About this format
A well-written critical text can become one of the most useful documents in an artist’s record.
It can help curators understand the work more quickly. It can support grant or residency applications. It can sit inside a professional portfolio. It can strengthen the written architecture around the practice in ways that self-authored language often cannot.
The lighter options make critical writing more accessible. The extended option is for artists who want a more substantial and more professionally useful text package.
Overview
This format is for artists, exhibitions, and projects that need writing from outside the work rather than writing produced by the artist alone.
ELSEHERE will write a critical or contextual text around the work based on the materials submitted, our close reading of the practice, and the scope of the selected option. The result can become a meaningful document within a professional portfolio. It may support gallery submissions, grant applications, residency proposals, curatorial communication, academic contexts, and visa documentation.
This matters because external writing often changes how a practice is received. It gives the work another layer of legibility. It creates language that can circulate where self-description sometimes cannot.
Best for
artists seeking a critical or contextual text written from outside the practice
exhibitions and projects that need a short review or stronger interpretive framing
artists building professional portfolios for galleries, grants, residencies, and curatorial submissions
artists preparing supporting documentation for O-1, EB-1A, global talent visa, and longer international career pathways
artists who want more than description and need a more serious external text around the work
FROM REVIEW TO PUBLICATION.
01 / Submit
Send your portfolio and a short note about what you would like to present.
02 / Editorial review
We consider the materials and whether this format is an appropriate fit.
03 / Confirm scope & fee
If selected, you receive the proposed scope, publication destination, timeline, and fee before deciding whether to proceed.
04 / Develop & publish
Once the agreed terms are confirmed, we prepare and publish the feature.
Publication destination, timeline, and terms are confirmed before work begins.
BEFORE YOU APPLY.
01
What does the publication fee cover? The agreed editorial preparation, layout, and online publication for this format. A full interview, commissioned critical essay, and multimedia production are not included in this presentation format.
02
Where will it be published? The destination is specified in your publication offer. Participation does not automatically include STRATUM publication, academic peer review, or distribution across every ELSEHERE channel.
03
What should I submit? A portfolio or website, a short biography, an artist statement if available, and the work you would like considered. Please identify the creators and rights holders of any submitted images.
04
Does payment guarantee acceptance? No. Editorial selection comes first. The publication fee applies to accepted projects; it does not replace editorial review.
05
Can I request financial support? You may explain financial constraints in your submission. Reduced-fee or supported participation is considered individually and is not guaranteed.
What's Included
Option 1 — Short Review / Light Contextual Text
short commissioned review or contextual text
publication in STRATUM
up to 800 words
Option 2 — Mid-Length Critical Essay
commissioned mid-length critical essay
stronger contextual framing
publication in STRATUM
between 800 and 1,500 words
Option 3 — Extended Commissioned Critical Writing
longer commissioned critical writing
more substantial editorial scope
publication in STRATUM
linked artist presentation entry
social media promotion and circulation support where relevant
Circulation support may include, where relevant:
Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Rednote / Xiaohongshu, WeChat Official Account, Douyin, and Bilibili.
Selection & Fee
All formats are offered on a selected basis. Publication fees vary by format and scope, and are outlined within each format page.
A PUBLICATION FEE APPLIES ONLY TO SELECTED ARTISTS.
If cost would otherwise make participation difficult, you are welcome to note this in your submission. ELSEHERE offers a limited support option for artists who are unable to cover the full publication fee. Depending on individual circumstances, support may be offered at a reduced rate or, in select cases, at full support.
Publication fees support editorial development, review, design, formatting, and long-term publication maintenance across ELSEHERE and STRATUM.
This format is offered on a selected basis.
There is no fee to submit for review.
If confirmed, the current publication fee (selected artists only) is:
Option 1 — Short Review / Light Contextual Text $80
Option 2 — Mid-Length Critical Essay $120
Option 3 — Extended Commissioned Critical Writing $180–$300
WHO THIS IS FOR
Grant & fellowship applications
Residency & academic programs
O-1, EB-1A & global talent visa cases
Portfolio & press development
A stronger editorial feature, interview, or published text can give institutions, curators, and selection panels a fuller understanding of your practice, its direction, and the context in which the work is developing.
Publication, critical framing, and a more durable public-facing record can also become meaningful supporting materials across grants, residencies, academic opportunities, and international artist visa pathways.
These formats help artists build stronger language, more usable links, and clearer editorial materials for galleries, curators, collaborators, and future opportunities.
WHO CAN APPLY
This program is open to international artists and cultural practitioners whose work aligns with ELSEHERE’s editorial scope.
We work across media, including visual art, performance, moving image, installation, text-based practice, and interdisciplinary forms.
Applicants should have at least a basic public-facing presence, such as a website, portfolio, or relevant online materials.
SELECTION & REVIEW
ELSEHERE works through a curated editorial model.
There is no fee to submit for review.
Only selected artists receive a publication offer.
Publication fees apply only after selection.
This allows us to work with greater editorial care and to build a stronger, more durable public-facing record for the artists and texts we choose to publish.
RIGHTS AND USE
Artists retain copyright to their original work and materials. By participating, artists grant ELSEHERE a non-exclusive right to publish, circulate, and promote the resulting feature through STRATUM Journal and related ELSEHERE channels, with full credit. Artists may continue to use the published text and excerpts across portfolios, websites, press kits, grant and residency applications, academic materials, and artist visa documentation.
