Recommendations for submitting an application to the “Mediterranean” program and the “Arts and sciences:
Indisciplined Knowledge” program
1. The research project must have a content relevant to the intention of spending a research stay in an institute for advanced study based in Marseille.
2. The research project must have a content relevant to the thematic lines of the “Mediterranean” program and the “Arts and sciences: Indisciplined Knowledges program”.
Application and Residency Conditions 2025-26
As a result of a partnership between the Mucem and Iméra, the Institute for Advanced Study (IEA) of Aix-Marseille University, the Mucem/Iméra residency 2025-26 offers three focuses open to artists, architects, researchers, scenographers, and professionals in museology and heritage with an interest in ethnographic and museological questions.
The Mucem/Iméra residency project will be integrated into the activities of the Mucemlab, the museum’s research and training center, and should be concretely applied to the Mucem, in conjunction with the Iméra programs (Arts and Sciences: Indisciplined Knowledge & Mediterranean), with particular attention to the Mediterranean dimension.
The applicant is expected to develop their research in co-construction with the Mucem’s scientific team. This collaborative dimension must be clearly explained in the project, showing the envisaged working methods for this immersive collaboration.
- The Mucem collections can be accessed here.
- The activities of research and Mucemlab (research focuses, programming, research and creation residencies, inquiries-collections) can be accessed here.
- The Mucem’s scientific and cultural project can be accessed here.
The 3 focuses of the 2025-26 call are as follows:
- Conduct research in conjunction with the Mucem’s collections and documentary resources around two exhibitions: the “Mediterranean, Inventions and Representations” exhibition, particularly around questions of popular reappropriations of ancient pasts OR around the planning of the exhibition “How the Mediterranean Looks at Europe”, designed from the collections of the European depot of the Musée de l’Homme.
- Rethink artists’ interventions in society museums through participatory workshops integrating artistic writings based on documentary data (e.g., but not limited to, sensitive mapping and the role of alternative mapping in exhibitions).
- Conduct research on Fort Saint-Jean and its history, proposing a work or exhibition in one of the outdoor spaces of the Fort and/or in the rooms of the officers’ gallery (this third focus is only open to artists, architects, and scenographers). The architectural project and museographic program of the Mucem are based on a physical and symbolic articulation between the historic monument of Fort Saint-Jean and the new J4 building. Fort Saint-Jean was rehabilitated by François Botton, chief architect of Historical Monuments, C+T architecture/Roland Carta, associate architect, and for the gardens by the APS agency, Jean-Louis Knidel. The total area is 15,000 m², including 12,000 m² of outdoor spaces, including the Jardin des migrations. It includes the Mucemlab, the Mucem’s research and training center, as well as exhibition spaces. Open free of charge to visitors, this site combines heritage history and contemporary cultural offerings. This research will rely on the centuries-old history of the site, whose oldest remains date back to the 12th century and which has experienced successive phases of construction and use. It will consider the articulation with the scientific and cultural project, particularly in its contemporary dimension, with the Mucem’s collections, and with the site’s anchoring in the territory. The reflection may also integrate the site’s ecological issues, relying, for example, on the museum’s gardens or its connection with the maritime space. The Mucem/Iméra residency aims to imagine possible artistic and scenographic interventions on the site, following the residency, which will be submitted for review at the Mucem.
Contacts
- Aude Fanlo, Head of the Research and Education Department at the Mucem: aude.fanlo@mucem.org
- Marie-Pierre Ulloa, Director of the Mediterranean Program at Iméra: mpulloa@stanford.edu
- Constance Moréteau, Head of development for Iméra’s arts and sciences axis & Research Coordinator, constance.moreteau@univ-amu.fr
- Application deadline: October 21, 2024, at 1:00 PM (French time)
- Residency duration: 5 months
- Proposed residency period: from September 1, 2025 to January 30, 2026
Eligible candidates, junior or senior, must meet these conditions:
For scientists:
- Must not have resided in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years preceding the call for applications
- Must hold a Ph.D. or doctorate
- Must have a work contract (permanent or not) with a foreign university or research institution during the residency
For artists:
- Must not have resided in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years preceding the call for applications.
- No work contract or degree requirements.
Remuneration for scientists:
- Juniors: 2000 euros monthly stipend
- Seniors: 2500 euros monthly stipend
Juniors are considered scientists with 2 to 9 years of full-time postdoctoral research experience by the application deadline. Seniors are high-level scientists with at least 10 years of full-time postdoctoral research experience by the application deadline, and university professors.
Remuneration for artists:
Artists receive a salary or stipend of 2000 euros monthly, depending on the candidate’s status.
Residents also receive travel expense coverage and free accommodation on the Iméra site.
Evaluation criteria include, but are not limited to:
- The candidate’s background
- The scientific or artistic project; based on its originality and rigor, risk-taking and potential for experimentation, collaboration opportunities, maximizing the opportunities within the intellectual community of Iméra (residents and scientific team) and the Aix-Marseille site, actively contributing to its activitie.
- Interdisciplinary approach; based on proven practice and feasibility within the project.
- Prospects for interactions with the Mucem and Aix-Marseille laboratories.
The online application file consists of the following documents:
- The completed application form (mandatory fields).
- Files to upload:
- A CV including a list of publications for researchers, and/or a list of works for artists and heritage/museology professionals.
- A project presentation (maximum 5 pages) followed by a selective bibliography (mandatory for researchers) or a list of artistic and scientific references (mandatory for artists)
- Optional: a letter of support from a researcher or teacher-researcher from the Aix-Marseille site and/or a letter of recommendation from a recognized university researcher or artist in their field, related to the project’s domain.
The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations (Mucem) is a national museum of international renown, established in Marseille since 2013.
As a society museum, Europe and the Mediterranean are viewed through the lens of human and social sciences and the arts. Its research focuses on Euro-Mediterranean circulations and exchanges, societal changes, sensitive issues, and contemporary reinterpretations of cultures and informal practices.
Its collections originate from the French collections of the National Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions and the European collections of the Museum of Man, both enriched since the early 2000s with acquisitions primarily focused on Mediterranean countries.
The collection and field acquisition, i.e., field acquisition, is a privileged form for this museum, which has inherited ethnographic practices. The Mucem’s collections and resources are rich with a million diverse items: objects, photographs, posters and prints, postcards, archives (audio, visual, paper).
