M+ / Design Trust Research Fellowship 2019

Introduction
M+ and Design Trust are pleased to announce that the M+ / Design Trust Research Fellowship 2019 has expanded to award two separate fellowships. One fellowship will support a research project focused on Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region in an Asian or global context, and the second fellowship will support a research project related to Asia more broadly, closely in line with the curatorial position of the Hong Kong–based institution M+.

Applicants should engage in advanced research on historical or contemporary topics relating to either a single discipline (such as architecture, graphic design, industrial design, or urbanism) or cross-disciplinary developments, taking into consideration cultural, social, economic, and political milieus as well as international and cross-cultural networks.

The successful applicants will be attached to M+ for three to six months in 2019, conducting independent research, preferably on a full-time basis. Fellows are encouraged to engage with the museum’s curatorial staff and participate in M+ programmes. The fellowship should result in 1) a paper (5,000 words or more) to be disseminated digitally or in print by M+ and Design Trust, or an equivalent outcome in an alternative format; and 2) a lecture as part of the museum’s public programmes.

Eligibility
Applications are welcome from individuals of all nationalities whose areas of research are in design, architecture, or a related field. The provision of the fellowship, however, depends on whether the fellow can obtain a visa for Hong Kong.

Applicants should either hold a postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline or an undergraduate degree with a minimum of three years of relevant professional work or academic research experience. Proficiency in spoken and written English is also required.
 

Stipend
The M+ / Design Trust Research Fellow will receive a lump-sum stipend of up to 40,000 Hong Kong dollars per month for three to six months (determined on a case-by-case basis) to cover living, insurance, and research-related costs. An overseas fellow may request a one-time travel subsidy of up to 10,000 Hong Kong dollars, covering transportation between the place of origin and Hong Kong.

Assessment criteria
The following criteria are taken into account when assessing each application:

–Original proposal that expands and reinterprets existing knowledge, or produces new knowledge, of design and architecture in, or with an impact on, Hong Kong and the Greater Pearl River Delta region and/or Asia, within a regional and global context
–Potential for expanding the understanding and scope of the museum’s current and future collections, programming, and curatorial strategies in design and architecture
–Proven ability of the candidate to undertake advanced research

Review process
The fellowship will be awarded on a competitive basis by a committee comprising representatives from M+ and Design Trust. After the initial screening process, shortlisted candidates will be invited to an in-person or remote interview. 

How to apply
Applicants are required to provide:

–A completed application form
–A full curriculum vitae covering education, professional experience, honours, awards, and publications
–Two letters of recommendation (academic or professional), submitted directly from the referees

The deadline for submitting the application is August 13, 2018.

Please send all application materials digitally and address enquiries to designfellow@mplus.org.hk.

Notification
Interviews will be held during summer 2018. The results will be announced in autumn 2018. Applicants not notified within four weeks from the application deadline may assume that their applications were not successful.

About M+
M+ is a museum dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the 20th and 21st centuries. In Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, we are building one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world, with a bold ambition to establish ourselves as one of the world’s leading cultural institutions. Our aim is to create a new kind of museum that reflects our unique time and place, a museum that builds on Hong Kong’s historic balance of the local and the international to define a distinctive and innovative voice for Asia’s 21st century.

About Design Trust
Design Trust was established in 2014 by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, a registered charity in Hong Kong since 2007, as a grant-funding platform. Design Trust supports creative projects that develop expertise and build research initiatives and content related to Hong Kong and the Greater Pearl River Delta Region. Working across a multiplicity of design disciplines from graphics, media, and architecture to the built environment, Design Trust aims to actively accelerate creative research, design, and the development of meaningful projects that advocate for the positive role of design. For more information about Design Trust, please visit designtrust.hk.