2022 Research Fellowship Applications Now Open
We are calling for applications to our 2022 Research Fellowships. This program encourages new research on the work, ideas, and creative legacies of Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson. Our second Fellowship season focuses on two topics: Earthwork Ethics and Local Narratives, with each Fellowship based around a specific research project.
Our Fellowship Program is open to graduate students, recent college graduates, doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, artists, early career museum professionals, and Holt and Smithson scholars working towards a specific publication, exhibition, or project. Researching from their home base, Fellows will receive compensation of $3,540 and a travel allowance.
2022 Fellowship Program Topics
Earthworks Ethics
There is much scholarship addressing land use and Land Art that needs to be conducted. The Earthworks Ethics Fellowship invites proposals from researchers with an interest in exploring the sites of Holt and Smithson’s earthworks, sculptures, and unrealized projects in relation to the complex implications of interventions. Indicate which site you are interested in researching in your application and your central research question/s. The expansive focus of Earthwork Ethics includes topics addressing indigenous land rights, ecological consequences of building earthworks, the impact on the natural world of Smithson’s flows and pours, managing increasing visitorship, approaches to restoration/conservation, and entropic change.
Local Narratives
We welcome applications from candidates based locally to artworks by Holt and Smithson to conduct research about artwork, site, and local contexts. The focus could be on sites of public sculptures or earthworks (for example Lake Placid, New York or Emmen, The Netherlands); former sites of artworks (for example Florida Keys or Kent State University); a specific location important to Holt or Smithson (for example the New Jersey Meadowlands or the Great Basin Desert); or the location of an unrealized project (for example Miami Islet or Dallas Fort Worth Airport). The Local Narratives Fellow will be expected to consult local archives to develop their research project. Indicate which site you are interested in researching in your application.
Application Procedure
Applications are now open for the 2022 Research Fellowship cycle at Holt/Smithson Foundation and will close on February 1, 2022 at 11:59 MST. Awarded fellow(s) will be notified of their acceptance by March 15 and fellowships are scheduled to run between May 1 and September 30 of 2022.
To apply, please email the below materials to Edna Riley at contact@holtsmithsonfoundation.org. Include the name of the Research Fellowship for which you are applying (for example Earthworks Ethics or Local Narratives) in the subject line.
—Personal Statement: consisting of no more than 500 words, explain how your Holt/Smithson Foundation Research Fellowship selection fits with your wider research objectives. Include the reasons for your choice, describe what you hope to achieve from the Fellowship, and what you can contribute to Holt and Smithson Studies.
—Writing: provide a 500-word text on a single artwork by Holt or Smithson, or a published article on a related topic.
—Resume/Curriculum Vitae: please limit to four pages.
—Letters of Recommendation: applicants must request one confidential letter of recommendation, to be sent directly to the Foundation email address above.
—Timing: indicate the period/s when you wish to schedule the Fellowship.
Each Fellow is expected to:
—Complete the project and deliverables in the prescribed four-week time frame.
—Attend regular virtual and in-person meetings with relevant member/s of the Team as required.
—Complete all administrative tasks relating to the selected research focus area.
—Supply your own working materials and equipment.
—Submit the agreed deliverables on the last day of your Fellowship.
—If appropriate, agree your research will be published, fully accredited, by the Foundation.
You will receive:
Compensation of $3,540 paid fifty percent upon agreement acceptance and fifty percent upon completion, upon receipt of an invoice and project deliverables.
Access to digital materials in Holt/Smithson Foundation’s collection.
