About the Fellowship:

In 2017 the American Friends of Capodimonte (AFC) created the first-ever curatorial position for an American inside an Italian museum: The American Friends of Capodimonte Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship. This unique experience offers an unprecedented opportunity to learn the workings of contemporary European museology in an Italian state museum and to become intimately familiar with Capodimonte's world-class collection by working alongside the museum’s curatorial and administrative teams. The fellowship is at the heart of the AFC mission and makes us unique among the many foreign patrons of European museums.

Description

The American Friends of Capodimonte Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow is fully integrated into the Museum's curatorial department and assists Director Eike Schmidt and his colleagues in a wide range of projects across the life of the Museum, including exhibitions, publications, interpretation, and translations. The Fellow is expected to focus on making the Capodimonte’s innumerable treasures more widely accessible to an international audience during this exciting period in the museum’s illustrious history.

The AFC is proud to be the only 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that funds and places promising young American curators directly into an Italian museum. The mission of the AFC is to promote and raise awareness among the English-speaking audience of the Museum and Royal Park of Capodimonte, one of Europe's greatest museums. In addition to curatorial responsibilities, the Fellow is in charge of the AFC's social media presence through regular posts on the AFC Instagram page and updates to the website. They also write for, format, and send out the quarterly newsletter to its donors. The Fellow will serve as an English-speaking ambassador for the Museum, welcoming visiting members of the AFC, international guests of honor, and members of the international press with private tours of the museum collection.

The demands and requirements of the job are, like Naples, not always straightforward and therefore a successful applicant will also need to demonstrate initiative, entrepreneurial skills, and the ability to adapt to a variety of situations. The Fellow will have access to the rich cultural resources of Naples, including museums, opera and music at the Teatro di San Carlo, historic landmarks, and the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli, the largest Italian library after those of Florence and Rome.

The Fellow will be encouraged to pursue areas of their own expertise within the Museum and may be able to define projects that will further their own research. Previous Fellows have researched and digitized the collection of Farnese Drawings; written a catalogue for an exhibition of Capodimonte's masterpieces that travelled to Seattle and Dallas in 2019−2020; organized an international exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 2022; researched and catalogued the Northern European prints of the Firmian Collection; written an essay for the Battle of Pavia Tapestries exhibition catalogue; and worked on creating English and Italian wall labels for the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions.

Previous Fellows have gone on to be offered and to accept curatorial positions in major American museums. The unique access to the Museum and to Naples given to the Fellow during his or her tenure has been an important factor in securing these jobs.

Fellowship Period, Support, and Residency

The Fellowship period is from September 1 to July 31, during which the Fellow will be expected to reside in Naples and work full-time at the Museo di Capodimonte. The possibility of an extension for a second academic year may be reviewed by the AFC during the initial Fellowship. The Fellowship award is $38,000 per year, in addition to housing or a housing stipend. Upon application to the Board, the Fellow may also be eligible for travel funds for targeted projects.

Eligibility

Applicants for the 2025−2026 fellowship must hold a PhD degree in Art History received after May 30, 2022. Pre-doctoral candidates may apply if the PhD degree will be awarded before commencement of the Fellowship. Applicants must be United States Citizens. Applications will be reviewed by the AFC Board and Director of Capodimonte. The applicant may not hold concurrent fellowships or awards during the fellowship period. The applicant must also specialize in Early Modern European Art, preferably Italian Renaissance and/or Baroque art. A working knowledge of spoken and written Italian is essential.

Application Requirements and Deadline: January 15, 2025

Candidates for the American Friends of Capodimonte Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship must submit the enumerated materials below via email to:
americanfriendsofcapodimontegmail.com.

All materials must be submitted in PDF file format and in English.

Cover letter addressing your interest in the Fellowship position and how you think you could contribute to the Museum and the AFC mission.

CV

One (1) writing sample: PDF of published paper or recent writing sample (article, book chapter, dissertation chapter, etc.)

Two (2) references from professional art historians or museum professionals within the field.

For each reference (2) please indicate:

-Title

- name

- institution (with address)

- email address

- phone number

Applications must be received on or before the deadline of January 15, 2025.