For a translation of this page into Arabic, kindly provided by Dr Farah Aboubakr, please click here (opens as PDF).
This Fellowship supports an artist of Palestinian heritage to spend a period of two months as a Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) between May and July 2025. A key objective of the Fellowship is to support the artistic practice of those who have faced severe threats to their lives and/or artistic practice and freedom of expression, or who have been forced to flee because of conflict or discrimination. Artists can be working in any field of practice.
The Fellowship provides a grant for living expenses in the UK which is currently at the monthly rate of $3,000 (approximately £2,290), and a contribution of £1,000 towards the cost of travel to the UK. IASH will also cover visa fees for the successful applicant.
The Artist at Risk Fellow enjoys a private office in the Institute, with all the usual research facilities, and is a member of IASH’s lively research community. They will be expected to play a full part in the activities of the Institute, and to give one seminar, showing or sharing of work on their current artistic practice during their tenure at IASH.
Applications for the 2025 round will close on 15 November 2024 at 17:00 UK time.
Eligibility
The Fellowship is open to professional artists in any field of practice. Applicants must be able to evidence a career in the arts of at least three years through a portfolio, showreel, publication list, CV, etc. Artists at the very beginning of their careers and students are unlikely to be successful. Preference is given to applicants who are facing or have recently fled from immediate, severe and targeted threats to their lives and/or artistic practice in their home countries or countries of residence; and who demonstrate both promise and accomplishment within their artistic practice.
Applicants must be of Palestinian heritage, previously or currently based in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, East Jerusalem, Israel or diaspora.
The successful Fellow must have a good standard of English language, at least CEFR standard (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) level B2 or C1, to allow for academic and artistic community engagement. Certification is not required.
Application materials must be supplied in English. Translations of any non-English language documents such as certificates and references must be supplied, along with the original document.
The visit to Edinburgh must be taken up for a two-month period either May-June or June-July 2025. No other dates are available. Fellows are expected to be resident in Edinburgh for the duration of their Fellowship, except by special agreement with IASH.
Application process
Please send a CV / digital portfolio of work as well as a cover letter (no more than 2 pages) to iash@ed.ac.uk containing the following information by 17:00 UK time on Friday 15 November:
- Why you are interested in the Fellowship.
- A short statement about you and your work or artistic practice. The statement should also outline what you plan to work on while in Edinburgh.
- A short statement about your personal circumstances including (if appropriate) details of the threat of persecution or violence or restrictions due to your practice, identity or beliefs.
If you have any questions about the application process or Fellowship, please don’t hesitate to get in touch at iash@ed.ac.uk.
Applicants can make contact with Dr Farah Aboubakr, Lecturer in Arabic and IASH Affiliate (2023-25), if they have questions about artistic opportunities in Edinburgh or the wider cultural landscape in the UK: farah.aboubakr@ed.ac.uk