Upė Foundation is a London-based platform that draws currents between global and Baltic art communities through curatorial support, research and commissioning, amplifying adventurous ideas, underexplored perspectives and long-term exchanges across geographies.

Open Call
Curatorial Fellowship at Hayward Gallery
Deadline: 12 January, 2026
Open Call
Curatorial Fellowship at Hayward Gallery
Deadline: 12 January, 2026

Upė Foundation and Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery are pleased to launch the first Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship in London, as part of Upė’s inaugural Curatorial Fellowship Programme bridging the Baltic region and the UK.

Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Hayward Gallery is a full-time, 12-month position for a Baltic early-career curator, due to start in April 2026, with the possibility of a further 6-month extension (18 months in total) upon review and mutual decision. Relocation to London, United Kingdom, is required.

Upė Foundation is a new London-based organisation with a core aim to provide new platforms for dialogue and exchange between the Baltic region and contemporary art communities internationally. Upė begins its work with a series of Curatorial Fellowships with major institutions – Hayward Gallery and Tallinn Art Hall – to support the next generation of curators across the UK and the Baltic countries.

About Hayward Gallery

The Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery is a world-renowned contemporary art gallery. As part of the largest arts centre in the UK, the Hayward Gallery has been at the centre of London’s cultural life since it was established in 1968 and remains committed to creating a place where people can come together to experience bold, unusual, entertaining and eye-opening work.

About the fellowship role

The Gallery’s diverse exhibition programme features influential artists from across the world and major international group shows exploring pivotal themes and issues. Embedded across exhibitions and public programming, the Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship offers the selected curator full-time work and structured professional development within the curatorial team, while also recognising the value of Baltic research networks, perspectives and artistic contexts. The Fellow will be responsible for conducting research on artists from the Baltic region and beyond, assisting with the logistics of bringing major international shows to life. The role is designed to expand the Fellow’s skill set, from public engagement to practical training in operations such as developing interpretation materials.

Key eligibility criteria

  • Has relevant and demonstrable curatorial experience. Preference will be given to emerging practitioners who have not held full-time roles in museums and/or other major institutions;
  • Has demonstrable research and administration skills, with a methodical approach and attention to detail;
  • Has a higher education qualification (BA, MA or equivalent) in a relevant field such as curating, art history, visual culture or related disciplines;
  • Has a strong connection to, or sustained engagement with, the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and their diasporas). Examples include lived experience or heritage, working knowledge of a Baltic language, ongoing research or teaching, or a significant body of relevant curatorial work.

Salary & Job description

The full job description is available here.

How to apply

Applications are now closed.

Application deadline: 12:00 (noon) UK time, Monday 12 January 2026
Interviews: February 2026
Start date: April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be reviewed jointly by Upė Foundation and Hayward Gallery. Following an initial assessment, a shortlist of candidates will be invited to a first-round online interview with representatives from both organisations. A smaller group of finalists will be invited to a second interview. The selection panel will include members of Upė Foundation and Hayward Gallery. Decisions are made by consensus, with agreement required from the full panel at each stage.

open-call-upe-foundation-curatorial-fellow-at-hayward-gallery
Upė Curatorial Fellowships
Coming Soon
Camden Art Centre (2026-2027)
Martyna Ratnik
Martyna Ratnik
Camden Art Centre (2026-2027)
martyna-ratnik-at-camden-art-centre

Martyna Ratnik is a Lithuanian cultural worker based between London and Vilnius. With a focus on moving image creation, curation and criticism, her practice searches for ways history can be embodied and transgressed. In addition to working as part of the London Short Film Festival’s curatorial team, Martyna has been developing her independent praxis. Among others, her artistic and curatorial projects have been previously presented at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), the Independent Vilnius Cinematheque “Meno Avilys”, Lithuania’s National Gallery of Art, European Media Art Festival, BFI London Film Festival, as well as LUX Moving Image. Martyna is the winner of Lithuania’s 2025 Visual Art Criticism Awards, and has been invited as a jury member the year after. She has recently graduated from RCA’s City Design course with a Master’s Thesis on open form institutional design, and is also an alumni of Rupert’s Alternative Education Programme.

As Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at Camden Art Centre, Martyna Ratnik joins the exhibitions team, bringing her specialist knowledge and research into the institution's curatorial work while contributing to exhibition-making, events and research. The Fellowship provides an environment for professional development, learning and first-hand experience within one of the UK's leading spaces for contemporary visual art.

Portrait of Martyna Ratnik, courtesy of Dominyka Gurskaitė
Upė Curatorial Fellowships
Coming Soon
Hayward Gallery (2026-2027)
Diāna Mikāne
Diāna Mikāne
Hayward Gallery (2026-2027)
diana-mikane-at-hayward-gallery

Diāna Mikāne is a curator and artist from Riga, Latvia. Through situated research and collaboration, her practice engages with parafiction as a mode of expression and the politics of space, often in relation to post-socialist conditions in the Baltic region and beyond. Recent work includes exhibitions and artistic projects such as High Beams in Timing Architecture at Part Time Gallery, Riga (2026), Forever Days in Invisible Labour at the National Gallery of Art, Vilnius (2026); Wish Upon a Shooting Star at Living Room, Athens (2024); I hope this email finds you well at InTheCloset, Vilnius (2024); Trembling Ground at VARES Architecture Residency, Valga (2024); as well as contributions to exhibition production at Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts (2023–24). Mikāne holds an MA from the Art Academy of Latvia and received the ACADEMIA Award, which supported her curatorial fellowship at PUBLICS, Helsinki (2024–25).

In her role as Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellow at the Southbank Centre's Hayward Gallery, Diāna Mikāne undertakes research on artists from the Baltic region and beyond, supporting the development and delivery of major international exhibitions and programmes. The Fellowship is designed to broaden her skill set across the institution, from public engagement to the practical training involved in operations such as producing interpretation materials.

Portrait of Diāna Mikāne, courtesy of Paula Buškevica
Upė Curatorial Fellowships
Coming Soon
Tallinn Art Hall (2026-2027)
Andrew Cummings
Andrew Cummings
Tallinn Art Hall (2026-2027)
tallinn-art-hall-fellowship

Andrew Cummings is an art historian and curator from Wakefield, UK. Andrew studied for a PhD in Global Contemporary Art History at The Courtauld Institute of Art and Tate, and until 2025 was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Decolonising Arts Institute, University of the Arts London. Previous exhibitions, programmes, and events include Dark Factory (MMCA Korea), A History of Future Contagion (Spike Island/The Courtauld) and Museum x Machine x Me (Tate). An alumnus of the Gwangju Biennale International Curators' Course, Andrew’s writing has been published by Tate Papers, Pilot Press, ArtReview, and the Burlington Contemporary.

Andrew Cummings joins Tallinn Art Hall at a pivotal moment in its history, as the institution's landmark site undergoes renovation ahead of reopening in November 2026. He will be responsible for curating the programme of a new black-box space within the historic building, developing exhibitions, screenings, performances, and other public formats in dialogue with Tallinn Art Hall’s wider programme. He will shape the programme in collaboration with the director and curatorial team, while working closely with artists and receiving production support from the institution’s in-house staff.

Portrait of Andrew Cummings, courtesy of Andrew Cummings
Mission & Vision

Upė Foundation is a London-based platform that draws currents between global and Baltic (Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian) art communities, setting new artistic, curatorial and research possibilities in motion. Upė focuses on horizontal, long-term exchange through a range of partnerships, fellowships and initiatives, amplifying new ideas, risk-taking work and underexplored perspectives. Upė is drawn to a field that is living, cross-disciplinary and imaginative, open to encounters between practices, contexts and communities.

Team

Founding Patron

Justas Janauskas

Founding Director

Adomas Narkevičius

Contact

General enquiries

info@upefoundation.org

Press
isabel@sam-talbot.com

Open Call
Curatorial Fellowship at Hayward Gallery
Deadline: 12 January, 2026

Upė Foundation and Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery are pleased to launch the first Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship in London, as part of Upė’s inaugural Curatorial Fellowship Programme bridging the Baltic region and the UK.

Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship at Hayward Gallery is a full-time, 12-month position for a Baltic early-career curator, due to start in April 2026, with the possibility of a further 6-month extension (18 months in total) upon review and mutual decision. Relocation to London, United Kingdom, is required.

Upė Foundation is a new London-based organisation with a core aim to provide new platforms for dialogue and exchange between the Baltic region and contemporary art communities internationally. Upė begins its work with a series of Curatorial Fellowships with major institutions – Hayward Gallery and Tallinn Art Hall – to support the next generation of curators across the UK and the Baltic countries.

About Hayward Gallery

The Southbank Centre’s Hayward Gallery is a world-renowned contemporary art gallery. As part of the largest arts centre in the UK, the Hayward Gallery has been at the centre of London’s cultural life since it was established in 1968 and remains committed to creating a place where people can come together to experience bold, unusual, entertaining and eye-opening work.

About the fellowship role

The Gallery’s diverse exhibition programme features influential artists from across the world and major international group shows exploring pivotal themes and issues. Embedded across exhibitions and public programming, the Upė Foundation Curatorial Fellowship offers the selected curator full-time work and structured professional development within the curatorial team, while also recognising the value of Baltic research networks, perspectives and artistic contexts. The Fellow will be responsible for conducting research on artists from the Baltic region and beyond, assisting with the logistics of bringing major international shows to life. The role is designed to expand the Fellow’s skill set, from public engagement to practical training in operations such as developing interpretation materials.

Key eligibility criteria

  • Has relevant and demonstrable curatorial experience. Preference will be given to emerging practitioners who have not held full-time roles in museums and/or other major institutions;
  • Has demonstrable research and administration skills, with a methodical approach and attention to detail;
  • Has a higher education qualification (BA, MA or equivalent) in a relevant field such as curating, art history, visual culture or related disciplines;
  • Has a strong connection to, or sustained engagement with, the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and their diasporas). Examples include lived experience or heritage, working knowledge of a Baltic language, ongoing research or teaching, or a significant body of relevant curatorial work.

Salary & Job description

The full job description is available here.

How to apply

Applications are now closed.

Application deadline: 12:00 (noon) UK time, Monday 12 January 2026
Interviews: February 2026
Start date: April 2026

Selection process

Applications will be reviewed jointly by Upė Foundation and Hayward Gallery. Following an initial assessment, a shortlist of candidates will be invited to a first-round online interview with representatives from both organisations. A smaller group of finalists will be invited to a second interview. The selection panel will include members of Upė Foundation and Hayward Gallery. Decisions are made by consensus, with agreement required from the full panel at each stage.