Organizer Information
The Alkazi Foundation for the Arts (AFA), in collaboration with the Charles Wallace India Trust (CWIT) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), organizes the Curatorial Research Fellowship 2027. This is the third edition of the Visiting Curatorial Research Fellowship, offering mid-career cultural producers from India an opportunity to undertake research within the V&A’s Photography Section in South Kensington, London. The fellowship connects independent research and curatorial practice with the V&A’s extensive global photography collections.
Title & Description
Curatorial Research Fellowship 2027
Curatorial Research Fellowship 2027 is a 3–6 month visiting research fellowship for mid-career cultural producers in India. The selected Fellow will conduct original, humanities-driven research using the V&A’s photography collections and contribute to ongoing projects within its Photography Section.
Applicants are invited to propose research projects with clearly defined aims and intended outcomes, such as an exhibition or publication. Proposals should establish a meaningful connection with the V&A collections and may explore themes concerning the relationships and intersections between the Indian subcontinent and the wider world, without being restricted to a particular geopolitical framework.
The fellowship also encourages projects that can contribute to the applicant’s professional practice and have pedagogical or practice-oriented dimensions.
Categories
- Curatorial Research
- Photography
- Visual Arts
- Art History
- Lens-Based Practice
- Writing
- Cultural Research
- Exhibition Research
Eligibility
The fellowship is open to Indian citizens domiciled in India, aged 25–45.
Applicants should be mid-career cultural producers, including:
- Artists
- Scholars
- Writers and editors
- Curators
- Independent or institutionally affiliated practitioners
Applicants should demonstrate existing knowledge relevant to photography history, contemporary lens-based practice, or related fields, as well as the ability to successfully complete the proposed project.
Applications must be submitted individually; collectives cannot apply, and applicants may submit only one project.
Program Benefits & Awards
- £1,600 monthly stipend
- £800 contribution toward international return airfare, provided by CWIT
- Visa expenses covered by the Alkazi Foundation
- Access to the V&A’s Photography Section and its collections for research
- Opportunity to contribute to ongoing projects at the Photography Section
- Promotion and distribution of the resulting published work through the organizations’ networks
- Potential connections to editors and other professionals through the Alkazi Foundation to support publication
The fellowship funding can contribute toward travel, accommodation, meals, and local transportation, which the Fellow will arrange after receiving the fellowship.
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Applications should be sent by email to alkazifoundation01@gmail.com, with “Curatorial Research Fellowship 2027” in the subject line.
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 7 November 2026
- Awardee Announcement: February 2027
- Fellowship Commencement: April 2027
- Fellowship Duration: 3–6 months
- Post-fellowship article: Expected within three months of returning to India
Location
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
Additional Details
The proposal must present realistic objectives achievable within 3–6 months and clearly explain its relationship to the V&A’s collections. Ongoing research projects may be submitted if the proposed fellowship demonstrates a qualitative enhancement of the existing research.
Projects intended primarily for exhibition catalogues or monographs connected to another institution or commercial space are not eligible. Proposals requesting funding for infrastructure, equipment, or operating cultural facilities, archives, or collections are also excluded.
The Fellow is expected to submit an article based on their research, which may be published on the AFA, CWIT, or V&A website. Copyright of the article’s aesthetic and intellectual content remains with the applicant, although the organizers retain the right of first publication and primary publishing rights are to be shared among the applicant, AFA, CWIT, and V&A.