Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study
NIAS – NIOD – KITLV Fellowship: Moving objects, Mobilising Culture in the Context of (De)colonisation
Location: Netherlands
Duration: 5 months (Sept 2025 – Jan 2026)
Application Deadline: 17 March 2025, 12:00 CET
The fellowship is intended for researchers from formerly colonised countries, including heritage practitioners, historians, archaeologists, social scientists, artists, journalists, and/or cultural activists. It focuses on the research of collections or objects (cultural, historical, ancestral, or artistic) that are currently located in the Netherlands. Fellows are invited to explore the significance, social histories, and trajectories of these objects and engage with related communities and collections in the countries of origin or elsewhere.
Key Information:
- Two fellowships available for the academic year 2025-2026 (September 2025 to January 2026)
- Compensation includes travel costs within the Netherlands (up to €500)
- Fellows will work with museums affiliated with the Colonial Collections Consortium, such as the Wereldmuseum, Rijksmuseum, Museum Bronbeek, and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.
- The fellowship aims to support autonomous research agendas, with the possibility of leading to restitution requests or innovative research on the social life of moving objects.
Eligibility:
- Researchers from formerly colonised countries, with a background in history, archaeology, social sciences, heritage, arts, journalism, or cultural activism
- Must be based in a country with collections currently in the Netherlands
