Virginia Spate Research Fellowships

These fellowships are for Australian researchers to live and work in Paris for a 3-month period in order to undertake work on a specific research project in relation to art and visual culture, making use of the city’s research resources. The program seeks to support research projects for which the fellowship would make a demonstrable difference to the quality, scope, or completion of the applicant’s project. 

The Committee will award two Virginia Spate Research Fellowships per year: 

• Fellowship 1: For University of Sydney staff-members or PhD candidates. 
• Fellowship 2: For all other researchers. 

Each fellowship includes: 

• A $20,000 AUD grant for travel and living expenses;  
• Support in finding accommodation for the duration of the trip; and 
• Access to Paris’s world‑class archives, collections and research networks.   

Key dates

Applications open: 20 May 2026.

Applications close: Midnight, 30 June 2026.

Applicants notified of outcome: September 2026. 

Eligibility requirements 

These fellowship are open to all researchers in the fields of art and visual culture. 

Applicants must be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident. 

Applicants cannot have previously received a fellowship through the Power Institute (such as at the Cité Internationale des Arts).

Fellowship 1

Applicants must be University of Sydney PhD candidate or staff member:  

• An eligible "PhD candidate" means someone who is enrolled as a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney at the application closing date. 
• An eligible "staff-member" is someone who, within two months of the application closing date, has been or will be employed by the University as a Professional or Academic staff-member, including those on continuing, casual, temporary or fixed term appointments. This does not include those engaged under other forms of contracts. 

Fellowship 2 

Applicants must be researchers at a level of PhD candidate or higher.  

This can include: 

• University-based students or at any stage of their career; 
• Independent researchers;
• Museum or gallery curators; or
• Archivists and collection specialists 

Selection Process and Criteria 

The fellowships are awarded by a Committee chaired by the Director of the Power Institute. Both fellowships will be awarded with strict regard to the following criteria: 

1. The quality and originality of the applicant’s project. 
2. The relevance, significance and accessibility of the Paris-based research resources to the project. 
3. The potential for the fellowship to further the applicant's professional development at this stage of their career.     

Selection criteria guidance 

Criteria 1: The quality and originality of the applicant’s project 

Proposed projects should be focused on art and/or visual culture. The research may contribute to a variety of forms including, but not limited to, scholarly monographs and essays, exhibitions and their catalogues, and extended scholarly collaborations. 

In their application materials, applicants should demonstrate: 

• Their project’s intellectual clarity and coherence, and its use of an appropriate methodology or curatorial approach; 
• The significance and originality of their project within the fields of art and visual culture, and the narrower field of the applicant’s expertise/profession; 
• Their proposed research is founded in strong research questions or curatorial aims; and 
• The Paris-based research can feasibly be carried out within the three-month Fellowship period.  

Criteria 2: The relevance, significance and accessibility of the Paris-based research resources to the project 

Proposed projects should relate to research materials located in Paris or areas easily accessible from Paris. Research materials may include, but are not limited to, specific sites, archives, library or museum collections. 

In their application materials, applicants should demonstrate: 

• That the applicant has identified relevant and accessible research materials;
• A strong and specific connection between the proposed project and the research materials; 
• Why the research cannot be undertaken adequately from the applicant’s home institution or remotely; and  
• A realistic plan for engaging with the research materials during the fellowship period. 

Criteria 3: The potential for the fellowship to further the applicant's professional development at this stage of their career 

The Committee are looking for projects that will contribute significantly to an important advancement in the applicant’s professional development. Such an advancement could include completion of a thesis or dissertation, development of a first book or major publication, advancement of a significant curatorial or exhibition project, transition to a new research field or establishment of significant international collaborations. The Committee recognises that the nature of such advancements differs across career stages and professional pathways. 

In their application materials, applicants should demonstrate:

• Their present professional situation and ambitions; 
• The timeliness of the fellowship for the applicant; and
• The likely impact of the fellowship on the applicant’s professional development, and their access to other forms of institutional support to facilitate this. 

Fellowship conditions

• The Fellowship is intended to cover a research trip of 3 months. The Power Institute will be able to provide support in locating appropriate accommodation, drawing on our existing Paris networks. 
• $20,000 (AUD) will be provided to Fellows to contribute to travel and living expenses (including accommodation). Payment will be made approximately 6 weeks prior to travel. Successful applicants will need to have sufficient funds if they would like to book air tickets well in advance of commencement of residency.
• Upon return from their trip, fellows must share the outcomes of their fellowship with the Power Institute by way of a report and/or public event. 

Inquiries and more information

More information about the Power Institute and Virginia Spate can be found on the Power Institute's website. 

If you have any inquiries about the Residency or the application process, please email powerinstitute@sydney.edu.au