OVERVIEW

The Smithsonian Institution’s Time-based Media and Digital Art Working Group (SI-TBMA) is proud to announce the SI-TBMA Conservation Fellowship, a two-year fellowship that will begin October 2023. The successful candidate will be able to pursue independent research in the conservation of time-based media and digital art, with access to the collections of multiple museums within the Smithsonian Institution. The potential Smithsonian sites include the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (CHSDM), the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (HMSG), the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). The selection committee encourages applicants to be creative in how they approach their research proposals to make use of the multi-institutional nature of the fellowship.

Some suggested areas of research that are currently being pursued by relevant staff include software dependencies, shared stewardship, and issues surrounding collecting emergent technologies. However, we encourage applicants to completely disregard these topics in favor of their own interests in time-based and digital media conservation should they wish. Applications will not be penalized for omitting them. 

For more information, including application instructions and eligibility criteria, please visit the SI-TBMA Conservation Fellowship announcement site.

STIPEND

The fellowship comes with an annual stipend of $62,000, an annual health allowance of $5,000, and an annual research allowance of up to $3,000. A budget detailing the use of the research allowance must be included in the research proposal.

Please note that Cooper Hewitt is located in New York City, while the other units are based in Washington, DC. Research proposal budgets should include travel considerations for research that would include both locations.  

APPLY

The following is a list of the potential Smithsonian Institution sites and points of contact for each. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to the points of contact for any questions regarding their proposal: