Upė Foundation

17/09/2026

Together with Frieze and EFC Edukacyjna Fundacja Czerneckiego we are delighted to announce the six curators from the Baltic region and Poland selected for the 2026 Frieze Curator Travel Grant.

Congratulations to Stella Mõttus (Estonia, curator at Tartu Art Museum), Janek Owczarek (Poland, art historian, critic and curator, Head of the Art Department at the Museum of Literature in Warsaw), Tīna Pētersone (Latvia, independent curator and co-founder of Riga Art Week), Franciszek Smoręda (Poland, curator and writer, Assistant to the Director at Muzeum Sztuki in Łódź), Edvardas Šumila (Lithuania, curator and writer, curator at the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) Vilnius) and Weronika Wojda (Poland, curator and writer, curator at Galeria Studio, co-running Rififi).

From Tuesday 13 to Saturday 17 October, the six curators will take part in a four day curatorial programme in London, built around research exchange, professional networking and dialogue with artists, curators and leading figures from across the international art world. Each curator will also receive support for travel and accommodation, along with VIP access to Frieze London and Frieze Masters.

For full details, visit our website at → upefoundation.org

15/09/2026

📢 Open Calls for Upė Foundation Artist & Curatorial Fellowships at Gasworks!

We're delighted to announce a new multi-year partnership between Upė Foundation and Gasworks with open calls for curators with a connection to the Baltic region and artists based in Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia.

Apply now:

• Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Gasworks
For early-career curators with a connection to the Baltic region , offering a 12–18-month, full-time paid curatorial role within Gasworks' curatorial team. Working closely with Gasworks' Curator and Assistant Curator, the Fellow will contribute to the coordination and delivery of the artistic programme, and will support the artist selected through the parallel Upė Foundation open call across their residency and subsequent solo exhibition.

⏰ Application deadline: Monday 9 November 2026, 1pm GMT

• Upė Foundation Artist Residency and Solo Exhibition at Gasworks

For an artist at a pivotal stage in their career from and/or based in Lithuania, Latvia or Estonia, combining an eleven-week, fully funded residency at Gasworks in London (7 July to 21 September 2027) with a solo exhibition at Gasworks in 2028. Gasworks' residencies are self-led, non-prescriptive and process-based, offering artists time and space to develop their practice, undertake research, engage with the city and build new professional networks. Throughout, the artist will work in dialogue with Gasworks and the Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow to develop a solo exhibition.

⏰ Application deadline: Tuesday 2 February 2027, 1pm GMT

These opportunities mark a new step in Upė Foundation's programming, expanding its support through a more integrated, embedded and longer-term partnership with Gasworks. The Curatorial Fellowship and Artist Residency are conceived in dialogue with one another, allowing curatorial development, artistic research and exhibition-making to affect one another across an extended timeframe, bringing perspectives from the Baltic region into conversation with Gasworks' international context.

🔗 For full details, visit Gasworks and Upė Foundation websites!

11/09/2026

Upė Foundation is delighted to announce the appointment of Diāna Mikāne (Latvia) and Martyna Ratnik (Lithuania) as the 2026-2027 Curatorial Fellows at the Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery and Camden Art Centre, London, respectively.

The fellowships at the Hayward Gallery and Camden Art Centre are structured as full-time 12–18 month roles, placing each early-career curator directly within the day-to-day life of the art institution.

Diāna Mikāne is a curator and artist from Riga, Latvia. Through situated research and collaboration, her practice engages with parafiction as a mode of expression and the politics of space, often in relation to post-socialist conditions in the Baltic region and beyond. Recent work includes exhibitions and artistic projects such as High Beams in Timing Architecture at Part Time Gallery, Riga (2026), Forever Days in Invisible Labour at the National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (2026); Wish Upon a Shooting Star at Living Room, Athens (2024); I hope this email finds you well at InTheCloset, Vilnius (2024); Trembling Ground at VARES Architecture Residency, Valga (2024); as well as contributions to exhibition production at Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts (2023–24). Mikāne holds an MA from the Art Academy of Latvia and received the ACADEMIA Award, which supported her curatorial fellowship at PUBLICS, Helsinki (2024–25).

