REDEFINING THE FRAMEWORK OF ART HISTORY IN CANADA
The Redefining Canadian Art History Fellowship is intended to contribute to a fundamental re-working of the narrative of Canadian art history by incentivizing major research projects on the full range of visual culture across the country in all of its rich diversity.
The fellowship was established in 2021 because the history of art in Canada that has been exhibited in museums and taught in schools and universities has followed a colonial narrative, rarely recognizing critical contributions that have been made by historical artists who are women, Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Diaspora, 2SLGBTQQIA+, Nonbinary, Gender Nonconforming, Deaf, and Living with Disabilities.
SUPPORTING THE WORK OF EMERGING SCHOLARS
Each year, the Art Canada Institute awards emerging scholars with fellowships of $30,000 for one year to study an archival or museum collection or body of work that is related to an artist overlooked due to gender, racial, or cultural background.
Projects normally focus on a single artist, though they may also explore artists who worked together as part of a collective or together within a community of practice. Areas of research specialty may include, but are not limited to, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit art; Black Canadian art; Asian Canadian art; art by racialized Canadian artists; and Canadian art and gender and sexual diversity.
Fellows must have a background in research (in art history, history, museum studies, sociology, or another field connected to their proposed topic), such as an MA or PhD, or they must demonstrate equivalent experience.
INSIDE THE FELLOWSHIP EXPERIENCE
Fellows are given the exclusive opportunity to join a dynamic community of researchers in a 12-month program that includes:
- Mentorship by trailblazing figures in the Canadian art world
- Networking opportunities in cities across Canada
- Participation in a supportive community of practice
- Participation in a national public symposium
- A professional publishing contract with ACI to produce an online art book
Banner images: [1] Edward Mitchell Bannister, Newspaper Boy, 1869, oil on canvas, 76.6 x 63.7 cm, Collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, Gift of Jack Hafif and Frederick Weingeroff (1983.95.85). [2] P. Mansaram, Image India #53, 1994, ink on paper, Collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, © ROM. [3] Lady Henrietta Hamilton, Portrait of Demasduit (Mary March), 1819, watercolour on ivory miniature, Collection of Library and Archives Canada. [4] Germaine Arnaktauyok, Tattoo Lady, 1999, etching, 36.8 x 27.9 cm, various collections.