Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam Reveals 2026 Research Fellows
The Allard Pierson Museum, a prominent cultural institution in Amsterdam, has announced the recipients of its 2026 fellowships. Eleven scholars have been selected to undertake specialized research projects, contributing to a deeper understanding of the museum's extensive collections, which span archaeology, ancient worlds, and cultural history.
Advancing Scholarship at Amsterdam's Allard Pierson
These fellowships underscore the museum's commitment to academic inquiry and the study of its diverse holdings. The selected fellows will delve into various aspects of the collections, bringing new insights to specialized libraries, archives, and objects.
Among the appointed fellows for 2026 are:
- Daniel Knegt, the Vanessa Steenbergen-Titchmarsh fellow for the Artis Library, will conduct research on "The vanishing auroch."
- Răzvan-Iulian Rusu has been named the Allard Pierson fellow for the Mennonite library, focusing on "A Mennonite in a Courtroom Drama: the trial against Govert Bidloo and his Beurze-stryd (1692)."
- Andrea Kieskamp is the Allard Pierson fellow for provenance research, dedicating her work to "Biographical research on algal scientist Anna Weber-van Bosse."
- Victor Tiribás, recipient of the Dr Henriette Boas fellowship for the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana collections, will work on "Uncovering the Elogios (1656): martyrdom narratives in the Sephardic diaspora."
- Anne Vigeland has been chosen as the Joop Frankvoort-van der Meer fellow for circus collections, with a project titled "Spectators' memory of the circus."
- Olivia Schoenfeld will serve as the Friends of the Allard Pierson fellow for theater collections, undertaking an "Analysing Allard Pierson’s scenography collection."
- Soscha Monteiro is the Reinjan Mulder fellow for literary collections, exploring "The spatial politics of nature writing."
- Marit de Wit, the Louise O. Fresco fellow for the history of food and nutrition, will investigate "Nutritional science for public health: domestic science cookbooks and the dissemination of scientific knowledge among women in the 19th and 20th centuries."
- Ella Campbell has been awarded the Euphemia fellow for fine prints before 1800, with a project on "A systematic census of Rafaël’s Loggia di Leone X and Loggia di Psyche."
- Efstathia Dionysopoulou is the Piet and Etty Sijpesteijn fellow for papyri in the Allard Pierson collection, focusing on "Clues from the texts: mapping the provenance of the papyri collection."
- Sushmeeta Ganesh has been selected as the Allard Pierson fellow for cartography, working on "Decolonizing cartographic heritage: a reinterpretation of the KNAG expedition collection with Indigenous and Maroon perspectives."
Further details, including abstracts of their research, are available on the museum's fellowships page, which can be found here.
Contributing to Future Cultural Discovery
The work of these fellows is expected to enrich the academic understanding of the Allard Pierson's vast resources, potentially informing future exhibitions, publications, and public programs. Their research offers new perspectives on historical artifacts, manuscripts, and artistic works, connecting the past with contemporary cultural discourse.
Visitors interested in exploring more of Amsterdam's cultural offerings, including other museums, can browse various institutions and plan their next discovery on Musemap (musemap.art). Consider looking through a list of local museums or viewing them on a map to see what's nearby.
