Connected Teams. Practicing Transcultural Art Histories Under the Conditions of Ecological Crises and Digital Transformations: India, Latin America, and Europe.

The Connected Teams program invites applications from post-doctoral researchers whose projects address the intersections of art, heritage, and environments in South Asia and/or in Latin America. Two fellowships will be affiliated with the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta (CSSSC); one fellowship with the Department of Art History at the Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá (Uniandes). The fellowships will begin on 1 July 2026 and run for 24 months each. A second call for three post-doctoral fellows based at the same institutions will be published in December 2026.

Connected Teams aims to examine and practice art histories through transcultural and eco-critical approaches, in a way that allows a rethinking and reshaping of both in terms of their interrelations, including the ecologies of the research process itself. Operating on the premise that ‘objects’ are neither stable nor exclusively human-made, the program envisions art historical research—in dialogue with neighboring disciplines—to be concerned with porous, entangled, and dynamic relations among environments, objects, monuments, heritage, and landscapes, including multiple temporalities.

The program consists of three teams located in South Asia (India), South America (Colombia), and Europe (Italy, Germany), respectively. The teams convene annually for a Seasonal School and connect in virtual formats in between. The program strives for new experimental modes of field work, new approaches to archives of all kinds, virtual tools for collaboration and communication, as well as visual and auditory forms of documentation. Through its novel structure, the project poses methodological challenges for undertaking research on historical and contemporary visual and material cultures by means of interdisciplinary conversations and interactions, as well as sustained engagement with multiple communities in both scholarly and public-facing work. At stake is the question of how to practice art history today; for the Connecting Teams program, this includes collaborations with filmmakers, artists, engineers, heritage professionals, biologists, and others.

The program invites research projects that address globally shared yet locally differentiated concerns at the intersections of (trans-)regional art histories and ecologies; some of the guiding questions and topics are:

- Unsettling nature/culture divides in and of the Anthropocene.
- Ecological crisis and threats to the future of life in its diversity on Earth: What is the relevance (and what can be the future) of art history under such conditions?
- The menaces and consequences of climate change: their impact on the attention, imaginations, and practices of artists, cultural heritage professionals, and humanities scholars.
- Synergies, tensions, and reciprocities between the care of plant or animal species and that of human-made monuments or sites.
- How to study and document the ways monuments and landscapes—designed and built centuries ago—and their makers have interacted with climate conditions and environments, such as mountain and river systems? This includes the study of materials, their procurement and lifespans, that of historical techniques, building practices, etc.
- Art histories between ecologies, anthropologies, and social dynamics, such as engagements with (trans-)regional communities or touristification.
- Narratives (decolonial and/or nationalist, indigenous, etc.), language cultures, and translatability, and their relevance to transregional research and collaboration.
- Spaces of display and study as ecosystems: What is the voice of the discipline regarding museums and their practices as well as heritage-site management?

APPLICATION PROCESS

Candidates

The call for applications is open to emerging scholars who have received their PhD on 1 January 2020 or later. In cases of parental leave, the PhD eligibility period may be extended by one additional year per child. PhD candidates who will have defended their dissertation by June 2026 are also eligible. Applications are invited from scholars irrespective of nationality, and we welcome applications from all regions, with various disciplinary formations, including but not limited to Art History, Aesthetics, Archaeology, Anthropology/Ethnology, History, Architecture, Heritage Studies, Sound Studies, Sociology, Digital Humanities, Performance Studies, and neighboring fields. Applicants may have earned their degrees in cognate disciplines; however, proposed research should at least have a strong affinity to the discipline of art history.

Fellows will have the opportunity to pursue their individual research projects within the partners’ transdisciplinary and transregional frameworks. Applicants should demonstrate an interest in digital, reflexive, and transdisciplinary research, as well as an openness to collaborative exchange. Research is expected to be centered on South Asia and/or Latin America. Please indicate your preferred host institution, either in Bogotá or Kolkata, in the application portal.

Fellowships

Each fellowship is supported by a stipend determined according to local standards for post-doctoral fellowships, amounting to approx. COP 9 million/month for fellows based in Bogotá, and approx. INR 90,000/month for fellows based in Kolkata. Fellowships (including travel support) follow the regulations of the host institution. Organizational assistance with visas, insurance, and housing will be provided. The working language of the project is English. In Bogotá, Spanish skills are welcome, since the fellow at Uniandes will be expected to co-teach courses with the PIs.

Post-doctoral fellows are expected to take up residency at their host institution, actively participating in its intellectual life as well as in the program itself. Moreover, fellows will be invited to spend up to six months at one of the other partner institutions for which additional funding can be provided. They will participate in regular digital workshops and will convene annually for a Seasonal School, organized by one of the partner institutions, the first one taking place in Colombia in July 2026. Each institution is an equal opportunity employer.

Application

To apply, please submit the following documents as PDF files via the KHI application portal:

Curriculum vitae (in English)
Project title and description (max. 1,500 words, in English)
Motivation letter / personal statement (max. 1,000 words, in English) describing your career trajectory to date and how the fellowship will support your proposed project and long-term goals
Sample of scholarly work (an article, conference paper, or book chapter, approx. 20 pages)
Two letters of recommendation can either be uploaded by applicants or sent directly by the referees to connectedteamskhi.fi.it by 31 January 2026 (PST). In addition, applicants are asked to provide the name and email address of a third referee.

Please submit the complete application by 31 January 2026 (PST) via the KHI’s application portal: https://apply.khi.fi.it/ 

The application portal will open on 23 December 2025.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to virtual interviews in late February and early March 2026. Successful candidates will be notified by 15 March 2026.

This program is made possible with support from Getty through its Connecting Art Histories Initiative.

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https://www.khi.fi.it/de/forschung/kooperationsprojekte/connected-teams.php
https://www.cssscal.org/
https://hat.uniandes.edu.co/

Project Leaders, Principal Investigators:
Hannah Baader (PL), Gerhard Wolf (PL), Rosinka Chaudhuri (PI), Nachiket Chanchani (PI), Olga Isabel Acosta (PI), Alexander Herrera (PI)

Contact:
Philip Geisler
Scientific Coordinator
Connected Teams
c/o 4A Lab
Sigismundstraße 4
10785 Berlin, Germany
E-Mail: connectedteamskhi.fi.it

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