The Distant Viewing Lab at the University of Richmond invites applications for two separate training workshops in 2027 sponsored by the Mellon Foundation.

February 15th-18th: Virtual Workshop, held each day from 10am to 2pm US Eastern time.

March 8th-11th: In-person Workshop will take place on the University of Richmond campus in Richmond, Virginia. This workshop will have an emphasis on teaching and research in a liberal arts environment.

Over four days, participants will learn:
- ways to formulate humanities questions that are amenable to computational analysis
- how to apply state-of-the-art AI algorithms to study visual and multimodal collections
- develop custom AI annotations to understand an image archive of their choice
- theory and method of distant viewing

We welcome applications from researchers with a range of backgrounds and experiences, including but not limited to: art history, data science, digital humanities, film and media studies, library and information science, museum studies, and science and technology studies. Whether based in the United States or abroad, participants may also be at different points in their careers, including PhD candidates, early-career researchers, faculty at any rank, and those based in museums, archives, libraries, and related areas. We anticipate about 15 people per workshop.

Due by October 31, 2026, application materials include: CV/résumé and a statement of interest (300-500 words) that addresses: current research or interests related to distant viewing or visual culture, what you hope to gain from the workshop, and (optionally) how you might apply what you learn. There is no technical background required for participation; however, please briefly describe any relevant background you may have (prior coursework, tools you've used, related projects).

A stipend to cover travel and related expenses will be provided thanks to a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation. Applicants can expect to hear back by November 13, 2026. For more about the Distant Viewing Lab, please visit https://distantviewing.org/.

Please submit applications to: https://distantviewing.org/workshops/.

Please address any questions to jennifer.marinerichmond.edu.