The residencies constitute a line of work of the European Union Cultural Fund in Cuba (EU Fund in Cuba), aimed at articulating processes of creation and cultural interventions with public outreach to activate new narratives and strengthen the dialogue between Cuba and the European Union.

The program offers professionals from the cultural sector residing in Cuba the opportunity to conceive, manage, and produce their own curatorial proposal for six months. Its purpose is to activate new narratives and forms of cultural dialogue between Cuba and the European Union.

Access to Application Form online, Bases and requirements HERE.

FAQ

1. The call for applications includes the implementation of three actions during the residency. Is it possible to carry out more than three actions?

Yes. The call for proposals establishes a minimum of three actions or interventions during the six months of residency. It is possible to propose other actions, provided that they are justified by the curatorial concept, maintain coherence with each other, and are feasible within the timeframe and resources available. Their implementation will be subject to the approval of the work plan and budget. The key point is that all the actions form part of a unified curatorial proposal, articulated around a common conceptual line.

2. What expenses can be included within the budget of the proposal and which ones are not eligible?

The budget may include necessary and justified expenses for the management, production, communication and public presentation of the curatorial actions. The model includes categories of fees, materials, transportation, equipment, rentals, production, communication, services, accommodation, food and other expenses duly specified. General expenses must be distinguished from those specific to each action and their description, amount, unit cost and justification must be indicated. Resources may not be allocated to expenses unrelated to the proposal or to finance projects, structures or spaces belonging to third parties. The inclusion of a cost in a category of the form does not imply automatic approval: the final budget will be subject to the technical, administrative and financial procedures of the EU Fund in Cuba.

3. How should the dialogue and exchange between Cuba and the European Union be reflected within the curatorial proposal?

The European dimension must be organically integrated into the concept, content, collaborations, and public projection of the actions. It is not only about including European participants: significant cultural connections between Cuba and Europe are expected through exchanges relevant to both contexts. The proposal must identify specific opportunities for articulation with European professionals, institutions, spaces, or cultural networks, in dialogue with the Cuban ecosystem. This dimension will be supported by methodological and programmatic guidance from the Technical Advisory Team of the EU Fund in Cuba.

4. Is it possible to submit a new proposal during the validity of the call? What happens to candidacies that are not selected at a later stage?

The call receives candidacies during its validity period and develops successive selection processes in stages, the dates of which remain public in the Bases.

When a candidacy is formally rejected, the person will be notified and that proposal will no longer be considered. If one of these applicants wishes to submit a NEW candidacy during the validity of the call, they may do so as long as they meet the requirements; the new proposal will be evaluated on equal terms and the previous decision will not be reopened.

Candidates who are not selected at one stage and have not been formally rejected will remain eligible and may continue to compete in subsequent stages, where they will be evaluated alongside new applications. This does not constitute a reservation of a place, nor guarantees future selection.

Anyone wishing to replace a proposal that remains in competition may do so by submitting a new application. To do so, they must indicate in the corresponding field of the application form that they have submitted an earlier candidacy, and expressly accept that submitting the new proposal implies the renunciation and withdrawal of the previous proposal. Only after the valid receipt of the replacement will the new proposal remain in competition. Two concurrently valid candidacies from the same person will not be accepted. The new candidacy will be evaluated at the appropriate stage for its entry date.

A person who has already served as a resident curator may reapply at later stages, again fulfilling the current requirements.

If a selected person is not available for the six-month period foreseen, another eligible candidate will be considered.

5. Can co-curation processes be developed or collaborators incorporated into the proposal?

The call is designed to select a single resident curator responsible for the conception, conceptual direction, overall management, and implementation of their proposal. This does not exclude collaboration. The selected person may form the necessary team and include assistants, artists, researchers, producers, technicians, or other professionals, as well as hire services related to their actions, in accordance with the approved budget and the procedures of the EU Fund in Cuba. They may also collaborate with Cuban or European spaces, platforms, institutions, and cultural organizations when relevant to the proposal, indicating in the credits if there are co-authoring dynamics in some of the actions or interventions carried out.

In each activity and product, the roles, contributions, and authorship credits of the participating collaborators, professionals, spaces, and institutions will be properly recognized. These collaborations are organically integrated into the proposed work of the selected individual; they do not generate additional residencies or transfer the primary responsibility for their conceptual direction and management.

