Advanced Research Seminar

ADVANCED RESEARCH SEMINAR

2026 | PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE ECOLOGICAL TURN

The Advanced Research Seminar is designed as a forum for critical discussion and collaborative learning focused on archives, photography, and visual culture.

Themed research programme for PhD and postdoctoral researchers, early career researchers, and practitioners to support research on photography and the archive.

APPLICATION IS CLOSED

Advanced

Research Seminar

OVERVIEW

VIEW PAST EDITIONS

INQUIRIES

OVERVIEW
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The Advanced Research Seminar is designed as a forum for critical discussion and collaborative learning focused on archives, photography, and visual culture. The programme brings together researchers, artists, curators, and practitioners interested in developing theoretical and methodological approaches to archival research and photographic studies.

Structured around a series of seminars, discussions, and presentations, the programme encourages participants to engage with key theoretical texts, case studies, and contemporary artistic practices that address the archive as both a historical repository and a site of critical inquiry.

The seminar provides participants with an opportunity to present and discuss their ongoing research within an interdisciplinary environment, fostering dialogue across different academic and artistic fields.

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PROGRAMME DEVELOPER/COORDINATOR

Dr Ana Catarina Pinho

ELIGIBILITY
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The seminar is open to doctoral and post-doctoral researchers, as well as from practitioners and artists engaged in practice-led research on photography, archives, visual culture, or related areas of study.

Applicants must be currently engaged in ongoing research projects.

There's no geographical restrictions, but it is relevant to ensure availability to attend the programme sessions which are held between 5PM and 8PM, in the UK time zone.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must have a high level of written and spoken english.

Participants are expected to:

Attend the seminar sessions on a regular basis
Engage actively in collective discussions and readings
Present a research project, case study, or work in progress during the programme

Access to a computer with a stable internet connection, and a operational system that supports ZOOM (including sound, video, and screen sharing).

HOW TO APPLY
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SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

To submit your application, please provide the application form (point 1), alongside the required information (points 2 to 5) in one single PDF file:

Application Form
Project abstract (500 words max.)
Indicative bibliography
Writing sample (1500 words max.)
Biographical note (150 words max.)
Short CV focusing on the last five years (2 pages max.)

PROGRAMME FEES

APPLICATION FEE: No fee is charged
SEMINAR TUITION: 240 EUR p/ month

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Upon notification of acceptance, selected participants will be asked to complete their registration by submitting the full programme fee of 1,200 EUR. If the programme fee is to be covered by a university or research institution, participants may request an invoice addressed to their institution. Further payment instructions will be provided upon acceptance.

SCHOLARSHIPS

ARCHIVO offers a limited number of partial scholarships to candidates who require financial support.
If you wish to apply for a scholarship, make the request through the application form.

REVIEW PROCESS
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Applications are reviewed by tan independent jury and the programme's guest mentors.

The selection process seeks to assemble a group of participants whose research interests and perspectives contribute to a productive and interdisciplinary exchange.

Applications are evaluated according to:

The relevance of the applicant’s research interests to the seminar’s thematic focus
The clarity and potential of the proposed research topic
The applicant’s motivation to engage in collaborative discussion and critical exchange

Selected participants will receive further information regarding the seminar schedule and programme structure.

PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE

ECOLOGICAL TURN

Within the broader framework of ARCHIVO’s 2026 annual program, Archival Entanglements: Researching Ecologies of Care, the ARCHIVO Advanced Research Seminar 2026 explores the intersections between photography, archives, and environmental thought. It examines how photographic and archival practices mediate relations between human and non-human worlds in contexts of ecological crisis.

Combining theoretical reflection with practice-based engagement, the seminar invites participants to consider archives as dynamic infrastructures and photographs as instruments that both document and reimagine ecological realities. It fosters critical inquiry into how these practices generate alternative modes of knowledge, cultivate ethical awareness, and promote gestures of care and responsibility. By emphasizing collaborative discussion and research-led exchange, the program equips participants with conceptual tools and methodological strategies relevant for scholarship, curatorial practice, and artistic intervention.

The ARCHIVO Advanced Research Seminar 2026 invites doctoral and postdoctoral researchers to submit a proposal based on their ongoing research, as well as from practitioners and artists engaged in practice-led research. We welcome applications from researchers working in both Western and non-Western contexts, with the aim of fostering a diverse, inclusive, and critically engaged environment for dialogue and exchange. The seminar will take place from February to June 2026 through weekly online sessions, including lectures, webinars, artist talks, reading groups, and individual mentorship. Fifteen candidates will be selected to join the seminar cohort and further develop their research projects. Partial scholarships will be available for participants who require financial support.