Opportunities

1.) Images Festival Curator-in-Residence

As we prepare for the 2027 Images Festival, we are thrilled to invite applications for our

Curator-in-Residence program. One curator will be selected from this process to join the 2026

residency. This selected curator will be invited to develop programming in response to the

festival’s recurring theme, “Metabolizing Moving Images,” and will curate a minimum of two

screenings by reviewing and selecting work submitted through our open call.

The selected Curator-in-Residence will receive a curatorial honorarium of $4,000 CAD, a

separate programming budget, and comprehensive administrative and production support from

the festival team—including hosting in-person screening sessions of festival submissions; artist

contracting and payment; media quality control; venue coordination; communications and

outreach support; editorial assistance; and more. The resident will be supported by the

Residency and Submissions Coordinator and will have access to the Images Festival archive,

office, and shared spaces at 401 Richmond.

Over the course of the residency, the curator will participate in collective submission screening

sessions, attend regular meetings, and be present for their own curated programs during the

festival. Each resident will develop and deliver at least two moving image programs,

incorporating at least one open call submission per program, meeting all Canadian content

requirements, and will write a programmatic essay for each program. Public, post-screening

discussions featuring participating artists are expected, though alternative public engagement

proposals are welcome, pending approval by the Programming Director. A final residency

feedback form will be required after the festival concludes.

The 2026 residency will host up to three Curators-in-Residence working both independently and

in dialogue with one another. While each curator may develop their own distinct programs,

shared discussion, feedback, and mutual support across the cohort are encouraged. Residents

must be available to attend in-person submission screening sessions (approx. 800 short films of

varying lengths) and must be present in Toronto to participate during October and November.

The residency runs from September 21, 2026 to May 2027, inclusive.

The festival is scheduled for April 2027, with exact dates to be confirmed.

For more information on how to apply, click here.

Deadline to apply: August 1st, 2026.

2.) Curatorial Residency & Submissions Coordinator

Contract Term: September 15 – December 18, 2026 (Approx. 15 weeks)

Schedule: 3 days/week (approx. 21 hours/week)

Rate: $26/hour

Total Contract Fee: $8,000

Location: In-person (Toronto)

Images Festival is seeking a Curatorial Residency & Submissions Coordinator to support

the pre-production phase of our 2026–2027 Curatorial Residency Program and the submissions

review process for the 2027 Festival.

This is a short-term, part-time contract focused on curatorial facilitation, artist-centered

communication, and submissions logistics. Reporting to the Programming Director, this role

supports the onboarding and project development of Curators-in-Residence and facilitates the

review of artist submissions. The position concludes in late December 2026, when the festival

production timelines for the Curatorial Residency begin.

This role is ideal for someone who is highly organized, collaborative, motivated, and excited by

experimental moving image culture. We are looking for a clear communicator who thrives in a

facilitative role and is energized by working alongside critically-engaged artists and curators.

Flexibility with scheduling—including evening and weekend availability—is essential, as the role

involves regular engagement with Curators-in-Residence.

For more information on how to apply, click here.

Deadline to apply: August 1st, 2026.

3.) Images Festival Emerging Curator

As we prepare for the 2027 Images Festival, we are thrilled to invite applications for the Images

Festival Emerging Curator (IFEC) program. One emerging curator will be selected from this

process to join the 2026-27 programming team. This selected curator will be invited to develop

programming in response to the festival’s recurring theme, “Metabolizing Moving Images,” and

will curate one screening by reviewing and selecting student work submitted through our open

call.

The IFEC will receive a curatorial honorarium of $2,000 CAD, a separate programming budget,

and comprehensive administrative and production support from the festival team—including

hosting in-person screening sessions of festival submissions; artist contracting and payment;

media quality control; venue coordination; communications and outreach support; editorial

assistance; and more. The resident will be supported by the Residency and Submissions

Coordinator and will have access to the Images Festival archive, office, and shared spaces at

401 Richmond.

Over the course of the residency, the curator will participate in submission screening, attend

regular meetings, and be present for their own curated programs during the festival. They will

deliver one moving image program, meeting all Canadian content requirements, and will write a

programmatic essay for each program. Public, post-screening discussions featuring participating

artists are expected, though alternative public engagement proposals are welcome, pending

approval by the Programming Director.

The opportunity takes place in-person from September 21, 2026 to May 2027, inclusive.

The festival is scheduled for April 2027, with exact dates to be confirmed.

For more information on how to apply, click here.

Deadline to apply: August 1st, 2026.

Images Festival operates on land stolen from the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, the Huron-Wendat, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Tkáron:to is currently home to diverse Indigenous and Métis peoples as well as people who settle on this land. As part of Treaty 13 and the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Covenant, we acknowledge that we all eat from the same bowl and spoon, and must take only what we need, ensuring resources are available for all. 

As art workers, artists, and curators, we see the process of untangling ourselves from settler complicity as internal, structural, and ongoing. It is not something to be taken lightly. The inclusion of Indigenous artists and curators into our program is just the first step of necessary and deeper change. Extending from our organizational accountability work, we strive to not only undo forms of complicity, but also actively create an environment and infrastructure that can support Indigenous peoples who work with us. 

Images expresses our solidarity with Indigenous people on Turtle Island and globally. We are committed to continuing to learn, critique, and challenge the settler colonial structures we are complicit in.