PhD Position in JUST PRACTICES: Artistic Research, Curating and Climate Justice

Applications are invited for a vacant PhD position on museums, curating and multispecies justice as part of the NWA-funded project JUST ART: Creating Common Grounds for Climate Justice through Artistic Research.

How can artists and curators promote multispecies justice?
Applications are invited for a vacant PhD position on museums, curating and multispecies justice, to be based in AHM, the Amsterdam School for Heritage, Memory and Material Culture. The PhD is one of ten doctoral research projects within JUST ART: Creating Common Grounds for Climate Justice through Artistic Research, a consortium made up of five Dutch universities and numerous other partners.

JUST ART: Creating Common Grounds for Climate Justice Through Artistic Research is a six-year project on climate justice and artistic research in the Caribbean and European parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and led by the University of Groningen. It offers 10 fully funded PhD Positions at six universities in collaboration with Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and four universities of applied sciences.

The complexity and scale of the climate crisis is overwhelming. Artistic practice and artistic research can open up new ways of understanding the intersectional dimensions of this crisis and empower people to act. Bringing together artists, researchers, campaigners and communities in rural and urban regions, JUST ART aims to cultivate diverse strategies of climate justice through artistic research and creative practice.

JUST ART PhD candidates will generate new knowledge and critically assess approaches that integrate scientific insights with artistic research to address climate justice. JUST ART PhDs will study and develop concrete cases to learn how art and artistic research can be embedded in ongoing and emerging work on climate justice. They will enhance expertise and skills to take artistic and art-based transformative action on climate justice and will contribute to theoretical frameworks, common methods, educational toolkits and knowledge sharing platforms in co-creation with project partners.

Within the broader theme of artistic research and climate justice, this doctoral project investigates curatorial practices and multispecies justice, with a particular focus on museums and cultural spaces in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Multispecies justice takes the interests of nonhumans - including animals, plants, forests, rivers and ecological systems - seriously in claims for justice. This means reshaping society, politics and legal systems to consider nonhuman interests when making decisions. Many philosophers, writers, legal scholars and Indigenous representatives have recently argued for different forms of multispecies justice to address the profound inequities of the ecological crisis. Artists and cultural institutions have also developed important initiatives to highlight, encourage and in some cases implement a multispecies justice approach. This doctoral project will contribute to these debates through theoretical and practice-based research.

This is what you will be doing
You will undertake doctoral level research on curating and multispecies justice as part of the JUST ART project. The exact scope of the research will be developed in dialogue with the selected candidate, but you will be expected to:

• Investigate current approaches to multispecies justice within and beyond the cultural field;
• Engage with artists, curators and other cultural practitioners in the Netherlands (and further afield) to explore the possibilities and limitations of adopting a multispecies framework in different contexts;
• Co-create a new curatorial intervention modelling approaches to multispecies justice (and climate justice more broadly) for arts and culture.

These objectives will be developed and refined with the supervisors and in collaboration with the wider JUST ART community, which includes academics, artists, cultural institutions and societal partners across the Netherlands, including the Carribean. Your work will contribute to this ground-breaking project and will help shape new cultural practices and imaginaries.

During the project you will work towards your PhD and receive further training in interdisciplinary research. You will also take part in seminars and other activities hosted by one of the Dutch National Research Schools, such as NICA or OSK. You will gain expertise in contemporary challenges involving museums, artistic research, curating and climate justice. You will also have the opportunity to teach on these themes.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Carry out original research in the field of museum studies / curating / artistic research with regard to multispecies justice;
• Write and submit a PhD dissertation on Curating Multispecies Justice within the period of appointment;
• Participate in regular meetings with the supervisors and the wider JUST ART community, including the PhD cohort.
• Publish at least one peer-reviewed article and contribute to other writing projects as required (including JUST ART website).
• Presenting intermediate research results at workshops and conferences;
• Actively contribute to the JUST ART Consortium community through participation in and organization of workshops with project partners, and participate in the JUST ART School’s writing retreats and other activities
• Actively engage with societal partners, e.g. organise collaborative knowledge exchange as well as educational and dissemination activities
• Participation in the Research School and Faculty of Humanities PhD training programmes;
• (Co-)teaching courses at BA-level in the second and third year of the appointment (maximum 0,2 fte per year).

This is what we ask of you
You approach academic activities with creativity and rigour, and demonstrate a proactive approach to empirical research, analysis, and writing. Your work combines a strong theoretical grounding with applied knowledge of curating and related fields.

Experience and profile

• A completed Master's or Research Masters degree in Museum Studies, Art History, Cultural Studies, Heritage Studies, Artistic Research or a related field.
• Excellent research skills demonstrated by a Master thesis.
• A strong collaborative attitude and willingness to engage in team-based research;
• Enthusiasm for communicating research to academic and non-academic audiences;
• Experience with (co)-curating on topics related to climate and ecology;
• Some prior knowledge of multispecies justice frameworks is desirable;
• Good command of English (Dutch is desirable);
• Good presentation skills (in writing and other formats).

Please note that if you already hold a doctorate/PhD or are working towards obtaining a similar degree elsewhere, you will not be admitted to a doctoral programme at the UvA.

This is what else we offer you

• We offer a temporary employment contract for the period of 48 months. The first contract will be for 16 months, with an extension for the following 32 months, contingent on a positive performance evaluation within the first 12 months. The preferred starting date is 1 September 2026
• Based on a full-time appointment (38 hours per week) the gross monthly salary will range from €3.059 in the first year to €3.881 (scale P) in the last year. This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD candidate applicable. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.
• PhD candidates receive a tuition fee waiver;
• PhD candidates have free access to courses offered by the Graduate School of Humanities and the Dutch National Research Schools;
• Excellent possibilities for further professional development and education;
• An inspiring academic and international work environment in the heart of Amsterdam;
• An enthusiastic and professional academic team.

This is where you'll be working
You will join an inspiring academic environment in AHM, and benefit from a broader network as part of the JUST ART project. You will be part of a cohort of ten doctoral researchers exploring different perspective on artistic research and climate justice with academic, cultural and societal partners across the Netherlands. At UvA you will also become an affiliated researcher on the Critical Heritage Ecologies research initiative, and benefit from teaching opportunities in the Department of Arts and Culture.

Due to the collaborative nature of the project, regular physical presence is expected.

If you recognize yourself in the profile and are interested in the position, we look forward to receiving your application.

Applications should include the following:

• A letter of motivation, explaining why you are interested in the position and how your experience and profile meet the expectations of the role.
• A research proposal of no more than 500 words explaining how you would approach the theme of “Curating Multispecies Justice,” including information on at least one potential case study / collaboration.
• A full academic CV
• A list of all Master-level modules you have taken, with an official transcript of grades
• The names and contact details of two references who may be approached by the selection committee (please note we do not require reference letters with the application)

The vacancy closes on 13-3-2026. The first round of interviews will take place on w/c 6 April.

For questions about the position or department, you can contact us during office hours at:

• Colin Sterling, Assistant Professor of Heritage, Museums and the Environment.