art announces the open call for artists to represent Estonia at the 61th Venice biennale in 2026. The artists need to present a proposal which would introduce the main focus of the candidate’s previous works and express and detail the motivation to work with the national pavilion’s project at the biennale. The proposal must be submitted by 30 September 2024.
Based on the proposals and portfolios, the international jury will select artists to meet for a longer discussion, after which the final selection will be made. It is not necessary to develop the future exhibition project or to confirm the exhibition team during the process of selection. The names of the jury will be confirmed during the month of September and will be published on the CCA’s webpage.
The selected artist will work forwards to create the exhibition project which will be developed into the Pavilion’s exhibition together with the CCA, if needed the team will be expanded, based on the needs of the project.
The Pavilion’s space will be selected together with the artist, taking into account the needs and budget of the project.
The names of the applicants participating in the first round will be confidential and the statements will not be published. With the consent of the participants, the names selected for the second round will be made public.
Terms of the open call
- The statements can be in free format, only artists are eligible to apply
- The applicant must be a physical person. The artist must be from Estonia or working in Estonian art scene
- The materials must be in English
- The proposal must not exceed 6000 characters. It must describe the main directions of the artist’s work, working methods, and explain the artist’s motivation to exhibit at the Estonian Pavilion as well as initial themes and ideas the artist would like to present at the pavilion. In addition, artist’s portfolio and CV need to be presented, with a selection of works and project from at least last 5 years
- All the materials must be presented to the CCA via e-mail post@cca.ee no later than on 30 September 2024.
- The proposals are evaluated by an international jury. The names of the jury will be confirmed by the end of September and will be published on CCA’s webpage. The members of the jury and their close connections are not allowed to take part in the open call.
Criteria of evaluation
- The originality of the artistic practice, the international scope and the potential to be in dialogue with the international art scene
- The importance of the potential exhibition project in the Estonian art scene
- The experience and professional background of the applicant
- Personal motivation, willingness to work in a group and responsibility of the applicant
Legal relations
- The CCA is the main organizer of the Estonian Pavilion at the Venice biennale. The team of CCA conducts the organizational and technical part and takes part in the substantial preparation of the project
- CCA only announces to the public the names of the artists who are selected for the second round. The names of the other applicants and the content of their applications are confidential.
- The artist selected will work together with the CCA to complete the project. As the main organizer CCA has the right to develop the project and to find additional team members, based on the budget
- CCA has the right to make changes in the details of the project, if these can be justified objectively or are due to circumstances, not connected to the CCA
- The relationship between the artist and the CCA are established by a contract where the rights and commitments of the parties are shown.
Additional information
The final selection will be announced by the end of 2024.
The International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, is the oldest and largest international art event. Estonia has been participating with a Pavilion since 1997. The commissioner of the Estonian Pavilion is Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art. The participation is funded by the Estonian Ministry of Culture. The 61th Venice biennale will take place from April to November, 2026.
More information :
Maria Arusoo
The commissioner of the Estonian Pavilion
maria@cca.ee
Press contact:
Keiu Krikmann
Communication manager of the CCA
keiu@cca.ee
