Klesch Postdoctoral Fellowship in History of Art and Technology

Overview

Birkbeck, University of London, is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher for the Klesch Postdoctoral Fellowship in History of Art and Technology, a two-year fixed-term post starting in autumn 2026. Applications are invited from researchers working on any aspect of art history from the early Renaissance in Europe through the twentieth century.

The fellowship sits in the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication, within the Vasari Research Centre for Art and Technology, and is closely linked to the Birkbeck Centre for Creative AI and the Birkbeck Immersive Learning Centre. Projects should show how innovative methods can generate new knowledge in art history. Topics may include artificial intelligence and machine learning, museums and collections, 3D scanning and digital heritage, extended reality, network analysis and cultural data, human-AI collaboration in interpretation, digital provenance research, computer vision, cultural analytics and geospatial approaches. The college is looking for projects that develop new approaches rather than simply applying new technologies to existing questions. The fellow is supervised by Dr Joel McKim and receives academic mentoring and career development support.

Requirements

Applicants should hold a PhD in art history or a closely related discipline, have an emerging research and publication record, present an original project combining art historical scholarship with methodological innovation, and show potential to contribute to Birkbeck's research environment.

What you get

Pay is between 44,247 and 50,379 pounds per year at Grade 7 on the college London pay scale, which includes London Weighting. The contract is full time at 35 hours a week with a flexible working pattern and some remote work, though regular attendance at Birkbeck is expected. Benefits include a pension scheme and 31 days of paid leave.

How to apply

Applicants submit a CV, a research proposal and two academic letters of reference.

Key dates

The closing date is 31 October 2026, and interviews are on Friday 27 November.