Sharjah Art Foundation, in collaboration with Alkazi Foundation for the Arts, Asia Art Archive and Contemporary And (C&), invites emerging and mid-career art writers living and working in Asia and Africa to apply for PARA, a fellowship programme supporting the development and publication of new critical writing about contemporary art.

The programme offers material, communal and institutional support to five fellows, who are selected through an open call. Selected fellows will have an opportunity to publish two pieces of art criticism; engage in biweekly online seminars and tailored feedback sessions with established art writers and critics; attend a fully funded, week-long programme of visits and peer-led gatherings in Sharjah; and develop relationships with fellow writers, editors, publishers and academics, fostering collaborative and transnational networks.

Who can apply
Cultural practitioners, including but not limited to writers, artists, curators, journalists and academics, living and working in Asia or Africa are invited to apply to PARA.

How to apply
Complete the online application form and attach the following to the form:

• Primary text: one new, unpublished piece of writing. This piece will be considered for publication in the compilation of new art criticism.
• Supporting texts: two published writing samples. These texts should provide context for your writing practice at large.
• CV (max. 2 pages)

Primary Text Guidelines
Please read the text guidelines carefully. Any submissions that do not comply with the following parameters will be deemed ineligible.

• The text must be 1000 words maximum (please indicate the word count at the end of your text)
• It should respond to an artwork, series of artworks, or an exhibition that you saw in the preceding year (2024–2025)
• It may be in English or, if originally written in another language, accompanied by an English translation
• It must be submitted as a Word or PDF document
• It can take any form, including a traditional review, explorative essay, interpretive feature or insightful reportage
• Texts may encompass a broad range of genres, such as the journalistic, essayistic, prosaic, fictional or ekphrastic
• Texts should be written solely by the applicant. No parts of the text should be plagiarised or drafted using AI.

Application Deadline: July 20, 2025, 11:59 pm, UAE local time (GMT + 4). Late submissions will not be considered.

Submit your application via the form linked here

For further information, please check out FAQs on the website linked below. For any other queries, write to [email protected] with ‘PARA 2025’ in the subject line.