RCA Announces Design Curation Fellowship with Design Trust

The Fellowship, which is open to applicants based in Hong Kong or the Greater Pearl River Delta region, addresses the burgeoning field of design curating in a global context and locates it within the interdisciplinary curatorial field. The Fellowship includes a maintenance grant of £12,000, with additional support available from the RCA to support the development of research outcomes.

The Fellow will undertake 12 months of research supported by a tailored programme of academic training designed to broaden their knowledge and skills in curatorial practice, theory and understanding of design. The programme of studies will include history and theory seminars, curating workshops and a curatorial placement with one of the RCA’s external partners.

‘We are delighted to launch this partnership with the Design Trust’, said Dr. Sarah Teasley, RCA Head of Programme for History of Design. ‘Design and making from Hong Kong and the Greater Pearl River Delta region play a crucial role in the global economy and in our everyday life, and design in Asia has a rich history that has not been fully explored.’

‘With RCA's incredible legacy and deep expertise, our organisation is excited to be launching this inaugural fellowship together,’ said Marisa Yiu, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Design Trust. ‘This partnership is also a collective testament on how leading institutions and foundations working together can catalyse new opportunities for our community here in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. I am excited to see how we can focus the dialogue on critical curatorial topics that have local meaning yet global reach, and have long term impact to our cultural ecology and expertise in our region.’

Design Trust was established in 2014 by Hong Kong Ambassadors of Design, a registered charity in Hong Kong since 2007, as a grant funding platform. Design Trust supports creative projects that develop expertise, build research initiatives and content related to Hong Kong and the Greater Pearl River Delta Region. Working across a multiplicity of design disciplines from graphics, media, architecture to the built environment, Design Trust aims to actively accelerate creative research, design and development of meaningful projects that advocate for the positive role of design.

‘In Hong Kong and our immediate region, cultural developments, design biennales and festivals, to new museums are expanding at a fast pace, and there is an urgency to build expertise in the curatorial fields of design and research to fulfill the ambitions of our region,’ said Marisa Yiu.

‘As cultural institutions increasingly address contemporary design practice and this historical legacy,’ explained Sarah Teasley, ‘the new Fellowship will generate innovative practices that highlight the specific nuances of design in the region, and contribute to the exchange of ideas in design curating internationally.'

The fellowship is open to individuals based in Hong Kong or the Greater Pearl River Delta region with a background in curating and a research interest in design. Applicants should either hold a postgraduate degree in a relevant discipline or an undergraduate degree with minimum three years’ relevant professional work or academic research experience.

At the RCA, the Fellow will be part of a centre for research and teaching in both curating and the history of design. They will have the opportunity to engage in advanced research into curatorial contexts for contemporary design practice and recent design history, as well as develop new thinking in curating practice and theory aligned with the social and cultural contexts for design.

With the support of subject specialists at the RCA, the Fellow will devise and develop an original research project related to design in Asia and its global contexts. This research may explore topics related to the different disciplines of design – such as product design, service design, fashion, interiors and the digital – or be an interdisciplinary enquiry into an aspect of design’s social, political or cultural contexts in recent and current practice.

Applications to the fellowship will be assessed on various criteria including the originality of research approach, the relevance of the research to Asian design history and contemporary practice, and the potential for it to make a long-term contribution to curatorial development in Hong Kong and the Greater Pearl River Delta region.

Full details of how to apply for the Design Trust / RCA Fellowship in Design Curation 2017 can be found here.