Martyna Ratnik is a Lithuanian cultural worker based between London and Vilnius. With a focus on moving image creation, curation and criticism, her practice searches for ways history can be embodied and transgressed. Martyna’s work has been previously presented at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), the Independent Vilnius Cinematheque “Meno Avilys”, Lithuania’s National Gallery of Art, European Media Art Festival, BFI London Film Festival, as well as LUX Moving Image. Martyna was the winner of Lithuania’s 2025 Visual Art Criticism Awards, taking part in its jury the year after. She has recently graduated from RCA’s City Design Master’s programme and is also an alumni of Rupert’s Alternative Education Programme.

Upė Foundation is preparing the next round of its Curatorial Fellowship Programme, expanded to include a Baltic artist residency, followed by a solo exhibition, in partnership with Gasworks, London, with open calls to be announced soon.

For all latest news and updates, please sign up to our newsletter available at → upefoundation.org

06/07/2026

7 days left to apply! Open Call for Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Camden Art Centre, London.

For early-career curators from and/or based in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, offering a full-time curatorial role within Camden Art Centre’s exhibitions team. Since 1965, Camden Art Centre has been one of the UK’s most significant spaces for contemporary visual art, supporting artists through exhibitions, commissions, public programmes and learning. The Fellowship offers a framework for the successful candidate to bring their specialist knowledge, research and Baltic perspectives into the curatorial work of this renowned institution.

The Fellowship is part of the latest round of Upė Foundation’s 18-month Curatorial Fellowship Programme, in partnership with two leading art institutions, Camden Art Centre in London and Sapiegų rūmai, branch of Šiuolaikinio meno centras /\ Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius.

Full details, a job description and an application form are available at
→ https://upefoundation.org/
Application deadline: 12:00 BST, Monday 13 July 2026

02/07/2026

Upė Foundation is pleased to join Frieze and the EFC Edukacyjna Fundacja Czerneckiego in supporting the Frieze Curator Travel Grant 2026.

Six emerging and mid-career curators based across the Baltic region and Poland will receive a fully funded curatorial visit to London during Frieze London and Frieze Masters (13 to 17 October 2026), including travel and accommodation, VIP fair access, panel discussions, and museum and gallery visits, as well as the opportunity to connect with leading figures in the global contemporary art world.

The selection panel brings together Eva Langret (Director, Frieze EMEA), Leonie Mir (Head of VIP, Frieze EMEA), Adomas Narkevičius (Founding Director, Upė Foundation), and Helena Czernecka (HELA Press).

Applications are open now and close at 23.59 BST on 31 July 2026. For full details and to apply, please visit https://www.frieze.com/article/curator-grant-upe-czernecki-educational-frieze-london-2026.

Six curators from the Baltic region and Poland will receive funded travel, VIP access to Frieze London and Frieze Masters, and the opportunity to meet leading art world figures

29/06/2026

14 days left to apply! Open Call for Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Sapieha Palace, CAC, Vilnius.

For early-career UK-based curators, offering a full-time curatorial role embedded within the Art Programme Department of Sapieha Palace in Vilnius. Housed in a restored Baroque palace and run by the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, the largest contemporary art institution in the Baltic region, Sapieha Palace fosters critical dialogue between contemporary art, history and tangible heritage. The Fellow will work alongside the curatorial team and external curators to co-develop and coordinate a section of its programme.

The Fellowship is part of the latest round of Upė Foundation’s 18-month Curatorial Fellowship Programme, in partnership with two leading art institutions, Camden Art Centre in London and rūmai, a branch of Šiuolaikinio meno centras /\ Contemporary Art Centre.

Full details, a job description and an application form are available at
→ https://upefoundation.org/
Application deadline: 12:00 BST, Monday 13 July 2026

15/06/2026

Open Calls for Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowships at Camden Art Centre and Sapieha Palace, CAC, Vilnius!

We’re delighted to open the latest round of Upė Foundation’s 18-month Curatorial Fellowship Programme, in partnership with two leading art institutions, Camden Art Centre in London and Sapiegų rūmai, a branch of Šiuolaikinio meno centras /\ Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius.

