This year’s Call for Fellows at Nieuwe Instituut begins with Tool Sheds as a starting point. The invitation is extended to applicants to conceptualize, design, and experiment with applied research tools, instruments, methods, formats, and processes. The goal is to facilitate generative world-building using material, theoretical, political, time-based, or place-based sets of practices.
Embracing Diverse Forms of Research
This call encourages diverse forms of research, inviting applicants to embrace embodied forms of knowing, learning, and investigating. It also prompts deeper consideration of the connection between theory and practice. Nieuwe Instituut and its Research collective are actively exploring the role of museums and cultural institutions as ‘testing grounds’ for action-based research. This exploration aims to enact a society that supports all life while redefining the role of research within cultural institutions.
The Role of the Tool Shed
The Tool Shed, a concept developed by the Research team, serves as a platform for public interaction with research. It offers tools while also inviting external contributors to share their own tools. The Tool Shed functions as a node for facilitating collaborations between publics and the Research team, utilizing existing tools, methodologies, and proposing new ones.
Fluid and Accessible Research Tools
The Tool Shed aims to house fluid, flexible, and multi-disciplinary research tools and methodologies. These tools cater to material, theoretical, political, time-based, or place-based practices. Accessibility is enhanced through neighborly borrowing, fostering collaboration between researchers, disciplines, ambitions, and public engagement. The Tool Shed is not just a collection of neatly defined instruments; it’s a space for exploration, alternative discovery, and skill mixing.
Call to Action
This open call invites applicants to contribute to Nieuwe Instituut’s Tool Sheds as platforms for knowledge sharing. Alternatively, applicants can propose connections with their own action-based and applied research Tool Sheds, networks, and practices.
Research Fellowship Details
Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals addressing investigations, explorations, or thoughts through the lens of architecture, design, and digital culture. Proposals should clearly define focus, aims, and socio-economic, nature-cultural, and political contexts. Nieuwe Instituut advocates for collaborative practices beyond individual authorship, promoting multi-perspective approaches and engagement across disciplines.
Stipends and Facilities
Nieuwe Instituut offers two Research Fellowship positions for six months (January to June 2024), each with a budget of 20,000 euros. Access to Nieuwe Instituut’s facilities, resources, and opportunities to engage with the public is provided. Fellows are encouraged to share their research processes and potential outcomes.
Submission and Selection
Applications are open from June 19 to September 10, 2023. To apply, send a single PDF including contact information, self-introduction, research project connection to Tool Sheds theme, proposed timeline, and methodology. Applications are reviewed based on engagement, investigation depth, and connection to Nieuwe Instituut’s mission.
Embrace the Call
No age limit applies, and individuals and collectives from all residencies are welcome to apply. English proficiency is considered but not a sole criterion. The call promotes collaborative and creative approaches in design, architecture, and digital culture.
Apply now to shape the future of applied research with Tool Sheds at Nieuwe Instituut. Submission deadline: September 10, 2023.
