CPR 2026: (Self)Organization in North Africa brings up to 8 international curators to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in May 2026 to research the regional art scene with the ambition to get a better understanding of the complex history and current political situation in North Africa.

The Curatorial Program for Research has facilitated an international network of curators, artists and institutions since 2015. CPR 2026: (Self)Organization in North Africa is a 3-week intensive curatorial research residency. The fully-funded fellowships allow curators to participate regardless of financial ability and, coupled with the open call, promotes equal access to knowledge and international networks.

CPR 2026: SOM is CPR’s tenth research program for curators. Since our launch in 2015, CPR has expanded its reach with residencies for artists in Buenos Aires and New York. CPR has funded over 137 artist and curatorial fellowships and has worked towards the representation of underserved artistic communities worldwide.

The open call and programming is organized by CPR Founding Director Carmen Ferreyra and CPR Europe Director Susanne Ewerlöf, Myriam Amroun (Independent Curator, Algiers) Natasha Marie Llorens (Independent Curator, Stockholm) with key local specialists: Nour Amrani (Mouhit Space), Leila Sahli (Le18 Marrakech), and Abdo Shanan (Crossroads).  

Through the expertise of key local collaborators, and complemented by readings about local socio-political history, curators will partake in a conceptually connected program of visits to artist studios and art institutions - an immersive introduction to the artistic practice, production, and dissemination in the host locations and an opportunity to connect with peers.

The theme of CPR’s inaugural program in North Africa is how arts ecologies (self)organize differently across the region and what institutional forms enable artists, curators and others to work in culture. The participating cohort will be invited to think structurally and historically about how dynamic, experimental and critically engaged artistic practices in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco are nurtured and sustained. Initiated by Algiers-based independent curator Myriam Amroun and Stockholm-based curator Natasha Marie Llorensin close collaboration with the Curatorial Program for Research, the 2026 program explores possible connections between art scenes on a South-South axis by asking how people work together in each context. 

The program covers international flights, local transportation, accommodation, and some of the meals to all participants. 

The basis of our organization is strong partnerships. CPR grows organically through a continuously expanding network of art practitioners, which results in an organization that keeps on developing its international reach.

Building on our ten years of experience and networking, our 2026 program will continue to work towards international collaboration and representation abroad.

This project is realized with generous support from the Swedish Institute.

In this time of crisis and conflict it is more important than ever to make sure everyone is heard; underrepresented groups, people from the periphery, the non-human and perhaps also echoes from the past. With this in mind we will visit cities and countryside; meet established and emerging artists and actors in adjacent fields. We will discuss if we can bear listening more, listening wider, listening within and even listening to those we don't agree with. This will open a network of discussion that carries the potential to engage the visiting curators with all the experiences they have from their respective places of residence where these issues may have other specific meanings.

We hope to access this through the work of the artists we meet and the research we do collectively on site in each locality. Our local hosts, being experts on these matters, will share literature with the curators to provide further context. Discussions will be encouraged during formal and informal sessions throughout the program and the participants will be expected to provide knowledge based on their own experiences and expertise as well.

The morning sessions will consist of lectures with scholars, community members and other people while afternoons will typically include visits to artists and art institutions ideally with certain topics steering the conversation during one whole day, while others are continuous threads that will reoccur as the program progresses. 

Participating curators are not expected to have a previous understanding of the local history of the sites we visit but they are selected based on their interest in the culture of this region including problematic aspects of the history of the North Africa countries and the political issues that are affecting people in this geography today.