Careers

ARLIS/UK & Ireland – Global Majority Art Librarianship Scholarship

ARLIS UK & Ireland (The Art Libraries Society) are pleased to offer this ‘fees only’ scholarship for an individual undertaking a UK accredited Library, Information, or Archive Studies postgraduate qualification as a small first step towards addressing the ongoing underrepresentation of Black library workers and library workers of colour within art librarianship. The scholarship will be awarded annually (subject to financial stability), with details and the application form made available from the ARLIS UK & Ireland website, usually advertised in late Spring each year.

We acknowledge that art librarianship in the UK and Ireland continues to be overwhelmingly white. The 2015 UK information sector workforce survey found the profession to be 96.7% white. This reinforces the urgency and importance of steps to increase global majority access to qualifications which often remain a prerequisite for entry to the profession and development to senior roles. While we do not uncritically support the need for a qualification to perform valuable work in libraries, we do believe that university fees are a significant barrier to entry for many. The scholarship is a key recommendation of the ARLIS Equity Steering Group, whose work we are grateful for.

We welcome applicants from Black, Asian or minority ethnic / Global Majority backgrounds. Students applying to any UK postgraduate (MA, MSc, PgDip, PgCert) course accredited by CILIP are eligible, but courses which include modules or studies relevant to art librarianship (such as placements at a member institution) may strengthen an application. Students applying for full-time, or part-time or modular courses are eligible, as are distance learning options. The successful applicant should be eligible for Home fees. Fees will be paid directly to the university.

Previous awards:

2025 award winner

To be announced

2024 award winner

Rhoda Adum Boateng

2023 award winners
Dinushi Bopearachchi
Rohwana Ogunbiyi

2022 Award winner
Shakira Rawlins

ARLIS/UK & Ireland Research Awards

Applications are now open for the 2025/26 ARLIS UK & Ireland Research Awards.  

The ARLIS/UK & Ireland Research Awards are made possible by the generosity of an anonymous donor and have been established to support the research activities of librarians, archivists and curators in the art, architecture and design documentation sector. The non-member award intends to open research opportunities to individuals from groups currently under-represented. The awards are made annually.  

The award may be used for any purpose related to the research into the documentation of art, art librarianship or archival practice and may include travel within or outside the UK and Ireland, event attendance, and visits to libraries, collections and institutions (excluding events organised by ARLIS UK & Ireland itself).  

There are two awards, one for a member of ARLIS and one for a non-member. 

Members Research Award up to £1500.

Non-members Research Award up to £1000.

We welcome applications from all – please read the guidelines carefully and email your completed application to: info@arlis.net

Research Award application form

Deadline for applications: Sunday 24th August 2025

The successful applicants will be notified shortly after the application deadline. 

Previous awards:

2025 award winners

Aoife Larkin, Leeds Arts University

Francisca Fuentes Rettig

2024 award winners
Suzanna Hall, Arts University Bournemouth. Read the report.
Billie Coxhead (UAL), Fiona Dowling and Morwenna Peters (both UWE Bristol). Read the report.

2023 award winner
Jessa Mockridge, Goldsmiths, University of London.

2022 award winners
Lydia Julien, Ravensbourne College.
Sae Matsuno, Stuart Hall Library, Iniva. Read the report.

Travel & Study Fund winners (succeeded by Research Awards)

2019 award winners
Hannah Dunne-Howrie, National Art Library, V&A Museum. Hannah attended the CILIP Copyright Conference.

Eleanor Gawne, Architectural Association School of Architecture. Eleanor attended the ARCLIB conference, in Venice, May 2019.

2018 award winner

Salva Bellavia, Christie’s Education, London. Salva’s project addressed the challenges of art librarianship practice in the context of a museum for queer representation, involving a study visit to the Leslie-Lohman Museum in New York. 

Alexandra Duncan, Central Saint Martins (UAL). Alex presented a paper at the ARLIS/NA 2018 Conference in New York.

Apply for a bursary to attend our conference.

ARLIS UK & Ireland commonly offers bursaries for people to attend our annual conference. These may be made available to address the underrepresentation and/or marginalisation of particular groups of people in the GLAM
(galleries, libraries, archives and museums) sector from traditional conference programmes. They may also be made available to support students to attend conference.

Check back here in Spring 2026 for details of next year’s conference bursaries.