EXARC is proud to cooperate with America’s largest outdoor living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg, in an annual fellowship offer.
The 2023 Fellowship is closed.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation– EXARC Fellowship is intended to advance the research and scholarship of Archaeological Open-Air Museums through a partnership between EXARC, the international organization of Archaeological Open-Air Museums (AOAM) and Experimental Archaeology, and the Colonial Williamsburg, America's largest outdoor living history museum.
This fellowship will fund a one month of scholarship in residence at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Successful proposals will demonstrate potential to advance the understanding and practice of reconstructive and experimental archaeology, and its interpretation through structured experimentation to recreate material culture, technology, or life-ways of the past. Applicants need experience in Open-air museums, ancient technology, experimental archaeology or interpretation, applicable to the 18th century. This can be of American, European or other origin. Fellows are expected to be in continuous residence at Colonial Williamsburg and to actively participate in the intellectual life of the Foundation's research, educational, and interpretive campus.
Fellowships run for one month totaling $2,500.
Application Procedure
To apply please submit a succinct project abstract (maximum 250 words), a project description (not to exceed 1,000 words), and a c.v. Please indicate in your proposal the fellowship to which you are applying and whether you are a U.S. Citizen or eligible to visit the U.S. Proposals must be submitted electronically as PDF or Word files via email to fellowships@cwf.org. In addition, submit the names and contact information for two professional references who could provide a letter of recommendation at the request of the committee. Fellows are expected to be in continuous residence at Colonial Williamsburg and to actively participate in the intellectual life of the Foundation's research, educational, and interpretive campus.
More information: https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/learn/research-and-education/fellowships/
Photo Copyright: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Winners
2023
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announces the winner of its international experimental archeology research fellowship 2023: Baltimore, Maryland-based historical artisan Lauren Muney of “Silhouettes By Hand” will be researching independent traveling artists and their activities in the 18th century, basing her research on the own beloved portrait form: silhouette portraits. More information here.
2019
The winner in 2019 is Dr Giovanna Fregni, archaeologist, and previously employed as Gem Cutter and Jewellery Designer. She constructed a simple lapidary machine to polish and cut gems using materials and equipment available during the American Colonial period. More information here.
“Cuts Stones of all Sorts, In the Best Manner…”: Experiments in 18th Century lapidary work in America
| Giovanna Fregni | Issue 2022/4
Unusual or rare gems have been valued for as long as there have been humans to appreciate them. The making of beads and ornaments provides some of the earliest examples of the manipulation of materials solely for aesthetic reasons. Throughout history, we have refined the processes and constructed dedicated machinery to further enhance the desirable qualities of certain stones. The gems themselves... Read more
2018
The winner in 2018 was Prof. Dr. John Seidel with his multi-faceted project to pursue artifact analysis and structured experiments trades, while also designing a long-term undergraduate program to engage students and staff in multiple experiences and experiments over time. More information here.
A short blog by John Seidel about the stay at Colonial Williamsburg you can read here.
2017
The first winner of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation – EXARC Fellowship, in 2017, was Nikola Krstović from Serbia. He spent a month in Colonial Williamsburg, with his project “Museum OFF Boundaries (Reviving She/Stories & Heritage [in a] Supermarket)”. It is the process of meanings and values co-creation, and especially refers to the interpretative framework. More details here.
History in Motion: Colonial Williamsburg
| Nikola Krstović | Issue 2018/2
Boundaries are always an interesting topic. In the framework of the current heritage buzz word decolonization, boundaries might also represent what is “colonised” in every cultural enterprise, or to be more specific, how and why some form of power obtruded its authority, and to what extent. Like almost all other museums, Colonial Williamsburg deals with the past. The past has its own boundaries that... Read more
