Call for Applications: Museums Next Generation 2024
Le musée de Cluny – musée national du Moyen Âge (Paris). M. Denancé, architecte.
In 2023, Villa Albertine, with the support of Albertine Foundation, launched a new acceleration program, Museums Next Generation, aimed at engaging young French and US-based museum professionals in dialogues on contemporary challenges in the field.
Each year, the Museums Next Generation program invites young museum professionals to participate in an immersion program in France (for American professionals) or in the US (for French professionals).
In partnership with the Institut National du Patrimoine, a higher education institution of the French Ministry of Culture that trains museum curators, this edition of the Museums Next Generation program will host seven American museum professionals to travel to Paris and select regions in France from October 14 to October 23, 2024.
Overview
The Museums Next Generation program aims to strengthen ties between French and American museums by nurturing a new generation of professionals, seeking to assume leadership roles in museum institutions, to familiarize themselves with the other country’s professional landscape. The program additionally aims to support participants in building a network on the other side of the Atlantic that will foster new synergies within the French-American professional community.
Villa Albertine provides participants with comprehensive financial support for the duration of the program, including transportation, accommodation, and meals.
The program for U.S. applicants aims to
- enhance knowledge and comprehension of the various aspects of the French museum ecosystem.
- inspire American professionals in their own practices and to compare them with the practices of their French counterparts.
- strengthen the international perspective of a young generation of American curators and their networks across the Atlantic.
- introduce a new generation of American curators to the French professional community.
- connect professionals with different specialties to create innovative new collaborations.
Throughout the ten-day program, fellows will participate in
- talks on the specificities and challenges faced by French museums in their scientific, educational, organizational, and philanthropic pursuits.
- exclusive meetings with leaders and prominent figures in the field (directors, curators, development and sponsorship officers, educational managers, sponsors, etc.).
- visits to the most prominent and innovative institutions in the country.
- networking events with French professionals.
A detailed schedule of the immersion program will be provided at a later date. Last year’s program included visits to and exchanges with professionals from institutions, such as the Louvre, the Centre Pompidou, the Picasso Museum, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Institut national du patrimoine, the Institut national d’histoire de l’art, the Al-Thani Collection, the Musée de la Musique, the Château de Fontainebleau, the Musée de Cluny, the Musée Rodin, the Mobilier national, the Musée de la Ville de Marseille, and the Louvre-Lens, among others.
Applicants must meet the following requirements
- Currently serve as curators, associate curators, or assistant curators at American museums
- Have five to 15 years of relevant experience
- Have no prior experience as directors of museum institutions
- Possess US citizenship or work in the US
Applications will be evaluated based on the quality of the candidate’s background and their interest in participating in the program.
Applicant Profile
Fellows are selected based on their achievements (exhibitions, publications, etc), as well as their experience in managing innovative museum projects. Moreover, candidates’ ability to envision museums of the future and their interest in international and managerial concerns, which position them as potential leaders, will be considered.
Fellows will be selected by a jury of French and American museum professionals.
Applicants are invited to submit their applications via this online form no later than July 10 at 10pm ET.
Candidates will need to specify their professional background, their completed and ongoing projects, and their motivations for participating in the program.
Deadlines
- Application deadline: July 10, 2024 at 10pm ET
- Jury selection and announcement of the selected candidates: end of July 2024
Contact
François Bridey,
Museums and Cultural Heritage Attaché
Villa Albertine, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, New York