The University of Nottingham is offering two funded curatorial residencies (senior and junior level) to give two curators an opportunity to be part of a UK Arts and Humanities Research Council-funded research project “Photography as Political Practice in National Socialism”.
Each residency offers 9 weeks of focused time for collaborative working with a research team to address the challenges faced in using photographs in exhibitions and public education about National Socialism and the Holocaust. The residencies will take place in three three-week blocks ideally in November/December 2018, January/ February/March 2020 and November/December 2020 - exact dates are negotiable.
Eligibility
Applicants should be employed by a relevant museum, gallery or memorial site, with an employment contract that outlasts the research project’s end date (January 2021). Applicants should have the support of their home institution and permission to spend the required 9 week residency, spread across the three years of the project, as dedicated research time (see also Application Requirements). The award holders will be expected to spend time on the University of Nottingham campus, attend team meetings and discussions, participate in workshops and conferences, and contribute to publications and concept papers.
Applications are welcome from curatorial staff from museums, galleries and memorial sites across the UK and EU. The senior curatorial residency offers a contribution in lieu of either full or partial salary costs to the employing institution of £21,790. It is anticipated that a senior curator would have significant and extensive curatorial experience gained in a relevant institutional setting. The junior curatorial residency offers a contribution in lieu of either full or partial salary costs to the employing institution of £16,990. It is anticipated that a junior curator would have some recent curatorial experience in a relevant institutional setting.
Background to the research project
The project involves an interdisciplinary research team, led by Principal Investigator Professor Maiken Umbach, and will work closely with museum partners to address the challenges faced in using photographs in exhibitions and public education about National Socialism and the Holocaust. The key aims are to problematise the use of propaganda photos in exhibitions that are meant to document the experience of victims, and to find ways of drawing on private photos to make both perpetrator and victim perspectives and motivations more intelligible and relevant to contemporary audiences. To achieve this, our historical research on photographs taken by non-Jews and Jews in Germany and occupied countries under Nazi rule is integrated with pedagogic research on how such photos currently are, and could be, used by educators and in museums. The team will also work with computer scientists to develop new virtual and augmented reality interventions for museum spaces. The UK’s National Holocaust Centre and Museum are the official project partner; and the team also has links with the Imperial War Museum and with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Related research in the project explores pedagogic issues around the use of photographs in Holocaust education, and opportunities for digital interventions, such as Virtual Reality experiences, to help museums to use their collections in more effective ways. For more information about the project go to: www.nottingham.ac.uk/humanities/departments/history/research/research-projects/current-projects/photography-as-political-practice/photography-as-political-practice-in-national-socialism.aspx
The value of the residencies to curators
The two curatorial residencies are designed to enable professional curators to contribute to an emerging field of study and to build up EU-wide professional networks across the museum and higher education sectors. The residencies will provide opportunities to undertake collaborative research and contribute to academic and popular publications. On award a formal contract between the University of Nottingham and the award holders employing institution will be drawn up outlining the schedule of payments.
How to apply
Applicants should submit the following documentation by 30th March 2018 by email to maiken.umbach@nottingham.ac.uk. Informal inquiries can be directed to the same address before that date.
1. a letter (of no more than 2 pages A4) outlining their work in this, or related, fields, and what they and/or their home institution hope to gain from collaborating with the research project
2. a CV (of no more than 3 pages of A4) that includes a list of any publications
3. A letter of support from their employing institution (of no more than 1 page A4), signed off by the appropriate line manager or budget holder, confirming that the applicant will be given full institutional support for the residency in terms of dedicated time away from normal duties to fully participate over the 9 week duration.