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Invitation of researchers at INHA in 2026

Invitation of researchers at INHA in 2026

| Updated on 20 January 2025

Ongoing

Deadline : 31 march 2025

For the year 2026, in order to encourage national and international exchanges, the National Institute of Art History (INHA) will host researchers for a period of between 1 and 3 months. Researchers residing in metropolitan France are not eligible for this call. Priority will be given to senior researchers (having defended their thesis for at least 5 years) or history of art professionals having acquired equivalent professional experience, whether they are affiliated with an institution or independent.

Award procedures

The proposals will be reviewed by the INHA general Director, the Director of the Research Department (Département des études et de la recherche), the Director of the Library, the Scientific Director of the Festival de l’histoire de l’art, a member of INHA’s Scientific Council and a qualified expert. The main selection criterion is the excellence of the project, the innovative nature of the approach.

INHA will cover the researcher’s travel (one round-trip to Paris) and accommodation expenses (up to €1300 per month). INHA will provide a workstation, a privileged access to the INHA library and access to the computer and documentary resources offered by the documentation service of the INHA library. An additional monthly scholarship of 1300 € will be offered to researchers from a country ranked “medium” or “low” in the UN Human Development Index.

In addition, the priority areas listed in the INHA strategic project are Africa, Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Applications from these priority regions are strongly supported by INHA.

Application requirements

  • a curriculum vitae with a list of publications already published (or confirmed by the publisher)
  • a research project specifying the state of the art on the issue to be dealt with, the expected methodology and timeframe
  • a cover letter (specifying, if applicable, the need for an additional monthly scholarship)
    If you have any questions that are not covered in the list of frequently asked questions (FAQ), please contact the direction des études et de la recherche of INHA.

 

Applications must be submitted online on INHA’s application platform

Application deadline: 31 March, 2025

The results will be announced at the end of April, 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • No, it is not necessary that your research project submitted be related to one or more of INHA’s research programs. It is possible to propose a research project that is completely different from those carried out by INHA researchers. On the other hand, if the project submitted may have links with existing research programs at INHA, it is important to mention this in your application. Applicants may also, if they wish, contact researchers responsible of INHA research programs to discuss their application with them.

    The list of research programs is available on INHA’s website.

  • Yes, research projects may concern fields related to Museology as long as they include an art historical or archaeological dimension.

  • The research stay can be dedicated to scientific research prior to an exhibition project. However, work related to the production of the exhibition (working meetings for the scenography, mediation, shooting of mediation or communication videos, etc.) is not eligible under this call.

  • No. The research period must be used for the gathering of sources and documentation necessary for a research project; it must also involve exchanges with various researchers and professionals in Paris and the Paris region, or for the observation of works kept in France. However, the research period is not a writing residency.

    The calendar attached to your application must therefore justify the duration of the stay requested with clear indication of resources that will be consulted during the research period. The jury may award a shorter stay than that requested if the work schedule seems unsuitable.

  • It is possible to plan research trips outside of Paris, throughout the Ile-de-France region, throughout France. However, most of your research period must take place in the Paris region. Traveling expenses will not be reimbursed and will be paid by the researcher.

  • Your research can take place in the INHA library, but this is by no means an obligation. It is therefore possible for you to plan research in other institutions or private archives (for example), or even to conduct this research entirely outside the INHA library.

  • Yes, you should include as complete a list as possible of works, sources to be consulted during your research period. Resources available online or works that are easily accessible in applicant’s country of residence do not justify a research stay in Paris.

    Applicants should therefore consult the online catalogs of the institutions that interest them.

    The catalogue of the INHA library.

    The inventory of the INHA’s heritage collections.

     

  • The cover letter is not a summary of the research project. It must indicate how the research visit fits into your career and into a broader research project. It must explain the need for the Parisian stay, demonstrate how it fits in with other research periods already carried out, in progress or to come, and mention the consequences of this research period (publication, exhibition, etc.). The expected length of the cover letter is one to two pages.

  • Yes, it is possible to apply in this case if you have equivalent professional experience of at least 5 years (by professional experience we mean a full-time professional activity in the field of art history, archaeology or heritage). PhD holders who defended their thesis less than 5 years ago may apply but their applications will not be given priority.

    Doctoral students are not eligible, unless they already have significant professional experience (by professional experience we mean a full-time professional activity in the field of art history, archaeology or heritage).

  • Only those who reside in a country in the “medium” or “low” group according to the Human Development Index (HDI) defined by the United Nations Development Program can apply for a supplementary scholarship of 1300€ per month.

    https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_pays_par_IDH

  • Your application file can be written in French or in English. It is also possible to write one part of your file in French and the other in English. The members of the jury are both French and English speakers.

  • No, candidates are not expected to have contacted the other institutions in which they wish to conduct their research before submitting their application.

  • It is not necessary to have a good level of French to apply, the main thing is to be able to communicate well in English and to be able to conduct research in France.