项目介绍

2025年1月17日

The Maastricht Experimental Research In and through the Arts Network (MERIAN) – a collaborative programme initiated by Maastricht University (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University College Maastricht), Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (research centre What Art Knows) and the Jan van Eyck Academie – invites artists and academics to engage in collaborative research in between making and thinking. As a MERIAN PhD candidate you mobilize the powers and fragilities of artistic and scientific practices to engage in research that is problem-based and methodologically innovative, and which focuses on interdisciplinary topics that can fruitfully be explored across the arts and academia.

Job Description
For this position, MERIAN welcomes artistic research project proposals that critically examine the complex relationships between (de)coloniality, environmental justice, ecological regeneration. We are looking for research that unpacks the impact of colonial legacies on ecological challenges, amplifies marginalised perspectives, and reimagines sustainable relationships between human and more than human worlds.

The proposed research project should challenge dominant narratives and may deploy creative, speculative research practices, weaving together artistic and academic methodologies to address pressing global challenges. We are particularly interested in work that focuses on environmental and social injustices, generates innovative forms of knowledge and explores how creative practices can create transformative pathways to ecological regeneration and social justice, engaging deeply with the complex power dynamics that shape our understanding of ecology, colonialism and social interconnectedness.

Maastricht style of artistic research
The Maastricht style of artistic research is not equivalent to artists doing academic research, or vice versa. Instead, MERIAN believes the values of artistic research emerge from (and through) specific empirical and analytical practices. MERIAN starts from the premise that these artistic research practices necessarily involve exchanges between art and academia, between artists and scholars, between making and thinking. MERIAN embraces multiple differences and similarities. It encourages making border crossings and learning across boundaries as a fundamental part of its institutional arrangement. Instead of positioning artistic research within academia or claiming it principally for the arts, MERIAN is a collaboratory: a shared initiative through and through.

Distinctive in the Netherlands, MERIAN fundamentally does not belong primarily with one artistic or academic discipline but builds on heterogeneity. Artistic research conducted in the context of MERIAN thus goes beyond individual artistic practice or the disciplinary confines of academic research. It arises from – and is reflexive about – basic questions about how research is to be done, where, what for, and for whom. During your research, you will innovate your own research methodologies to fit the issues your research addresses and will relate critically to the local institutional and geographical context of your research. You may also do some teaching that is relevant to your artistic research practice within the educational programs of the MERIAN partners. In collaboration with your supervisors, you will devise your own educational program to support your research, drawing largely from existing courses on offer within the MERIAN partners.

MERIAN exists in and through the collaboration amongst its institutional partners. Responsibilities, facilities, costs, and outcomes are shared between the partnering institutions based on relevant expertise. The supervision of PhD candidates is also shared among the participating institutions and MERIAN works with a rotating system for its practical coordination.

The supervision team will be a collaboration between academic and artistic expertise from two of the MERIAN partners. From Maastricht University, you will be supervised by Dr. Christian Ernsten at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Maastricht Centre for Arts and Culture, Conservation and Heritage (MACCH). At the Jan van Eyck Academie you will be supervised by a member of the (visiting) staff. Additional external supervisors are possible.

For more information about MERIAN and the Maastricht style of artistic research, see:
https://merianmaastricht.nl/

Requirements
The application is open to practicing artists, designers and academics (from all disciplines), teachers and researchers at art schools, and talented graduates. The formal requirements are that you have a relevant master’s degree or a validated equivalent, and an active practice in the arts, design, or other creative domain. Your artistic or creative practice forms an integral part of your doctoral research. In addition, you are eager to engage in interdisciplinary research that is problem-based and methodologically innovative, and which focusses on topics that are artistically, academically, and societally relevant.

Artists and academics with a relevant (Research) Master degree. That is, artistic researchers with an affinity for exploratory and collaborative methods with a significant artistic research portfolio, showcasing both your academic and artistic expertise. Your artistic research practice should be related to one of the (inter)disciplines represented at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences as well as the Jan van Eyck Academie.

From the applications, MERIAN will select one prospective candidate to be offered a funded pre-trajectory of three months spent as a resident at one of the MERIAN partners (1 fte). During this pre-trajectory, you will work together with your prospective supervisors and the MERIAN steering committee to finalize and embed your research proposal, as well as to seek additional funding for your project (if necessary).
 

