Fellowships

The State Library's fellowships program is one of the most substantial in Australia. Each year, the Library offers Creative Fellowships to encourage the original and imaginative use or development of the Library's collections for new work.

The Library also provides a number of specialist fellowships to support and recognise the importance of scholarly endeavour in areas ranging from children's literature and social history to the visual arts, theatre, 19th-century Victoria, Indigenous cultural research and digital technology.

Three new fellowships have been awarded in 2019: the Photography Fellowship, the Regional Fellowship and the Tate Adams Memorial Residency.

The fellowships are funded by the State Library Victoria Foundation and other program partners, and are awarded annually on the advice of independent expert panels.

2020 program

The call for 2020 applications will open at the beginning of April, with submissions closing in mid-June to late June. All applications need to be submitted online.

An Information Evening for intending applicants will be held on Wednesday 22 April 2020.

Shortlisting and judging will take place in July. Our 2020 fellows will be announced at a Welcome Reception in early September, and recipients can commence their residencies after that date.

A warm welcome to our 2019 fellows

The following Library fellowships were awarded:

The following fellowships were not offered in 2019:

More information

Read the media release announcing our 2019 fellowships recipients.
Visit our Library Fellows gallery to see examples of the wonderful work undertaken by past fellows and the innovative ways they have presented their research.

AGL Shaw Summer Research Fellowships

Named for eminent historian the late AGL Shaw AO, these annual Summer Research Fellowships help honours or postgraduate university students pursue research projects.

Amor Residency at Baldessin Press & Studio

The Amor Residency at Baldessin Press & Studio is offered to a visual artist wishing to explore works on paper, in particular printmaking.

Berry Family Fellowship

The Library's Berry Family Fellowship honours the contribution the family made to Victorian cultural life.

Centenary of WWI Fellowship

From 2014 to 2017, the Library offered a specialist fellowship for historians and researchers wanting to explore the Library's extensive collection on WWI (1914–18) and its immediate aftermath.

Children's Literature Fellowship

The Library offers a specialist fellowship to support applicants wanting to utilise the Library's children's book collection on a project exploring aspects of children's book publishing, writing or illustrating.

Creative Fellowships

The Library offers a number of funded, honorary and special fellowships to artists and scholars in Melbourne.

Digital Fellowship

The Digital Fellowship is open to creative technologists and digital scholars who are Australian residents.

Emerging Writer's Fellowship

The Emerging Writer's Fellowship provides the opportunity for an emerging writer to spend up to three months immersing themselves in the Library's collection and networking at the Emerging Writers' Festival.

Georges Mora Fellowship

This fellowship gives one contemporary artist the opportunity to study, experiment and explore fresh thinking in their art.

Indigenous Victorian Aboriginal Cultural Research Fellowship

State Library Victoria is offering a specialist fellowship for researchers who identify as an Indigenous Victorian Aboriginal.

John Emmerson Research Fellowship

The Library offers a specialist fellowship for writers and scholars wanting to utilise the Emmerson collection.

La Trobe Society Fellowship

Australian historians, scholars and writers wanting to research Victoria's colonial history during Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe's administration can apply for a La Trobe Society Fellowship.

Photography Fellowship

The Photography Fellowship gives an artist the opportunity to research the State Library Victoria's photography collection, and present the outcome at PHOTO 2020 International Festival of Photography.

Redmond Barry Fellowship

Writers and scholars wanting to use our collection to research a project in any discipline to produce works of literature can apply for the Redmond Barry Fellowship.

Regional Fellowship

The Regional Fellowship is available to a regional Victorian to create new work inspired by material from the Library's extensive collection.

Russell Beedles Performing Arts Fellowship

The Library offers a specialist fellowship to support applicants wanting to utilise the Library's collections on a project exploring theatre and the performing arts in Victoria.

Tate Adams Memorial Residency at Baldessin Press & Studio

The Tate Adams Memorial Residency at Baldessin Press & Studio is offered to an artist to accomplish a limited edition or unique artist's book.

Ukrainian Studies Foundation in Australia Fellowship

The Library offers a specialist fellowship to support applicants wanting to utilise the Library's collections on a project exploring Ukrainian history and/or culture.

Young Researcher Fellowships

The Young Researcher Fellowships program has provided the opportunity for a select group of Victorian students from the Mallee Cluster of schools to undertake research with the support of Library education staff.