About the program
Our Visiting Research Fellowship Program provides a supportive environment for researchers to undertake research related to the Museum’s collection, education, conservation and museum practice. The fellowships enable researchers to access the Museum’s resources to support their research for a short period of time. The visit will initiate and develop collaborative research and facilitate interaction with, and training of, Powerhouse staff. Visiting fellows are expected to make a tangible contribution to the Museum during the period of their stay, for example, through presenting work-in-progress or research outcomes to Powerhouse staff or through the public programs offered by the Museum, professional development for Powerhouse staff, contributing to object statements, writing articles for publications, or by making a broad contribution to the Museum’s public programs.
The fellowships are targeted at established researchers such as university academics and independent scholars including creative research practitioners.
Applicants are required to have a PhD, experience working in a research environment (for example, a university, a museum), and a scholarly track record.
The Museum is seeking participants with proposals that address the Museum’s four strategic ambitions: curiosity, creativity, collaboration & sustainability, in addition to one of the eight key research areas:
- Technologies
- Health & medicine
- Physical sciences
- Engineering
- Architecture & the built environment
- Design & decorative arts
- Fashion
- Contemporary culture.
We are particularly interested in supporting projects that are interdisciplinary and address intersections between the art and science.
Application process
A completed Research Fellowship Program application form should be emailed to the Research Manager, Dr Deborah Lawler-Dormer: Deborah.lawler-dormer@maas.museum along with a copy of your CV.
Applications will be assessed by committee for approval by the Director Curatorial, Collections & Exhibitions.
Next deadline: Monday 28 September 2020, 5pm (AEDT) for projects to occur between January-December 2021.
Fellowships need to be taken up within 12 months of offer.
Resources
Fellows will be provided with access to:
- The Powerhouse collection – via current exhibitions or through a supervised exploration of objects in the basement store
- The research library
- The Museum’s public spaces
- Staff expertise – curatorial, conservation, education, programs, digital & media
- A work space
- Internet access
- Access to the EMu database (the Museum’s collection management system)
The Museum is unable to fund salary or travel expenses at the present time. Transport and living costs are funded by the researcher. Applicants from outside Australia will need to arrange their own visa, however, the Museum may assist by providing written documentation about your fellowship commitment.
Eligibility
Applicants seeking to visit the Museum from an Australian or overseas organisation may apply. Selection criteria:
- Research experience
- Research interests and their alignment with the strategic ambitions and disciplines of the Museum
- Proposed length of stay. It is expected that fellowship periods will be from 2 weeks – 2 months. The minimum length of stay is two weeks. For each week spent during the fellowship recipients are required to spend a minimum of 3 working days physically located at the Museum’s premises.
- Proposed research activities – proposals which include activities with the potential for ongoing collaboration with Museum staff will be considered positively
- Research benefits to both the researcher and the Museum
Copyright of all research produced as a result of the fellowship program will remain with the individual researcher but in all associated publications the researcher must acknowledge the role played by the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences.