Announcing the Frieze x Deutsche Bank Emerging Curators Fellowship

Launching during Frieze Week 2020, the Frieze x Deutsche Bank Emerging Curators Fellowship is a new programme for curators to develop their practice within a renowned public institution, through paid placements.

Aiming to support UK-based Black and People of Colour (POC) emerging curators and help address racial disparities in the UK visual arts sector, the fellowship is launched in partnership with British artist Idris Khan and  London's Chisenhale Gallery. Khan has designed a sustainably made protective face mask and case, available to purchase now, with 100% of proceeds benefiting the fellowship.

A new edition by British filmmaker and artist John Akomfrah will follow in October, also in support of the programme. This numbered print is part of an authentic, limited edition of an original artwork by the artist and comes with a certificate of authentication. 60% of sales of this edition will benefit the fellowship.

About the Fellowship

The inaugural 2020 fellowship will be realized in partnership with Chisenhale Gallery, which has a well-established track record of providing high-quality training and professional development for emerging curators. The fellow will gain significant experience across the gallery’s range of expertise, including areas such as their ongoing exhibitions and education programme. Throughout the fellowship the fellow will have access to additional mentoring sessions with members of the Frieze team and Deutsche Bank business support.

Fundraising Campaign: Face Masks Designed by Idris Khan

The fund to support the inaugural fellow is to be launched with a sustainably made protective face mask and case, designed by celebrated British artist Idris Khan. 

Khan’s mask features a work titled Time Past, Time Present (2020) and has been made using blue watercolour layers of sheet music from Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’. The work was conceived during the COVID-19 lockdown, during which Khan watched 'the vivid colours of nature changing intensely'. By photographing each page and superimposing them on top of one another, Khan has attempted to capture the passing of time through colour and musical marks.

Made from sustainable linen and cotton, the masks are priced at £25 and are available for purchase here from today, and at Frieze Week locations in London from 5–11 October. 100% of sales proceeds will benefit the fellowship.

Find Out More

Fundraising Campaign: Limited Edition by John Akomfrah

Featuring as the cover of the October 2020 issue of frieze magazine, Akomfrah’s image, which builds on the work he has done around monuments since the 1980s, incorporates a promotional still from Carmen Jones (1954), starring Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge, who would become the first woman of colour to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.  

Our Skin Is A Monument (2020), Limted Edition By John Akomfrah

The still is placed into a Shirley card, a reference device used since the 1940s in colour-film technology to calibrate skin-colour balance. For decades Shirley cards only used white models to set their parameters, dramatically affecting how black skin would be rendered on film. This numbered print is part of an authentic, limited edition of an original artwork by John Akomfrah and comes with a certificate of authentication. 

Find Out More

Further Information

UK-based Black or POC curators will be eligible to apply for the inaugural fellowship from January 2021. An initial fundraising target of £45,000 has been set to support the initial fellowship, to include the fellow’s salary, travel, research and professional development, with any further funds raised to be put towards future fellowships.

Support the Fellowship by purchasing a face mask and case here

Support the Fellowship by purchasing an edition by John Akomfrah here