Tyler Visiting Fellowship
The Tyler Visiting Fellowship is a biennial residential fellowship for scholars, art historians, artists, and arts practitioners living anywhere to travel to Tasmania for two weeks to conduct research utilising the Tyler Collection, housed within the University of Tasmania.
Applications close Friday 25th July 2025. The Fellowship is to be undertaken in 2026.
The Fellowship award:
Exact value will vary depending on the home location of the successful applicant, airfares, and dates of travel. The successful applicant will receive a fellowship award of AUD$10,000. Additional support is available for flights, accommodation and living expenses for the duration of their visit and access accommodations can be made.
The 2026 Tyler Visiting Fellow will conduct research into the Tyler Collection.
Research the collection based on the applicant’s lens of enquiry, working closely with collection staff.- Present a research-in-progress seminar.
- Present a public lecture at the conclusion of the research enquiry and their findings.
- Conduct research taking place in person (Tasmania, Australia) for a minimum duration of two weeks and continued online.
About the Tyler Collection
The Tyler Visiting Fellowship is made possible through a generous gift of Frances and Geoffrey Tyler.
The Tyler Collection is a private collection developed by University of Tasmania alumnus Geoffrey Tyler during his work with the International Monetary Fund in Europe, while Romania struggled under the oppressive communist rule of Nicolae Ceausescu. Gifted to the University by Frances and Geoffrey Tyler in 2013, the collection lends itself to research and display, and artistic interrogation and response.
The Tyler Collection has a distinctive focus on art from Romania, predominantly from 1970-80s, with complementary works of European, Australian, and American art. A highlight of the collection includes extensive paintings, drawings, and correspondence by artist Corneliu Petrescu. It also contains religious icons from the 17th-20th centuries. The collection provides valuable insights into the importance of art as an expression of social resilience and cultural identity.
Over thirty years, the collection grew to its present size of almost 900 artworks, and includes:
- Artwork by leading Romanian artists of the time, avoiding the socialist propaganda art which was promoted by the State. Renowned artists such as Stefan Caltia, Horia Bernea, Georgeta Naparus, and Geta Bratescu are among those represented.
- 500 paintings and drawings by Corneliu Petrescu, possibly the largest single collection of this artist’s work in the world.
- An archive of weekly correspondence by post between Tyler and his friend Corneliu Petrescu spans the 1980s until Petrescu’s death in 2009.
- A small number of Australian, European, and American artworks, including a proof edition of William Blake’s ‘Book of Job’, paintings by leading Australian artists Arthur Boyd, Leonard French, and Charles Blackman, prints by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
- A library of books (mainly about Romanian art), catalogues and posters.
- Sixty-one religious icons on wood or glass from Romania, Russia, and Greece - works dating from the 17th-20th centuries.
Visit the Tyler Collection Repository
How to Apply
Online applications are invited for the 2026 Tyler Visiting Fellowship.
Applicants are required to submit:
- A cover letter outlining how you would use this Fellowship to deepen engagement and scholarship with the Tyler Collection and how you will benefit from the Fellowship (maximum 2 x A4 pages) – For example, this could also be a project idea or proposal.
- A short CV (maximum 2 x A4 pages)
- A Statement of Support from 1 referee
- Any supporting materials (no more than 10 X A4 pages)
Please email your application as a single-file attachment in .pdf or MSW .docx format to cultural.collections@utas.edu.au by 25 July 2025. Use the subject line "Application for Tyler Visiting Fellowship".
All applicants will be advised during September 2025 as to the outcomes of the selection process.
Eligibility and Timeline
Eligibility
Available to any scholar, art historian, artist, or arts practitioner
Timeline
- 19 May 2025: Applications open
- 25 July 2025 11:59pm AEST: Applications close
- 9 August 2025: Short-listed applicants selected
- 10 – 17 August 2025: Interviews (virtual) conducted
- 31 August 2025: Tyler Visiting Fellow appointed for research in 2026
- 5 February 2026 – 30 November 2026: Fellowship travel to take place
- 3 February 2027 – 30 May 2027: Tyler Fellow public presentation to take place
Location: Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Contact
To speak to someone regarding the Tyler Visiting Fellowship, contact:
Rachael Rose
Senior Curator and Registrar, Tyler and Fine Art Collections
University of Tasmania
Caine Chennatt
Director, Curatorial and Collections
University of Tasmania
General enquiries: cultural.collections@utas.edu.au
