King's College London

Two postgraduate students from the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at King’s will spend a month in Venice during the 2025 Architecture Biennale.

A key part of the British Council’s presence in Venice, the Venice Fellowships Programme aims to support the exhibition programme and offer a platform for the development of new creative careers and future leaders. The successful candidates will represent the UK on an international level, as well as broaden their perspective, make connections and develop their creative practice.

UK at the Venice Biennale

The British Council has been the commissioner of the British Pavillion at the Venice Biennale since 1937.

The 2025 British Pavilion exhibition will be reflect the British Council's focus year of collaboration between the UK and Kenya. The collaborative UK-Kenya curatorial team includes:

• Owen Hopkins, Director of the Farrell Centre, Newcastle University
• Professor Kathryn Yusoff, Professor of Inhuman Geography, Queen Mary University
• Kabage Karanja, Co-founder & Director of Cave_bureau, Nairobi, Kenya
• Stella Mutegi, Co-founder & Director of Cave_bureau, Nairobi, Kenya

What is the Venice Fellowship Programme?

The Venice Fellowship Programme sends approximately 70 UK-based students and researchers to the Biennale for one month each year. Two places are available to King’s Arts and Humanities graduate students. Fellows spend half their time working at the British Pavilion, acting as Exhibition Ambassadors and interacting with visitors and supporting the exhibition. The other half of the time spent in Venice is dedicated to students being able to develop or exhibit their own independent research or creative project, inspired by the Biennale and Venice.

Full details are available from the Venice Fellowship Programme Guide.

Funding

Fellows receive a grant of £3300 to help support the cost of travel, accommodation and living costs.

Eligibility

Students must be registered as postgraduates (MA, MPhil or PhD) at King’s at the time of application. Please also read the British Council requirements set out in their guide (available below).

Application Process and Key Dates

1. Download the application form template from the Programme Guide.
2. Complete the application form.
3. Submit your application by email to Dr Clare Carolin clare.carolin@kcl.ac.uk

Deadline: 6 December 2024, 18:00. In the interest of fairness, late applications will not be accepted. Please note that places are exceptionally limited, and the competition will be strong.

Selection

A University panel will review all applications against the questions in the application form. Between three and five students will be shortlisted for each place available and will be put forward to the British Council for final selection. All applicants will be informed as to whether or not their application was shortlisted by King's. The British Council will review the shortlisted applications and notify the final candidates in early January 2024. A virtual interview with candidates may be required.

Pre-Fellowship Training

Successful applicants will receive full training by the British Council prior to beginning their Fellowship. This will include participating in 15 hours of compulsory online training and collaborative workshops to know more about Venice, La Biennale and British Pavilion exhibition content. It also provides a chance to network and meet others in the cohort of Fellows with which you will be working during your time in Venice.

Through their training and experience in supporting the exhibition at the British Pavilion, Fellows will learn techniques for enhancing a visitor’s understanding and expanding their perspectives on the show. The stewarding experience provides them with valuable work experience and confidence in contributing to a gallery setting.

Post-Fellowship Expectations

After the Fellowship, students that have been supported will be expected to engage with the (online or in person) cultural events by King's College London to help encourage other students to take part in future opportunities.

Any questions?

A Q&A session for interested candidates will be held by the British Council on Wednesday, 6 November 2024, 12pm-1pm GMT via Teams. Register here.

The session will cover the following topics:

1. Overview of the 2025 Fellowships Programme Application Guidelines.
2. Experiences from 2024 Fellows.
3. Support and guidance for completing the 2025 application form.

The recording will not be available. Please attend if you would like to receive the information.

An additional in-person information session at King’s College London will be scheduled in late November/early December.