Deadline: 10-Jan-23
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is pleased to announce its Exhibition Fund to support collaborative exhibitions and public engagement activities.
Projects should be collaborative with a combination of higher education institution (HEI) or independent research organisation (IRO) and the gardens, libraries and museums (GLAM) sector, as co-investigators, project or collaborating partners.
What they are looking for?
- The pilot opportunity will support the development of exhibitions co-created and co-designed by collaborative teams from across the HEI, IRO or GLAM sectors.
- While they welcome tested approaches, they also want to encourage innovative and creative approaches to delivering exhibitions with public engagement programmes that are grounded in arts and humanities research, and it is not their intent to be prescriptive in the opportunity.
- Proposals should demonstrate a strong, equitable partnership, with genuine co-design and co-creation of the project. The nature of the partnership and the roles of each team member should be outlined within the case for support.
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The opportunity is not designed to fund new research but support the development of exhibitions underpinned by existing research. However, they understand research is an important part of the process when developing an exhibition, therefore, some new research can be built into proposals if it is going to enhance the content of an exhibition. For example, this might include:
- Research around understudied parts of collections
- Research addressing thematic gaps which will help to provide a fuller picture to the exhibition narrative
- Research around visitor studies or audience engagement
- Opportunities for capacity building in research skills amongst staff or public participants
- Opportunities for public engagement in collections-based research
- Your project may also lead to the scoping of new future research opportunities.
- It is important that your project is collaborative, and your exhibition proposal allows for equitable working amongst all HEI, IRO, non-academic and community partners. They invite proposals that demonstrate clearly how:
- The research questions and remit of the exhibition (particularly for new research) have been scoped out collaboratively between all HEI, IRO and non-academic parties
- The project is relevant to all HEI, IRO and non-academic parties (for example, if working with an IRO or non-academic partner, they want to see how the research relates to their collections or long-term exhibition plans, and wider organisational goals)
- The principle investigator and co-investigators are uniquely placed to deliver the project in terms of their academic and professional background, and the skills and expertise they will bring to the project
- The IRO or non-academic partner is uniquely placed to collaborate and host the exhibition
- The project adds value to all HEI, IRO and non-academic parties, and how each collaborating partner brings value to the research
Funding Information
- AHRC will contribute up to £250,000 in total, to cover any new research activity, exhibition or public engagement activity costs and staff time.
- Duration: Projects can be up to 36 months in duration.
Outcomes and Impact
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They are looking for proposals that demonstrate strong potential for positive outcomes and impact for the HEI, IRO, non-academic parties and public audiences. Some examples include:
- Capacity and skills-building across HEI, IRO and non-academic parties, with an explanation of how this will add value to future workplans or career development
- Development of research areas which could enhance collections knowledge, contributes to future collections or exhibition development, or lead to future research scoping. For example, the temporary exhibition could lead to the development of a permanent display or a reinterpretation of a permanent collection. If a permanent display is intended, the proposal should include plans for the long-term care of the display or collection, outlining who would be responsible for this
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Positive impacts on public audiences, including:
- Improved sense of wellbeing and empowerment
- Opportunities to share their knowledge and experiences and contribute to research
- Enhanced knowledge and understanding of a subject matter
- Access to spaces, resources or expertise, and development of new skills that can help enhance their lives or work
Eligibility Criteria
- The lead applicant must be based at a UK research organisation eligible for AHRC funding.
- Projects should be led by a researcher based at an organisation eligible for UK Research and Innovation funding (for example, either a HEI or IRO).
- It is strongly encouraged projects include at least 1 non-academic partner. Non-academic partners must be based at a GLAM-sector public facing organisation with experience of hosting exhibitions such as a museum, gallery, library, archive, or heritage or arts centre.
- Non-HEI or IRO partners can be co-investigators, project partners or collaborating partners.
- Projects can draw upon expertise from other organisations from the culture or heritage sector, or from community organisations or groups, where appropriate to the project. Such partners may be included either as subcontractors or project partners
For more information, visit AHRC.
For more information, visit https://beta.ukri.org/opportunity/ahrc-exhibition-fund/
