Research and Fellowship - Connecting Art Histories in the Museum. The Mediterranean and Asia, Germany

The scholars study objects or groups of objects with the aim of fostering the dialogue between Western, Byzantine, Islamic, Asian and African art histories in the museums. Instead of concentrating exclusively on the objects’ place in the history of pre-modern art, the research program is concerned with the modern repercussions and relationship between diverse historical topographies. These dynamics are examined in the light of the following questions: How can art historical research deal with the transfer and exchange of moveable or immoveable cultural heritage? How did museums in the past articulate political and cultural attitudes towards historical sites of the production, accumulation, and translation of artifacts? And how do museums, especially new museums, do this today? How do museum displays evaluate and present the ritualistic and aesthetic dimensions of objects? What possible dynamics can be created by the constellations of objects in the museums that are alien to each other in provenance and historical context of consumption?

Museums play a key role in the ongoing redefinition of art and art history and their relation to aesthetics, anthropology, and politics in the decentralized, globalized twenty-first century. With their »universal« collections and ongoing remodellation, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin offer a unique opportunity for research using multidisciplinary approaches on artifacts from different cultures and civilizations.

International doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers in art history and related disciplines can apply for the fellowship program. Fellows also have the chance to provide curatorial assistance on individual exhibitions, as well as contribute to the development of new concepts for exhibition practices. Through joint activities of the research group, such as seminars, workshops, excursions, and conferences, its interaction with the Art Histories and Aesthetic practicesprogram the scholarly exchange and research collaboration both within and outside the museums have been optimally developed. A joint book series (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin/Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz) presenting the results of the individual projects was started in 2014.