2025 Jimei × Arles “Curatorial Seminar for Photography and Moving” has invited curator, art critic Dong Bingfeng, and photography and visual culture researcher, writer, curator Joanna Fu as dual mentors, and will bring a team of lecturers on board to share their curatorial concepts and practical experiences. This edition will unfold based on the theme “Transcending the Lines.”
The project is set to begin before the opening week of the Jimei × Arles International Photo Festival, scheduled to take place from 25th November to 1st December, 2025, in Xiamen, Fujian Province. Through diverse formats such as master lectures, field visits, exhibition installation observations, proposal reviews and critiques and public speeches, a seven-day curatorial course will be crafted for no more than 12 members and a limited number of visitors.
“Curatorial Seminar” aims to open up trainees' curatorial cognition through substantial teaching and learning, allowing them to fully engage in self-reflection and problem-solving in an immersive and intensive learning environment with equal and eager exchanges.
Theme:
Transcending the Lines
In the face of the same scene, different individuals can generate vastly different perspectives. In a context where collisions are frequent and communication pathways are increasing, mutual understanding among people seems to have become very convenient. However, the presence of "difference" itself, along with the absence of proper articulation, can still lead to misunderstandings. The theme aims to broaden perspectives beyond formed “lines” and explore the question: "How do we encounter the diversity of existence?"
Dates:
25 November – 1 December 2025 (7 days)
Location:
Xiamen, Fujian Province, China
APPLICATION
Who Can Participate:
Applicants from China Applicants from China (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) with curatorial experience (at least one complete curatorial proposal or independently curated exhibition) or 1-3 years of experience working in an art institution.
Capacity:
12
How to Submit Your Application:
Please send the above application materials as a single email to cppmi@threeshadows.cn.
Subject line: 2025 Curatorial Seminar + Your Name
*The total size of the application materials must not exceed 100 MB
Deadline for Submitting Application:
[Early] 30 September 2025,23:59 PM (GMT+8)
[Regular] 22 October 2025,23:59 PM (GMT+8)
What Should Be Included in the Proposal:
1. Application Form
Download Links：
（1）htps://pan.baidu.com/s/1l8xGB8Of6dp-5cND9qlnmg?pwd-2025 (Access code: 2025)
（2）https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B2uL5Ngt4w_c3hRRMyw0y4OYWocDGMV-?usp=drive_link
2. CV / Résumé
3. Letter of Motivation
The letter must address the following questions:
How do you understand curating?
Why you choose curating as your mode of artistic practice?
4. Curatorial Proposal (in both Chinese and English)
Exhibition statement (approx. 500 words)
Texts and reference materials relevant to the proposal
List of proposed artists, images of proposed works, and brief introductions
*The proposal must respond to the programme theme “Transcending the Lines.”
*It must be a proposal that has not been publicly displayed., and centred in image based media (photography, moving image, or image based installations, etc.)
*It can be completed by an individual or by no more than two applicants jointly.
*If spatial planning needs to be involved, the site plan provided in the link (four options available) can be used.
5.Past exhibition, writing and art criticism samples (*optional)
6.Recommendation letter (*optional)
7. Scanned copy of the identity card issued in China Mainland, the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR, or the Taiwan region
DISCLAIMER
Based on national laws and regulations, individuals who submit their application are viewed to have made the following irrevocable copyright statement regarding the submitted proposal:
1. The submitted proposal along with the application is an original creation of the applicant, and does not infringe upon another party’s rights, including but not limited to, copyrights, portrait rights, trademarks, or any other intellectual property rights. The proposal has not, in any form, appeared in another exhibition or commercial venue. Any violation of these terms may result in the Programme Committee removing the application from the programme , and the Programme Committee reserves the right to pursue legal action.
2. Proposals must consider China’s overall values and circumstances, and must not violate any laws or regulations.
3. The curators retain full copyright of submitted proposals.
4. If enrolled members receive further support from“Curatorial Programme for Photography and Moving Image”to refine their proposals, the relevant outcomes must acknowledge the “Curatorial Programme for Photography and Moving Image” in accordance with the agreed form.
5. For any exhibitions or publications of the proposal produced through“Curatorial Programme for Photography and Moving Image”, the copyright will be jointly shared between the “Curatorial Programme for Photography and Moving Image” and the curator.
6. The Three Shadows Photography Art Centre website (https://www.threeshadows.cn) and official WeChat and Weibo accounts are the designated platforms for information regarding the programme.
7. Three Shadows Photography Art Centre and CHANEL reserve the right to exhibit and publicise theproposals of enrolled members.
*The Programme Committee reserves the final right of interpretation for all matters related to the programme.