This call for feature proposals is open to arts writers, artists, historians, curators, librarians, archivists, and anyone in the GLAM field with an interest in engaging with our readers and our mission. We welcome proposals from writers at any stage of their career. We seek to expand cultural discourse and promote engagement with open access digital collections. Essays may range from more art historical scholarly approaches, to critical engagement with the archive itself and its limitations, to more creative addresses to the objects and/or readers.
Invited guest writers will be welcomed to the Curationist community. They will develop their proposal with editorial support and feedback, get research assistance from digital archivists, and have their essay published online as an Editorial Feature. Guest writers will have the opportunity to learn about image rights, liberatory metadata practices, and the open knowledge movement.
Chosen proposals will demonstrate an interest in the history and contemporary context of cultural objects and materials and align with our mission. Curationist promotes storytelling and curiosity through a social justice lens that is anti-racist, anti-colonial, feminist, queer, and anti-ableist. The Curationist team is committed to diversifying perspectives, decentering colonialist cataloging, and supporting Indigenous data sovereignty.
We aim to support writing addressing subjects that are underrepresented globally and underexplored in mainstream arts writing.

Curationist Commissioned Features, Specifications:

• 3-month timeline from proposal to publishing on site. Deadlines in Spring, Summer, and Fall in 2026, to be selected by writer and editors.
• $1500 flat rate for essay (aiming for ~1500 words), paid upon submission of final draft
• Editorial support and feedback, expect to go through at least 3 drafts with editor’s feedback and revisions
• Research support from our digital archivist
  

Proposal Overview

We seek proposals for new feature essays that address topics that are not already well-covered in our editorial features, delving into new corners of the archive. We ask that you peruse our editorial essays, collections, and the website to gain a better understanding of our ethos and publishing history.

• Some topic suggestions for 2026: film, film contexts, cookbooks, the nonvisual senses, repatriation or reparative moves in the cultural heritage sphere, revisionist archaeology, costumes, natural history, the Eastern Bloc, …
• Proposals must critically engage Works (art and cultural objects) in our archives.
• We are especially interested in topics that engage Works whose metadata will benefit from a closer look, revision, or expansion.
• Applicants do not need to be based in the United States. We accept applications from people all over the globe.
  

Proposal Guidelines

To submit a proposal for a guest editorial feature, please prepare the following and use this form. We will only review proposals submitted via our form:

• An abstract of your essay (max 300 words). Please note, we will publish new writing, developed for our platform. Do not send finished drafts or work that is published elsewhere.
• Link/s to 1–3 Works in the Curationist archive that will be referenced in your essay.
• Links or one PDF of up to three published writing or other writing samples.
• CV / resume
  

ACCESS SUBMISSION FORM Submission form open from January 15 - February 28.

Selection Timeline

Proposals will be reviewed in March and we aim to notify applicants of selection by April 15. We will commission up to eight essays. If selected, you will choose Spring, Summer, or Fall for your writing and publication period.
If you have a question not answered above, contact pitch.us at curationist.org