Deadline 5 July 2026

Rupert announces an open call for a curatorial fellow, as part of the 2026 edition of Mutual Empathies.

Mutual Empathies is a programme initiated by the Rupert Centre for Art, Residencies, and Education and the Goethe-Institut Lithuania, and this year is additionally supported by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. Each edition connects two artists from distinct contexts for parallel residencies and public programming. Mutual Empathies encourages artistic connections that would not otherwise take place, creating new responses to global society’s countless ecopolitical questions.

For this year, the two artists will collaborate with a curatorial fellow based in Lithuania. The selected curator will contribute their research practice, local knowledge, and cultural perspective. The fellow will work with the two artists from 15 July to 20 August for studio visits, project research, and the design of the public programme format, along with Rupert’s curatorial team. The fellowship work will consist of curatorial support and weekly meetings with each artist; a weekly meeting with Rupert staff; and independent research on relevant historical, ecological and political topics for the artists, particularly from a Lithuanian perspective, totalling approximately 3 days per week, for 6 weeks. A written report on the research and collaboration with the artists is to be submitted at the end of the fellowship. 

Candidates should be early-career curators or cultural producers residing in Lithuania, with less than 5 years of professional experience. The curatorial fellow will receive a stipend of 1000 EUR. The deadline for applications is Sunday, 5 July 2026, 23.59 EEST. Interviews will take place that week, and the selected candidate will be informed by Friday 10 July.

The participants of the 2026 edition of Mutual Empathies are Saule Suleimenova (Almaty KZ) and Maithu Bùi (Berlin DE).

The programme is led by JL Murtaugh (curator, Rupert, Vilnius) and Anna Maria Strauß (director, Goethe-Institut Lithuania). Artist nominators for this and upcoming editions of Mutual Empathies include Inga Lace (chief curator, Almaty Museum of Arts), Nick Yu (independent curator, Hong Kong), Sofia Dati (curator, WIELS), Mijoo Park (independent curator and head of 2026 Gwangju Biennale Academy ICC), Helen Turner (artistic director, E-WERK Luckenwalde), and Dr. Bettina Korintenberg (director, ifa-Galerie, Berlin and Stuttgart).

The 2026 edition of Mutual Empathies is financed by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Goethe-Institut. Rupert’s programmes are supported by Vilnius City Municipality. Rupert’s partner is INVL Family Office.

Fellowship duration

15 July – 20 August

Stipend

1000 EUR

Application materials, in English
→ CV, 2 pages maximum

→ Letter of intent, 1 page

→ Portfolio or links for three previous projects

Send applications as one PDF file to [email protected] with the subject line ‘Mutual Empathies Curatorial Fellowship’.

Deadline

Sunday, 5 July 2026, 23.59 EEST