The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) East has formally opened world functions for the inaugural Design Trust Fellowship, providing a one-of-a-sort alternative for artistic practitioners to dive into object-based mostly analysis and produce a brand new commissioned work impressed by textiles, vogue, and the layered narratives of clothes.
What’s Offered?
The Design Trust Fellowship at V&A East gives a beneficiant funding package deal of HKD $275,000 (roughly USD $35,000), which covers the artistic practitioner’s time, journey bills to and from London, Hong Kong, and different related places in China, lodging through the fellowship interval, and all analysis and manufacturing prices associated to the ultimate commissioned work.
Fellows are anticipated to conduct a minimal of three weeks of in-particular person analysis on the V&A East Storehouse in London. This alternative is open to candidates based mostly anyplace on this planet, making it a really world name for artistic voice.
What Is the Design Trust Fellowship?
Launching in Autumn 2025, this one-12 months, totally-funded fellowship invites designers, artists, and creatives from across the globe to discover the theme “The Stories of Clothes.” Through archival analysis on the V&A East Storehouse in London, together with fieldwork in Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and mainland China, the Fellow will develop a compelling artistic output that interrogates the that means, reminiscence, and cultural symbolism of clothes.
The last commissioned piece—whether or not textile, set up, video, sculpture, or multimedia—will probably be exhibited for six months on the reducing-edge V&A East venue between Autumn 2026 and Spring 2027.
Theme: “The Stories of Clothes”
The Fellowship seeks daring, thought-frightening responses that tackle:
- The emotional and political lives of clothes
- The relationship between our bodies and the garments that cowl them
- The historic and up to date narratives embedded in textile design, manufacturing, and disposal
- Counter-narratives and ignored archives, impressed by the methodology of scholar Saidiya Hartman
Research is inspired to be rooted in object-based mostly strategies, with a concentrate on archival storytelling, experimental follow, and cross-cultural insights, particularly in relation to Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.
How to Apply?
Applicants should submit the next paperwork in English:
- A analysis and conceptual proposal (max. 500 phrases and as much as 5 pictures)
- A price range plan outlining use of the HKD $275,000
- A CV (max. 500 phrases).
Apply: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/east/open-call-design-trust-fellowship-va-east
Applications must be despatched by way of e-mail to [email protected] no later than Friday, 22 August 2025 (midnight GMT). The choice panel—comprising members from the V&A East and Design Trust groups—might conduct interviews with shortlisted candidates earlier than deciding on the ultimate Fellow by September 2025.
Design Trust Fellowship 2025 Accepting Entries FULLY FUNDED SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS
