Request for Proposals: Rome Fellowship Program

Every year one Rome Fellowship is offered to allow an individual the unique opportunity to undertake three months of dedicated research and work on a visually focused topic relating to cultural contact, exchange and influence between Britain (including its historical Empire and Commonwealth) and Italy, whilst being based at the British School at Rome (BSR).

Scopes

• The three-month Rome Fellowship based at the British School at Rome is designed to:
  • Facilitate original, focused and exciting research into a topic relating to British-Italian cultural contact, exchange and influence of any period from the medieval era to the contemporary. The subject area, disciplinary focus and approach may vary, but projects need to be centred on visual materials and themes, will demonstrate a rigorous understanding of the critical and historical issues, and will engage directly with local art and archive collections, the BSR’s own collections and/or the city as an architectural and cultural artefact.
• Recent Rome Fellow projects have focused variously on architectural and art-historical themes, on the classical heritage of Rome and its representation in film and photography, and relations between literature and aesthetics. Specific examples include:
  • Robert Turnbull Macpherson and his photographic vedute of Rome in comparison to works of other photographers in his time
  • Gothic revival atop the heirlooms of antiquity: Villa Mills and the Palatine Hill, ca.1818–1926
  • Henry Fuseli in Rome: defining a new, heroic style for British art

Funding Information

• For applicants employed by an organisation, organisation or university there will also be an honorarium of £3,000 and up to £8,000 towards replacement staff costs, if required.
• For independent scholars there will be an honorarium of £7,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• This fellowship is designed for an individual to work on a visually focused topic relating to Anglo-Italian cultural contact, exchange and influence, of any period from the medieval era onwards.
• Applications are welcome from scholars, researchers, curators, archivists and GLAM professionals, from immediately post-doctoral to those internationally recognised in their field of expertise. Applicants must have been awarded their doctorate by the closing date for applications.
• All applicants are expected to demonstrate how they will engage directly with local art and archive collections, the BSR’s own collections and/or the city as an architectural and cultural artefact. Applicants should demonstrate the value of being in Rome for the duration of the three months by providing specific details of the archives/collections/sites with which they wish to engage. Projects utilizing the BSR’s own archives and historical records would be especially welcome.
• Applications are open to individuals from any country, with fluency in English and who must be either competent in the Italian language or have a willingness to engage with it. Italian language lessons are provided on site at the BSR during the residency.
• The Rome Fellowship would normally be taken during one of the following three periods: late September to late December; January to March; April to June. Exact dates will be agreed with the British School at Rome. The fellowship cannot be deferred to a later academic year nor can it run concurrently with a fellowship awarded by another organisation.

Application Requirements

• To apply for a Rome Fellowship, you must use the online system at. Once registered you will be able to fill out the online application form (an example of which can be downloaded below) and provide the details of two referees. The option to provide the referee details will be available once the application is submitted. They will then contact the nominated referee with details on how to submit their reference which must be completed through the online system and must be no more than five hundred words.
• The referees should have first-hand knowledge of the applicant’s academic career and the subject area for which funding is being sought. The Advisory Council would like to be informed of the originality of the subject matter and the applicant’s suitability to pursue such research.
• If you have any access requirements or experience any issues using the online grants system (or accessing and filling out the application forms) then please do contact the Grants and Fellowships Manager who will be able to assist you.

For more information, visit Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.