What we offer
As PhD in Artistic Research at Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, you will be employed by the most international university in the Netherlands, located in the beautiful city of Maastricht. In addition, we offer you:

• Good employment conditions. The position is graded in scale P according to UFO profile PhD, with corresponding salary based on experience ranging from €2901,00 and €3707,00 gross per month (based on a full-time employment of 38 hours per week). In addition to the monthly salary, an 8.0% holiday allowance and an 8.3% year-end bonus apply.
• An employment contract for a period of 12 months with a scope of 1,0 FTE. Upon a positive evaluation, an extension of 3 years will follow. 
• At Maastricht University, the well-being of our employees is of utmost importance, we offer flexible working hours and the possibility to work partly from home if the nature of your position allows it. You will receive a monthly commuting and internet allowance for this. If you work full-time, you will be entitled to 29 vacation days and 4 additional public holidays per year, namely carnival Monday, carnival Tuesday, Good Friday, and Liberation Day. If you choose to accumulate compensation hours, an additional 12 days will be added. Furthermore, you can personalize your employment conditions through a collective labor agreement (CAO) choice model. 
• As Maastricht University, we offer various other excellent secondary employment conditions. These include a good pension scheme with the ABP and the opportunity for UM employees to participate in company fitness and make use of the extensive sports facilities that we also offer to our students. 
• Last but certainly not least, we provide the space and facilities for your personal and professional development. We facilitate this by offering a wide range of training programs and supporting various well-established initiatives such as ‘acknowledge and appreciate’. 
   

The terms of employment at Maastricht University are largely set out in the collective labor agreement of Dutch Universities. In addition, local provisions specific to UM apply. For more information, click here.

Maastricht University
Why work at Maastricht University?
At Maastricht University (UM), everything revolves around the future. The future of our students, as we work to equip them with a solid, broad-based foundation for the rest of their lives. And the future of society, as we seek solutions through our research to issues from all around the world. Our six faculties combined provide a comprehensive package of study programmes and research.

In our teaching, we use the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) method. Students work in small groups, looking for solutions to problems themselves. By discussing issues and working together to draw conclusions, formulate answers and present them to their peers, students develop essential skills for their future careers.

With over 22,300 students and more than 5,000 employees from all over the world, UM is home to a vibrant and inspiring international community.

Are you drawn to an international setting focused on education, science and scholarship? Are you keen to contribute however your skills and qualities allow? Our door is open to you! As a young European university, we value your talent and look forward to creating the future together.

Click here for more information about UM. 

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences FASoS is a close-knit community of approximately 250 staff members and 2100 students. During breaks and before meetings, you can often find us at our favourite local coffee spot Bandito Espresso.  
 

Communication lines within our faculty are short and colleagues are always ready to assist each other. FASoS consists of a highly international student population and a significant part of our staff comes from abroad. Our faculty offers four bachelor programs, eight masters programs and two research master programs that are all characterized by their interdisciplinary approach.
 

Our research institute studies societies and cultures as they have developed in the modern and contemporary periods. We adopt a radically interdisciplinary approach, analysing the interconnections between Europeanization, globalization, scientific and technological advancement, political change, and cultural innovation. 
 

In addition to teaching and research, our colleagues enjoy expressing themselves creatively. They create podcasts, write poetry as well as fiction. 
 

Working at FASoS means working in a challenging yet informal environment. We believe in crafting your own career path and are always ready to help you in making the most of your job. For more information about FASoS, you can visit our website FASoS

Department
MERIAN is a collaboration between the Jan van Eyck Academie, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences (specifically the Research Center for Arts, Autonomy and the Public Sphere) and Maastricht University (specifically the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and University College Maastricht at the Faculty of Science and Engineering). MERIAN is an institutional space for the development of new norms and forms of embodied knowledge, aiming to renegotiate relationships between existing cultural- and knowledge institutions to address urgent matters of societal concern.

Curious?

Are you interested in this exciting position but still have questions? Feel free to contact Christian Ernsten at c.ernsten@maastrichtuniversity.nl for more information. Do you have any questions regarding the procedure, please contact the MERIAN secretariat at info@merianmaastricht.nl

Applying?
Or are you already convinced and ready to become our new PhD in Artistic Research? Apply now, no later than March 9, 2025, for this position.

Please upload your CV, motivation letter, portfolio, contact information of 2 referees, and research plan. 

The first interviews preferably take place on May 8, 2025. 

The vacancy is open for internal and external candidates. In case of equal qualifications, internal candidates will be prioritized.

Maastricht University is committed to promoting and nurturing a diverse and inclusive community. We believe that diversity in our staff and student population contributes to the quality of research and education at UM, and strive to enable this through inclusive policies and innovative projects led by teams of staff and students. We encourage you to apply for this position.