International Museum Fellowship Programme - Germany

The International Museum Fellowship programme of Germany’s Federal Cultural Foundation (Kulturstiftung des Bundes) offers museums and public collections in Germany the opportunity to hire young, top-level foreign researchers and curators to work at their organisations.

Eleven museums across Germany are offering fellowships, each programme with a different theme.

SEE BELOW - each institution has different application deadlines!

The goal of the fellowship programme is to encourage museums in Germany to internationalise their themes, working methods and orientation, and to explore new forms of presentation and cooperation. The programme also aims to improve intercultural competence within the museums themselves, as well as strengthen international networks between scientists, curators and museologists.

The Federal Cultural Foundation has extended the funding period of the International Museum Fellowship programme until 2017. In the second round, 19 fellows will have the opportunity to work and conduct research at a German museum for 18 months. Depending on the project, the fellows’ research may be incorporated into a future exhibition.

For the fellows – outstanding young researchers, curators or museologists who already have initial working experience – this programme offers them the chance to gain further professional experience at a German museum, become acquainted with the latest scientific and methodological developments in their field in Germany, and establish contacts to colleagues and institutional partners for possible international joint ventures in the future. The fellowship holder will oversee a project under the supervision of a mentor, who works in a responsible position at the museum. Applying their relevant expertise, the fellowship holder will carry out independently the project related to the main areas of the museum’s exhibition, research and collection activities.

The mobile academy Fellow Me! will accompanying the current programme starting in May 2016. The academy serves as a network for the participating fellows and encourages museums to discuss the possibilities and challenges of museum work in the future. The first part of the mobile academy took place from May 2013 to October 2014. For more information, materials, photo spreads and video portraits, visit the “Fellow Me!” website at: www.fellow-me.de

The Federal Cultural Foundation has allocated 2.58 million euros to fund the International Museum Fellowship from 2011 to 2016 and an additional 3.9 million euros to fund the International Museum Fellowship Programme from 2015 to 2018.

The following participating museums are now looking for Fellows:

Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg - deadline: 18 January

Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz - deadline: 15 February

Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden - deadline: 6 December

Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtechnik Berlin - deadline: 31 January

MEWO Kunsthalle Memmingen - deadline: 6 January

Staatliches Museum für Archäologie Chemnitz - open to Czech fellows only

Historisches Museum Frankfurt - deadline 31 December

Kunsthalle Bremen - deadline: 21 December

Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum Leipzig - deadline: 15 January

Deutsches Schifffahrtsmuseum Bremerhaven - deadline: 7 January

Flensburger Schifffahrtsmuseum - deadline: 8 January