The V&A Research Institute leads the V&A’s research and academic partnership activities, across the breadth of the museum’s collections and practices.

“‘Private’ Spaces for Public Benefit? Country Houses as sites for research and knowledge exchange innovation’, is a British Academy Innovation Fellowship project, in collaboration between the V&A and the National Trust, led by Dr Oliver Cox (Head of Academic Partnerships) with Dr Tarnya Cooper (Curatorial and Conservation Director, National Trust) as Co-I.

It will map the barriers to the presentation and interpretation of country houses which are both former homes, early art galleries, and now public heritage spaces. It will explore shared concerns around how academic research can contribute to increasing choices for visitors in how they intellectually and physically access historic interiors and collections. The project will actively engage with methodologies from the museum sector, using the V&A’s holdings as key case studies.

The Project Coordinator will be based in the V&A Research Institute with Dr Cox, liaising closely with Dr Cooper at the National Trust.

The project will run until 30 June 2024.

Closing date for applications: Sunday 22 January 2023.