ASaiL Visual Arts Scholar: Project: Abolition Song and its Legacies

AHRC-funded development placement for ONE visual arts scholar

New project host / email account / application deadline

Project: Abolition Song and its Legacies

Principal Investigator: Dr Berta Joncus

Application deadline: midnight (24:00 BST) Friday 28 February

Abolition Song and its Legacies is running a third recruitment round for ONE visual arts scholar to join its team.

Through this 24-month AHRC-funded project, you will be one of two visual arts scholars who will contribute to the project’s gold open-access publication. You will be part of an eight-person team of scholars from art, music, history, and literature.  You will attend termly seminars, receiving a study/AV pack and mentorship, to develop your work, with guidance from team members and Academic Lead in visual arts, Dr Sarah Thomas.  The brief is to explore how British depictions of Black communities, and Britain’s role in the slave trade, relate to British Abolition song – a little-known song repertory composed from 1787 onwards – and pre-1830 Black heritage music.

Applications will be accepted until midnight (24:00 BST) Friday 28 February.

ASaiL will cover reasonable travel expenses within the UK, refreshments at study seminars and costs for the project’s publication. You will be a UK-based scholar able to attend the study seminars in person, and with the right to live and study in the UK.

Principal Investigator Berta Joncus will provide you with a project study pack containing audio, visual, and print materials. Berta will consult with you in setting research questions. ASaiL seminars will be held at the British Library, an ASaiL partner host. For year one of this two-year project, seminars will be held 9.30 am to 1.30 pm on Monday 19 May 2025, and Monday 8 September 2025. At each study seminar you will present your project work and participate in seminar roundtables and workshops. On the evening after each seminar, you will be invited attend a live chamber performance of the project’s music, held at the Handel & Hendrix House, the project’s second partner host. Concerts will be recorded for future study.

To apply, please send to ASaiL@gsmd.ac.uk your academic CV and a statement of no more than 500 words explaining why you wish to be an ASaiL visual arts scholar. If you have any questions, please submit them to the same address.

Application deadline is midnight (24:00 BST) Friday 28 February.

Guildhall School welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. We are particularly keen to encourage interest from people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, Black, Asian, and other global majority backgrounds who are currently under-represented at Guildhall School. In recognising the positive value of diversity, we want to better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We are members of the Disability Confident Scheme and guarantee to interview all candidates with a disability who would like to be considered under this scheme and who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. We support and provide adjustments for people with disabilities – if you have a disability and need help with the application process please contact us.

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