Matthew Linde awarded The Freedman Foundation International Scholarship for Curators

The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) is pleased to announce Melbourne-based emerging curator Matthew Linde as the 2019 recipient of The Freedman Foundation International Scholarship for Curators.

Linde will undertake a research trip to Los Angeles and New York to explore unknown narratives of fashion museum practice. 

“Matthew Linde's project of deepening the critical dimension of curatorial work in fashion and clothing design is unique and meaningful, and his itinerary of concrete engagements reflects this focus. His travel will substantially broaden the framework of his current practice, while generating new and exciting work that has the potential to make a significant contribution to curatorial practice and cultural debate in Australia” said this year’s assessors Reuben Keehan, Curator of Contemporary Asian Art at QAGOMA and Coby Edgar, Assistant Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art at AGNSW. 

On receiving the Scholarship, Linde said, “I am ecstatic. This incredible opportunity will allow me to undertake focused study across several established fashion departments in museums across the USA.

“In developing relationships with leading fashion curators as well as gaining valuable insight into acquisition strategies at these renowned museum departments, I hope to contribute new research towards fostering experimental fashion design and integrate performative exhibition-making techniques” he continued.

“This scholarship signifies a crucial progression for my practice; in building from my academic training and independent projects, I will be able to learn and engage with these influential USA based curators and institutions how the ever-shifting field of fashion curation might disrupt or extend museological contexts.”

Now in its fourth year The Freedman Foundation International Scholarship for Curators is a NAVA initiative which supports an early career curator, or curatorial collective with $8,000 to undertake an overseas mentorship, residency and/or develop their own program which may include establishing networks, researching current international practices and engaging with international exhibition programs.

Matthew Linde is a fashion curator, researcher and writer. His practice addresses the concerns of contemporary fashion practice, focusing on the role of experimental designers in critiquing fashion systems.   Linde’s recent curated exhibitions include Passageways: On Fashion’s Runway at Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland (2018), The Overworked Body: An Anthology of 2000s Dress at Goethe-Institut Curatorial Residencies at Ludlow 38 and Mathew Gallery, both in New York (2017) and Dress Rehearsal at the 9^th Berlin Biennale (2016). He is also the fashion columnist for Flash Art International, writing on contemporary fashion practice and his essays have also appeared in Spike Art, Kaleidoscope, The Research Collective for Decolonizing Fashion, Periodico and Provence Magazine. Matthew Linde was the founder of Centre For Style, an experimental venue for fashion curation and alternative retail strategies, that made appearances in various locations and institutional contexts from 2013-2016. Matthew is also a PhD Candidate at the School of Fashion & Textiles at RMIT University, due to complete early 2020.

About The Freedman Foundation 

The Freedman Foundation is a private philanthropic organisation, which donates funding to the visual arts, music, medicine and science. Since 2000, through The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Artists administered by NAVA, The Freedman Foundation has been a generous benefactor to over 90 emerging Australian artists wishing to undertake travel to gain a valuable learning experience that will help to develop their professional practice. 

About NAVA  

The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) leads advocacy, policy and action for an Australian visual arts sector that’s ambitious and fair.