In 2022, the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) organized “Curating Virtual Exhibitions 2022: The 1st Global College Student Competition”. The competition received a total of 619 submissions from 1,153 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students from 270 universities and colleges around the world. With the success and achievements of the first competition, we are now organizing “Curating Virtual Exhibitions 2023: The 2nd Global College Student Competition”.  We call for submissions from college students around the world. The call for submission ends at 11:59pm (Beijing Time) on May 20th, 2023. Please note that all submissions must be uploaded through https://vlam.cafa.edu.cn.

Categories

Interested applicants may choose one from the following categories:

1. Virtual Art Exhibitions：

We seek submissions of virtual exhibitions that focus on historical developments of art, using publicly available digital images from historical periods with clear thematic interpretation. The applicants may use any venue from the Virtual Lab for Art Museum (VLAM) to curate their virtual exhibitions.

2. Virtual Design Exhibitions：

We seek virtual exhibitions of design that focus on creations and developments of design with interdisciplinary interpretation of design and art, design and technology. The applicants may use any venue from the Virtual Lab for Art Museum (VLAM) to curate their virtual exhibitions.

3. Virtual Exhibitions for CAFAM：

For this category, all virtual exhibitions should be curated specifically for the exhibition space on the second floor of the CAFA Art Museum (CAFAM). A virtual space of CAFAM could be found at https://vlam.cafa.edu.cn. The applicants may use images of artworks of their own choice or select images of artworks from the CAFAM collection. We encourage experimental exhibitions and those with local characteristics.

4. Virtual Exhibitions of Youth Art 100：

All virtual exhibitions created for this category must use images of artworks selected from the database of final entries from the Youth Art 100 project, which could be found at https://vlam.cafa.edu.cn. The curation must focus on the exploration and promotion of contemporary young artists and their artworks.

Jury Process and Schedule

1. May 21 to May 31, 2023: The Jury Panel assesses all submissions collected via https://vlam.cafa.edu.cn. Twenty submissions from each category will be selected according to the highest scores they receive for the second round of assessment.

2. June 1 to June 7, 2023: A shortlist of final entries for the second round will be announced by the organizers on their WeChat account and on their website.

3. June 8 to June 18, 2023: The Jury Panel assesses all 80 submissions (20 for each category) selected for the shortlist for the second round. Each submission will be listed according to the final scores they receive from the first and the second assessments. 

4. June 8 to June 18, 2023: During the second assessment, all 80 shortlisted entries will be displayed on the VLAM for public voting. The one with the most votes for each category will be selected for the Popularity Award.

5. Winner Announcement (June 25 – June 30, 2023):

The list of final winners will be announced on the organizers’ WeChat official accounts and on their websites.

These are five awards for each category:

Grand Prize:

A. Virtual Art Exhibition and Virtual Design Exhibition: each ¥30,000. The prize will be used for realizing a virtual interactive exhibition with an online public education program. All planning and promotion will be supported by the Virtual Teaching and Research Office of Virtual Curation and Aesthetic Education at the CAFA Art Museum.

B. Virtual Exhibitions for CAFAM：¥20,000. The prize will be used for realizing the proposed exhibition at CAFAM. All planning and promotion will be supported by the CAFA Art Museum.

C. Virtual Exhibitions of Youth Art 100：The winner may choose one of the two options: a) To realize the winner’s proposed exhibition in a booth at the Young Art 100 Fair with support of installing and media resources at an estimated value of ¥150,000. b) To join the Artistic Construction of the Countryside Project of Youth Art 100 as a “special curator” and engage in the planning and execution of artist residencies and exhibition activities.

First Prize: ¥10,000 RMB

Second Prize: ¥5,000 RMB

Third Prize: ¥2,000 RMB

Popularity Prize: ¥1,000 RMB

6. Award Ceremony (July 1, 2023):

The virtual award ceremony will be held online on the designated platform, with an online guided tour of the winners’ virtual exhibitions.

Internship: The Organizing Committee will provide selected applicants with internship opportunities at multiple provincial and municipal art institutions in China.

How to apply

Step 1

Scan the QR code for registration, or search “CAFA_VLAM” on WeChat to follow the official account. Fill in the information.

Step 2

Obtain the materials through email (vlam@cafa.edu.cn).

Step 3

Scan the QR code for application and submit the materials.

Application Materials

1. A virtual exhibition link created and generated by the Virtual Lab for Art Museum (vlam.cafa.edu.cn).

2. A 20-page detailed description of proposed virtual exhibition.

3. A 3-minute video of guided exhibition tour, which can be dubbed/subtitled.

4. Short bio of the curator/team and proof of their college enrollment.

Organizations

Sponsor

Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA)

Organizers

School of Art Administration and Education, CAFA

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education Center, CAFA

CAFA Art Museum

School of Art and Humanities, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts

Co-organizer

Beijing Dongcheng Cultural Development Research Institute

With Support from

National Museum of China

Guangdong Museum of Art

Hubei Museum of Art

Hunan Art Museum

Jiangxi Provincial Art Museum

Yunnan Art Museum

Heilongjiang Art Museum

Inner Mongolia Art Museum

Beijing Today Art Museum

Undertaker

Virtual Lab for Art Museum, CAFA

Technical Platform

Guangzhou Greater Bay Area Virtual Reality Research Institute

Tooz APP

Contact Us

E-mail: vlam@cafa.edu.cn