Apply now:
• Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Camden Art Centre
For early-career curators from and/or based in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, offering a full-time curatorial role within Camden Art Centre’s exhibitions team. Since 1965, Camden Art Centre has been one of the UK’s most significant spaces for contemporary visual art, supporting artists through exhibitions, commissions, public programmes and learning. The Fellowship offers a framework for the successful candidate to bring their specialist knowledge, research and Baltic perspectives into the curatorial work of this renowned institution.

• Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Sapieha Palace
For early-career UK-based curators, offering a full-time curatorial role embedded within the Art Programme Department of Sapieha Palace in Vilnius. Housed in a restored Baroque palace and run by the Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius, the largest contemporary art institution in the Baltic region, Sapieha Palace fosters critical dialogue between contemporary art, history and tangible heritage. The Fellow will work alongside the curatorial team and external curators to co-develop and coordinate a section of its programme.

These Fellowships continue Upė Foundation’s work drawing currents between the Baltic region and international contemporary art communities, supporting the next generation of curators as they move across geographies, contexts and ways of working. Each Fellowship provides the conditions for curators to develop their individual practice, embedded in institutional life & opening new directions between the United Kingdom and the Baltic region.

Full details, job descriptions and application forms are now available at
→ https://upefoundation.org/
Application deadline: 12:00 BST, Monday 13 July 2026

26/05/2026

Upė Foundation and Tallinna Kunstihoone are delighted to announce the appointment of Andrew Cummings as the Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Tallinn Art Hall for 2026-2027.

Andrew Cummings joins at a pivotal moment in Tallinn Art Hall’s history, as its landmark site undergoes renovation ahead of reopening in November 2026. He will be responsible for curating the programme of a new black-box space within the historic building, developing exhibitions, screenings, performances, and other public formats in dialogue with Tallinn Art Hall’s wider programme. He will form the black-box programme in dialogue with the director and curatorial team, while working closely with artists and receiving production support from the institution’s in-house staff.

Andrew Cummings is an art historian and curator from Wakefield, UK. Andrew studied for a PhD in Global Contemporary Art History at The Courtauld Institute of Art and Tate, and until 2025 was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Decolonising Arts Institute, University of the Arts London. Previous exhibitions, programmes, and events include Dark Factory (MMCA Korea), A History of Future Contagion (Spike Island/The Courtauld) and Museum x Machine x Me (Tate). An alumnus of the Gwangju Biennale International Curators' Course, Andrew’s writing has been published by Tate Papers, Pilot Press, ArtReview, and the Burlington Contemporary.

The second fellowship appointment, in collaboration with the Hayward Gallery, will be officially announced soon.

Upė Foundation is preparing the next round of its Curatorial Fellowship Programme, in partnership with Camden Art Centre, London, and CAC Sapieha Palace, Vilnius, with open calls to be announced in June 2026.

For all latest news and open calls, please sign up to our newsletter available at → upefoundation.org

08/01/2026

Final days to apply ✨ Applications for the Curatorial Fellowship positions at Hayward Gallery, London, and Tallinna Kunstihoone close at 12:00 (noon) UK time on Monday 12 January 2026.

How to apply:
www.upefoundation.org

10/12/2025

Curatorial Fellowship Open Calls are live!

Upė Foundation launches the first Open Calls in our inaugural 18-month Curatorial Fellowship Programme in partnership with two leading institutions, Southbank Centre's Hayward Gallery in London and Tallinna Kunstihoone in Estonia.

These Fellowships mark the beginning of the Foundation’s work drawing currents between the Baltic region and international contemporary art communities by supporting the next generation of curators as they move across geographies, contexts and ways of working.

Two Open Calls are now live:

• Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Hayward Gallery

For early-career curators from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, offering full-time work within the Hayward’s curatorial team across exhibitions, public programmes, research and interpretation, in a supporting role, while bringing Baltic perspectives into one of the UK’s most significant contemporary art institutions.

• Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Tallinn Art Hall
For early-career UK-based curators, offering a full-time curatorial role within Estonia’s largest and oldest contemporary art commissioner and producer, including the opportunity to curate the inaugural programme for its new black-box space opening in late 2026.

Each Fellowship provides the conditions for curators to develop their individual practice, embedded in institutional life, supported by mentorship, and encouraged to open new directions between London and the Baltic region.

Full details, job descriptions and application forms are now available at
→ upefoundation.org

Application deadline: 12:00 (GMT), 12 January 2026