Postdoctoral Researcher in Practice-Based Artistic Research

Aarhus University - Department of Digital Design and Information Studies

The Department of Digital Design and Information Studies within the School of Communication and Culture at Aarhus University invites applications for a postdoctoral position in practice-based artistic research. The postdoctoral role is associated with the research project ‘Reparative Encounters: Repairing Danish Colonial Legacies through Arts-Based Collaboration’, funded by the Carlsberg Foundation Semper Ardens: Accelerate.

The postdoctoral position is a full-time, fixed-term role for two years. It starts on 1 June 2026 or as soon as possible thereafter.

The School of Communication and Culture is committed to diversity and encourages all qualified applicants to apply regardless of their personal background.

Project

‘Reparative Encounters: Repairing Danish Colonial Legacies through Arts-Based Collaboration’ investigates the connections, differences, and potential solidarities between four regions differently impacted by Danish colonialism: the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI), Ghana, Kalaallit Nunaat and the Faroe Islands. The project employs collaborative artistic research between scholars and artists from these regions to generate dialogue between different experiences of coloniality and to create new knowledge about colonial legacies through artistic creation. Central to the project is the premise that collaborative artistic research can generate new knowledge by accessing experiences that are difficult to capture through art historical analysis or qualitative methods alone. Art practices engage creatively with embodied memory and material remnants of colonial history, opening new possibilities for articulating untold perspectives. Research questions driving the project are:

1. Which commonalities, differences and solidarities emerge when artists and scholars from regions differently impacted by Danish colonialism collaborate through artistic creation?
2. How do the resulting artistic practices produce new understandings of colonial experiences?
3. How can exhibitions enhance our understanding of colonial legacies between the USVI, Ghana, Kalaallit Nunaat, the Faroe Islands and Denmark? Which curatorial strategies are best suited for repairing disrupted relationships?

The project’s research design combines:

1. collective artist residencies in the USVI, Denmark, Ghana, Kalaallit Nunaat and the Faroe Islands to foster collaborative creation;
2. a travelling exhibition that evolves as it moves from the USVI, Denmark, Ghana, Kalaallit Nunaat and the Faroe Islands; and
3. outreach activities and interdisciplinary public programmes held alongside each exhibition.

Postdoctoral position

We are seeking an applicant who can collaborate closely and effectively within a project group comprising artists, curators, and researchers. Applicants should be practice-based researchers holding a PhD or equivalent qualifications in fields such as arts and cultural studies, visual culture, artistic research, curatorial studies, or other relevant disciplines. Prior experience in research and artistic interventions within the postcolonial and decolonial fields is essential. Experience of collaborative artistic research will be regarded as an advantage. The project’s team will use English as its working language.

The successful applicant will be expected to:

• work on the creation of two exhibitions, one in the US Virgin Islands and one in Denmark, in collaboration with the project team
• produce artistic work relevant to the project, to be presented at the exhibitions
• co-organise outreach activities and public programmes associated with the exhibitions
• co-organise the publications associated with the exhibitions
• write research articles individually and/or in collaboration with the project team

Qualifications

Applicants must hold a PhD degree or document equivalent qualifications in a relevant field related to practice-based artistic research in postcolonial or decolonial contexts.

Read the full text and apply online via the ‘Apply’ button above.