To leave
Works and trajectories may address displacement, transit, rupture of an artistic ecosystem of origin, loss of professional networks, border, exile or symbolic relocation.
New York/Venezuela Chapter · Phase One
Artists
The New York/Venezuela Chapter develops a curatorial, documentary, educational and fiduciary process to select and document Venezuelan artists in diaspora, with institutional approval by VAEA. Artist profiles, documented artworks, interviews and critical analyses will be published here as Phase One progresses.
Selection process
Curatorial rigor. Fiduciary transparency.
Eligibility criteria
All participating artists must meet documented criteria, regardless of who proposes them. Eligibility establishes a clear administrative and fiduciary foundation; curatorial selection adds a second layer of artistic, conceptual and public relevance.
- Venezuelan nationality or birth in Venezuela, documented.
- Minimum two cumulative years of residence outside Venezuela at the time of proposal.
- Active, documented artistic practice in the preceding three years — evidenced through exhibitions, publications, commissions, residencies or equivalent activity.
- A proposed contribution coherent with the program’s curatorial, educational and documentary framework.
Two-layer selection
Within the universe of eligible artists, artistic and intellectual evaluation is developed through the curatorial framework of Exodus & Resilience. VAEA formally approves each artist’s participation, confirming alignment with its charitable mission, the institutional coherence of the program and the absence of conflicts of interest.
This separation sustains a double standard: curatorial freedom and fiduciary governance. Artistic recommendations must be reasoned; institutional approvals must be documented.
Selection does not seek to represent “Venezuelanness” as a fixed identity. It seeks practices capable of thinking diaspora through its complexity: displacement, memory, archive, belonging, recomposition, cultural citizenship, cultural rights and intergenerational transmission.
Artist compensation
The program may include direct professional compensation for participating artists through participation honoraria and, where applicable, commissions for new work funded with program resources. All compensation will depend on approved budgets and must be documented, contracted and validated under VAEA protocols.
To sustain
The program considers practices that document or activate memory, transnational ties, community care, archive, intergenerational transmission, social capital and forms of cultural continuity.
To recompose
Priority is given to works capable of producing new forms of belonging, cultural citizenship, civic imagination and public recognition from the third space of diaspora.
To educate
The program values artists whose works can become resources for mediation, transformative learning, Education for Sustainable Development and critical thinking about migration, memory and cultural rights.
Curatorial criteria
Not only who participates, but why that practice matters.
01
Conceptual coherence
02
Artistic strength
03
Documentary potential
04
Educational value
Conceptual coherence
The practice must clearly engage with the program’s axes: migration, memory, diaspora, archive, territory, identity, cultural rights, community or symbolic recomposition.
Artistic strength
Evaluation considers formal maturity, consistency of practice, quality of work, clarity of visual language and the capacity to sustain critical reading within institutional contexts.
Documentary potential
The program prioritizes practices that can be documented in depth: artworks, processes, interviews, archival materials, biographical context, critical narrative and public circulation.
Educational and mediation value
In addition to artistic value, the program evaluates whether the work can activate public conversation, pedagogical resources, cultural mediation and critical learning among diverse publics: students, educators, migrant communities, researchers and cultural institutions.
Artist roster
Phase One cohort — in development.
The Phase One shortlist will be reviewed through a structured curatorial process, with editorial assessment, eligibility criteria, professional documentation and institutional approval by VAEA. Individual artist profiles, documented artworks, interviews, critical analyses and educational materials will be published here progressively as the process advances.
Artist · 01
Profile under curatorial review
This artist profile will be published after curatorial confirmation and approval by the VAEA Board.
Artist · 02
Profile under curatorial review
This artist profile will be published after curatorial confirmation and approval by the VAEA Board.
Artist · 03
Profile under curatorial review
This artist profile will be published after curatorial confirmation and approval by the VAEA Board.
Artist profiles · Progressive publication after confirmation
This page does not announce a closed cohort or confirm the participation of specific artists. Profiles will be published only after curatorial review, professional documentation, applicable agreements, budget availability and institutional approval by VAEA.
Are you a Venezuelan artist in diaspora?
Artist proposals may be reviewed when aligned with the program framework.
Selection is not currently operating as a permanent open call, but the team considers portfolios, recommendations and curatorial proposals when aligned with the program’s framework. Visit the Participate page for submission guidelines.
Submit a proposal