Art, Memory and Circles of Connection – Artists’ Networks in late 19th-British and Belgian Spaces of Exchange
Eligibility: UK/International (including EU) graduates with the required entry requirements
Duration: Full-Time – between three and three and a half years fixed term
Application deadline: 15 January 2025
Interview date: Will be confirmed to shortlisted candidates
Start date: May 2025
For further details contact: Professor Juliet Simpson
Introduction
This PhD project explores the artistic networks developed between late nineteenth-century Britain and Belgium, to extend understanding of their interacting sites of memory, production and creative exchange between the 1860s-1910s.
Project details
Focusing on artist interactions between London, Brussels and other key loci of exchange, including in the art press and art criticism, this study’s key aim is to shed light on why and how interconnecting, transnational artistic visions and practices stimulated cultural arenas for new projections of modernity. A first area of consideration for this PhD is to explore expanded contexts of art reception between key British and Belgian cultural sites; this may include international responses to Pre-Raphaelite circles, and to John Ruskin’s writings. Second, will be to consider interactions between these networks and gender in creating opportunities for women as artists, designers and craftswomen, operating within and beyond perceived constructs of ‘separate spheres’ of male and female artistic activity. A third, related key area of enquiry will be to examine the significance and porous identities of cultural spaces in expanding circles of artistic exchange, and in their uses by artists across geo-cultural borders as sites of cultural memory, gender and identity-construction. As well as through exhibitions and other public spaces of display – notably museums and art galleries, this study will develop understanding of an expanded range of sites of art via private collections, intimate spaces of ateliers, workshops, artists’ homes or indeed, in letters, diaries and journals. Taken together, this PhD will open insights into pivotal artistic and geo-cultural ecologies between Britain and Belgium as arenas of artistic innovation and exchange to shape cross-cultural sites of modernity, gender and artistic agency.
This PhD studentship is offered in partnership with KU Leuven. It is expected that the successful applicant will spend up to 12 months in Belgium.
Funding
This is a fully-funded studentship, including tuition fees and stipend/bursary.
Benefits
The successful candidate will receive comprehensive research training including technical, personal and professional skills.
All researchers at Coventry University (from PhD to Professor) are part of the Doctoral- Researcher College, which provides support with high-quality training and career development activities.
Entry requirements
- A minimum of a 2:1 first degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum 60% mark in the project element or equivalent with a minimum 60% overall module average.
PLUS
- The potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within a 3.5 years.
- A minimum of English language proficiency (IELTS academic overall minimum score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each component).
Additional specifications
Advanced proficiency in French language skills (reading); intermediate proficiency in French language skills (written and spoken)
How to apply
To find out more about the project, please contact: Professor Juliet Simpson.
All applications require full supporting documentation, a covering letter, plus a 2000-word supporting statement showing how the applicant’s expertise and interests are relevant to the project.
Apply to Coventry University
