31-01-2025
The fellowship 'Moving objects, mobilising culture in the context of (de)colonization' is intended for researchers from formerly colonised countries with an interest in (lost) collections or objects from those countries or regions that are kept in the Netherlands.
We look forward to welcoming two fellows in the academic year 2025- 2026: both in the first semester (Sept 2025 - Jan 2026). The fellowship is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science through the Colonial Collections Consortium.
About the Fellowship
The Fellowship Moving objects, Mobilising Culture enables researchers and heritage practitioners from formerly colonised countries to access and conduct research on (collections of) objects – whether defined as cultural, historical, ancestral, art or otherwise – which are currently (lost) in the Netherlands, as well as on related archives and documentation. The fellows are invited to actively use, reflect on and engage with these collections, but are also encouraged to explore and (re-)establish connections with related communities, collections and sites in the country of origin or other countries. Fellows are encouraged to follow queries regarding the social histories and valuation of objects, in relation to or beyond questions of restitution, and to seek for the signification of objects and their trajectories in space and time, beyond the framings of heritage institutions or national histories.
The Fellowship is designed to enable selected candidates to use their stay in the Netherlands to prepare, develop or realise autonomous research agendas, that may or may not lead to restitution requests by countries of origin, and to explore opportunities for innovative and societally relevant research on the social life of moving objects in the context of broader debates about the history, nature, and future of heritage.
The host and accommodating institution is NIAS. NIOD and KITLV will provide structural support and supervision. The fellows are encouraged to conduct research in depots, archives and collections of the museums that are affiliated to the Colonial Collections Consortium (Wereldmuseum, Rijksmuseum, Museum Bronbeek and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands), and beyond.
Application deadline
17 March 2025