Future Curators Programme

​​​​​​​The Future Curators Programme 2023-2026 is a residency programme for Disabled curators within visual arts institutions.

Applications now Closed

The network sought 3 new partners to join the present 3 galleries to develop the next round of residencies from 2023 - 2026

Each gallery will have a Disabled curator based within their space for a year (usually 1 day/week) plus a 3 month post residency period

Applications were welcomed from organisations in England who are committed to making genuine institutional change and diversifying the sector.

Since 2018, DASH has worked with mac, MIMA and Wysing Arts Centre to develop the Future Curators Programme, with each organisation hosting a Disabled curator for a 12 month period.

The programme has pointed up – and hopefully started to address – serious issues of access and representation for disabled people within the visual arts workforce. According to recent figures from Arts Council England, only 6% of permanent employees of regularly-funded visual arts organisations identify as disabled, compared with 21% of the working-age population*.

"Through years of working with disabled artists and seeking to make the visual arts sector more inclusive and accessible, it is clear to DASH that meaningful progress depends upon Disabled people taking positions of influence within visual arts organisations, rather than simply on well-meaning individual projects with limited long-term legacy.

The Future Curators Programme makes this meaningful change possible. Through the Curating Institutional Change events we hope to share our learning and explain how accessibility and inclusivity brings benefits to everyone – Disabled and non-Disabled people alike."

Mike Layward, Artistic Director of DASH

Visit the Curators area of the DASH website.