University of Helsinki
Again positive funding news for the Museum Studies at the University of Helsinki: At this month doctoral researcher Mari Viita-aho got a one year grant for her thesis from the Wihuri Foundation.
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“Often the problem is, that when you’re applying for a grant, in many foundations museum studies is not recognised as a separate research field. When selecting a reviewer for your application, it is not possible to select a museum scholar, but you have to make a choice closest to your topic and hope for the best. In my application, I selected reviewers from the field of art history, and from the research on art and art industry. However, I am not researching art, but the social agency of “a museum”, museum exhibitions as a way of taking part in societal discussions, and policies demarcating the limits for this kind of action. So, my research falls in between many topics: sociology of art, social sciences, the language of visual presentation/communication and policy studies. All of these are of course essential issues in the museum field, which is the reason I find the field so interesting and full of opportunities.
After getting my thesis halfway done with small grants (Oscar Öflunds stiftelse sr made possible for working the summer of 2019, and of course the university’s travel grants, which have really been a golden way for learning about the field and networking!), and working on the side, I am really grateful for the Wihuri Foundation for supporting my research. Also, the great news is, that the Finnish Cultural Foundation did recently add museum studies on their selection for reviewers. I think this is a good sign, and it will be the direction in the future, and as the field of museum studies grows stronger in Finland, it will also get easier to get funded for researching the field.
Greetings from the Helsinki archipelago!
Best, Mari”
