London WC1X 9EW
UK
Upė Foundation and the Courtauld Institute of Art announce the Upė Foundation Scholarship, a three year programme supporting one Baltic student per academic year to live in London and undertake the university’s MA History of Art course.
Focusing on students from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and their diasporas, the Scholarship will encompass international course fees, a living stipend and a relocation allowance, beginning with the 2027–28 academic year.
The Scholarship marks a new direction for Upė Foundation, inaugurating its engagement with art education and pedagogy. Through sustained exchange with the Courtauld Institute and arts education centres in the Baltics, it aims to support the next generation of art historians and arts professionals from the region, and to bring Baltic perspectives, histories and research into an international academic context.
Upė Foundation Scholars will join the Courtauld Institute’s academic community, studying alongside leading art historians and drawing on the institution's teaching, research and collections. The programme excels at developing well-rounded and intellectually astute art historians and museum professionals equipped to make an important contribution to public life.
The Courtauld Institute was ranked as the world’s top institution for the study of History of Art in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Its MA in History of Art is one of the largest graduate Art History programmes anywhere in the world and offers an unrivalled combination of breadth and depth. The course provides research-led teaching in a unique, single-subject setting, complemented by the internationally renowned excellence of the Courtauld Gallery, which is famous for the quality of its collection and the ambition and scholarship of its exhibition programme.
Upė Foundation is a London-based organisation providing new platforms for dialogue and exchange between the Baltic region and international contemporary art communities. Founded in 2025, Upė began its work with a series of Upė Curatorial Fellowships, offering early-career curators the chance to take up an 18-month curatorial role with major institutions, working full-time as part of its team while developing their own practice. Four curators began placements in 2026 at Tallinn Art Hall in Estonia, Sapieha Palace in Lithuania, and the Hayward Gallery and Camden Art Centre in the UK, with a further Curatorial Fellowship scheduled to begin at Gasworks in London in 2027. With the intention to bring perspectives from other geographies into the Baltic region, further partnerships between Upė Foundation and leading Baltic institutions of art education, will be announced in the coming months.
Adomas Narkevičius, Founding Director of Upė Foundation, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Courtauld, one of the world’s leading institutions for the study of art. This scholarship marks an important first step in our long-term ambition to establish lasting pathways for Baltic perspectives to inform and expand international art historical and contemporary discourse.”
Professor Mark Hallett, Märit Rausing Director at the Courtauld, said: “We are very grateful to the Upė Foundation for making this scholarship possible, and look forward to welcoming students from the region to study at the Courtauld Institute.”
Applications are now open for students beginning the MA History of Art in the 2027–28 academic year. Applicants should apply for the programme and submit a Courtauld Scholarship Application Form by January 11.
Full details of the scholarship, including eligibility and value, are available on Upė Foundation website and the Courtauld's postgraduate funding and scholarships page.
About Upė Foundation
Upė Foundation is a London-based platform that draws currents between global and Baltic (Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian) art communities, setting new artistic, curatorial and research possibilities in motion. Upė focuses on horizontal, long-term exchange through a range of partnerships, fellowships and initiatives, amplifying new ideas, risk-taking work and underexplored perspectives. Upė is drawn to a field that is living, cross-disciplinary and imaginative, open to encounters between practices, contexts and communities.
About the Courtauld Institute of Art
The Courtauld works to advance how we see and understand the visual arts, as an internationally renowned centre for the teaching and research of art history and a major public gallery. Founded by collectors and philanthropists in 1932, the organisation has been at the forefront of the study of art ever since through advanced research and conservation practice, innovative teaching, the renowned collection and inspiring exhibitions of its gallery, and engaging and accessible activities, education and events.
Academically, the Courtauld Institute is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and conducting research on subjects ranging from creativity in late Antiquity to contemporary digital art forms—with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, the Courtauld offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating, art and business and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts, culture and business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
The Courtauld is an exempt charity and relies on generous philanthropic support to achieve its mission of advancing the understanding of the visual arts of the past and present across the world through advanced research, innovative teaching, inspiring exhibitions, programmes and collections.
