This fellowship program encourages new research on the work, ideas, and creative legacies of Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson. The foundation’s third Fellowship season focuses on two topics: Exhibition Histories and Local Narratives, with each Fellowship based around a specific research project.
The 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 $3,700 and a $250 research allowance.
Each Fellow is expected to:
—Complete the project and deliverables in the proscribed 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.
—Present a 30-minute public webinar sharing their findings.
—Submit the agreed deliverables on the last day of your Fellowship.
—If appropriate, agree your research will be published, fully accredited, by the Foundation.
Fellows will receive:
—Compensation of $3,700 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.
2023 Fellowship Program Key Topics
Local Narratives
The foundation welcomes applications from candidates based locally to artworks by Holt and Smithson to conduct research about artwork, site, and local contexts. The expansive focus of Local Narratives has the potential to address topics ranging across indigenous land rights, ecological contexts, local social histories, as well as topographical and geological analyses. The focus could be on sites of artworks (for example Cedar Grove, New Jersey or Pinsiö, Finland); former sites of artworks (for example Gallaudet College, Washington D.C. or Kent State University); a specific location important to Holt or Smithson (for example Yucatán, Mexico or Dartmoor, England); or the location of an unrealized project (for example the Panama Canal 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.
Exhibition Histories
The focus of the Exhibition Histories Research Fellowship will expand upon knowledge of the artists’ timelines and artistic practice. Currently there is no definitive exhibition history for either artist. This topic will be key to the Catalogues Raisonnés for Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson, which the Foundation is in the beginning stages of preparing. Indicate which artist you are interested in researching in your application, as well as any timeframes you wish to study. This Fellowship will use the existing—and partial—artist resumes as a starting point, with the aim to establish a precise inventory of which artworks were selected for each exhibition, and to correct any errors.
Application Procedure
Applications are now open for the 2023 Research Fellowship cycle at Holt/Smithson Foundation and will close on 1 February 2023 at 11:59 MST. Awarded fellow(s) will be notified of their acceptance by February 28 and fellowships are scheduled to run between May 1 and September 30 of 2023.
To apply, please email the below materials to contact@holtsmithsonfoundation.org. Include the name of the Research Fellowship for which you are applying (for example Exhibition Histories 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.
—Letter 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.