6. What is meant by curatorship within this call? What artistic disciplines can be part of a proposal?

Curating is understood as a practice of research, conceptual articulation, mediation, and cultural production that establishes relationships between artists, works, audiences, spaces, institutions, and contexts. It is not limited to exhibitions or exclusively to the visual arts. Proposals can be developed in visual arts, music, performing arts, and interdisciplinary practices, through exhibitions, concerts, performance presentations, interventions in cultural or public spaces, events, and interdisciplinary actions. In all cases, they must respond to a clear conceptual line, articulate at least three coherent interventions, and contribute to the cultural dialogue between Cuba and the European Union.

7. What are the responsibilities of the curator during the residency?

The selected person will be responsible for conceiving, developing, and producing their proposal in its entirety: developing the concept and curatorial script; selecting artists, works, formats, collaborators, and spaces; coordinating production, teams, logistics, and schedule; managing the approved budget; organizing exchanges between Cuba and Europe; coordinating the content and public communication; and documenting the processes and results for program follow-up. During the residency, they will functionally integrate into the Project Team and work in coordination with the Technical Advisory Team, without losing their conceptual and management responsibilities.

8. What profile must a person meet to apply?

Curators, musicologists, museum curators, producers, managers, artists and other cultural actors residing in Cuba, aged 25 and over, with experience in the conception, management and production of cultural projects, may apply. The public call requires at least three years of active professional practice and experience in the production of a minimum of four artistic or curatorial projects over the last four years in Cuba. National and international professional networks—especially European ones—are valued, as well as knowledge of the Cuban cultural ecosystem, the ability to coordinate teams and resources, specialized training and communication skills. Availability to work in person and a commitment of six months in Cuba are required.

9. Do current employment or professional commitments affect eligibility or participation in the residency?

Maintaining other professional commitments does not in itself constitute a cause of exclusion established in the Bases. However, residency requires a predominant dedication for six months, availability for in-person work in Cuba, and the ability to fully assume the approved responsibilities and schedule. Each applicant must assess the compatibility of their current commitments with these requirements.

10. Who owns the copyright and intellectual property rights of the products from the residence? What happens to the acquired goods?

The residency recognizes the authorship and curatorial responsibility of the selected person, as well as the rights and creative contributions of the participating artists and collaborators. Their roles and credits must be duly identified in the activities, publications, and communication materials.

The EU Fund in Cuba, and the organizations that collaborate in this program, must be recognized and institutionally associated with the cultural actions and products generated within the framework of the residency. Likewise, they may document, communicate, use, and promote the products, actions, and results in their activities, communication channels, and institutional materials, under the conditions established in the applicable agreements and respecting copyright.

The tangible and intangible assets and resources acquired or produced from the residence will be included in the project’s resources.

11. Can projects designed to benefit a specific institution, platform or cultural initiative be submitted?

No. This call for proposals is not a funding fund for pre-existing projects or for structures or spaces owned by third parties that serve their own agendas.

It is aimed at selecting a curatorial person who develops a unique and original proposal designed within the framework and objectives of the Cuba–European Union cultural dialogue.

It is possible to collaborate with institutions, independent spaces, festivals or platforms, provided that they join forces to contribute to the concept of resident curatorship.

The EU-Cuba Cultural Fund is the producing entity, the convener and the main holder of the residency. These collaborations are integrated as associate partners to the program, without making the residency a mechanism for supporting or subsidizing initiatives outside of it.

12. Is it necessary to have formalized European partnerships in order to apply for residence, or can these be developed during the process?

The proposal must clearly include possible collaboration or articulation with European cultural spaces, institutions, professionals, or networks, in connection with the Cuban cultural ecosystem. In addition, the ability to identify and activate opportunities for collaboration between Cuba and Europe will be valued.

13. If my project has already received partial funding from another European institution or is close to receiving it, can I apply for support from the program to cover other expenses or execution stages?

The call does not function as a co-financing fund, grant, or financial support for pre-existing projects, pending execution stages, or third-party structures that respond to their own agendas.

The Fund acts as the producing entity, the convener and the main owner of the residence, not as a source of monetary co-financing.

Alliances with other institutions, festivals or external platforms are welcome only if they are integrated as associate partners that add value to the concept of resident curatorship. These contributions must not generate legal, contractual, legal or administrative commitments for the program, nor convert the residency into a mechanism for supporting or subsidizing initiatives outside the program.