POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP @ WITS

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP in the Wits Art Museum, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

We invite applications for a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the WITS ART MUSEUM at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. This fellowship is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and will be situated in the Wits Art Museum. The fellow will work with the curators of the Wits Art Museum and the Chair in the Centre for the Creative Arts of Africa on a research-driven re-engagement with the collections of historical and contemporary African arts in the Wits Art Museum. We are therefore looking for a fellow with research experience in one or more of the following fields: African art history, art education, museum studies, museum education or curatorship. Candidates should have defended their Ph.D. research between 2009 and 2014 and should not hold or have held full-time positions on the faculty of any higher education institution.

The fellow’s time will be divided across two tasks. On the one hand, the fellow will be expected to conduct original research (40 %). During the remaining time (60 %), the fellow will be expected to help academic divisions in Wits and at other institutions access, engage with, and use the collections in teaching and research. He/she will also have to outline and drive a series of seminars which will, at the end of the project, be published as a collection of essays. The fellow will furthermore be expected to participate in exhibitions and publications planned within the Wits Art Museum.

The Fellowship will be for a period of up to 24 months (although we may consider terms shorter than that) and will include: a return air fare up to a specified amount, depending on departure point; stipend (enough to sustain a single person or couple, but not a family); medical aid cover for the fellow; a shared office with own computer, library access and a small research grant per year. The fellowship project will start as soon as possible (but preferably by August 2014), and will end in July 2016.

Applications must be sent to Julia Charlton, (Senior Curator at WAM) Julia.Charlton@wits.ac.za  and should include:

Title and abstract of the doctoral thesis

Copies of degree certificate (or a signed letter from a supervisor saying that the degree will be completed before the candidate is due to take up the position)

Copies of completed articles or published essays (if any)

A Curriculum Vitae (Resumé)

A letter of motivation

The names and email addresses of two referees, one of whom should be the supervisor of the doctorate.

Submission deadline 15^th of May 2014