Open Call: Attention Studies

14 January to 15 February. Free entry.

We are seeking expressions of interest for a new writing and discussion group, Attention Studies, hosted by The Physics Room in 2026. The group will be facilitated by writer and editor Gwynneth Porter, curator and writer Jane Wallace, and artist and director of The Physics Room James Tapsell-Kururangi.

We encourage new writers, non-writers, experienced writers, and those interested in or working in other disciplines. You do not need to have any experience writing about art–or at all–but an interest in collaborative and critical thought.

Attention Studies is a programme that aims to provoke perceptive thinking about art and related fields, workshopping and producing a quick-spirited publication that responds to a year of cultural production in Aotearoa. Over ten monthly sessions, the group will be supported to develop their own responsive and engaged writing practices. These workshops will be an opportunity to share and discuss writing together and collaborate towards a published outcome. Editorial support will be available, but Attention Studies also emphasises editing together. Writers will receive a fee for their contribution to this publication.

The time between sessions will be an opportunity to identify exhibitions, artworks, publications, performances, or other texts that you might be interested in writing about, and drafting a form of response to this to bring to the subsequent workshop.

There is an expectation that you will attend a majority of the monthly hui (February-October) and regularly contribute some form of writing to the group.

To apply, please submit a one-page pdf document or recorded audio or video file (under five minutes) with the following information to jane@physicsroom.org.nz by end of day Sunday 15 February:

– Bio outlining your current writing practice, or relationship to writing or critical studies, and some background about yourself
– Brief statement on why you would like to join the group
– An indication of your availability throughout the year
– A summary of an exhibition, book, film, or other media or cultural output that you have engaged with in the last six months

This programme is supported by Copyright Licensing New Zealand’s Contestable Funds Grant.