The Living Dead: witchcraft and apparition in European culture (3rd to 18th century). By providing a major monograph, an edited collection of papers by national and international scholars, and an electronic pictorial catalogue, the project will be of immense benefit to this rich new field of international research, and also help maintain the high reputation Australian scholarship enjoys in the field of medieval and early modern studies. But the relationship of societies to their dead continues t ....The Living Dead: witchcraft and apparition in European culture (3rd to 18th century). By providing a major monograph, an edited collection of papers by national and international scholars, and an electronic pictorial catalogue, the project will be of immense benefit to this rich new field of international research, and also help maintain the high reputation Australian scholarship enjoys in the field of medieval and early modern studies. But the relationship of societies to their dead continues to evoke keen interest in contemporary Australia outside the bounds of the academy. A fully researched history of Europe's changing views towards the dead will contribute to this topical discussion, made more urgent by our aging population and changes to traditional religious and cultural responses to death. Read moreRead less
Reading the signs: disaster, apocalypse and demonology in European print culture, 1450-1700. Religious identity and belief have been critical to understanding, explaining, controlling and also exploiting natural disaster within the cultures of early modern Europe. Religion continues to shape responses today to phenomena such as climate change, drought and pandemic. By exploring religious responses to natural disaster, this project will both promote Australia's high international reputation for e ....Reading the signs: disaster, apocalypse and demonology in European print culture, 1450-1700. Religious identity and belief have been critical to understanding, explaining, controlling and also exploiting natural disaster within the cultures of early modern Europe. Religion continues to shape responses today to phenomena such as climate change, drought and pandemic. By exploring religious responses to natural disaster, this project will both promote Australia's high international reputation for early European research, and also offer new perspectives for contemporary public discussion of natural disasters and the fears they generate. It will foster cross-institutional research, and in mounting a major public exhibition, promote awareness of Australia's rich artistic and historical collections.Read moreRead less
The Field of Artistic Production in Colonial Australia: People, Institutions, History. This study of the development of Australian art in the nineteenth century focuses on the citizens, infrastructure and institutions that fostered the production of the visual arts. It eschews a Sydney-Melbourne bias in favour of the ?regions? and goes beyond ?professional? cultural elites to include amateurs, women, activists and entrepreneurs who cajoled the public and government into supporting a visual arts ....The Field of Artistic Production in Colonial Australia: People, Institutions, History. This study of the development of Australian art in the nineteenth century focuses on the citizens, infrastructure and institutions that fostered the production of the visual arts. It eschews a Sydney-Melbourne bias in favour of the ?regions? and goes beyond ?professional? cultural elites to include amateurs, women, activists and entrepreneurs who cajoled the public and government into supporting a visual arts infrastructure. This study is of regional benefit and will interest art and cultural historians and policy-makers in heritage management, cultural policy and cultural tourism. The outcomes will include a major book and a database of archival sources.Read moreRead less
Albrecht Dürer’s Material World – in Melbourne, Manchester and Nuremberg. This project aims to analyse prints in the world-class collection of the iconic Nuremberg artist, Albrecht Dürer, in Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria, and to track their 20th-century migration as objects of civic identity from Manchester to Melbourne. A focus on Dürer’s fascination with the technology and craft of objects aims to show how his creativity was rooted in the vibrant entrepreneurial climate of Nuremberg ....Albrecht Dürer’s Material World – in Melbourne, Manchester and Nuremberg. This project aims to analyse prints in the world-class collection of the iconic Nuremberg artist, Albrecht Dürer, in Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria, and to track their 20th-century migration as objects of civic identity from Manchester to Melbourne. A focus on Dürer’s fascination with the technology and craft of objects aims to show how his creativity was rooted in the vibrant entrepreneurial climate of Nuremberg c.1500 and to provide a new scholarly path for exploring the relationship between prints and material culture. Expected outcomes include major collaborative articles, an agenda-setting book, exhibitions, website, and community masterclass. These will benefit ongoing research, museums and galleries, and the broader public.Read moreRead less
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Australia: researching and relating Australia's manuscript holdings to new technologies and new readers. Building on the productive partnership forged with the State Library of Victoria in the presentation of a recent large-scale manuscript exhibition, this project will research the Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in Australia with reference to the interests of scholars and the general public. National and community benefits include access online to t ....Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Australia: researching and relating Australia's manuscript holdings to new technologies and new readers. Building on the productive partnership forged with the State Library of Victoria in the presentation of a recent large-scale manuscript exhibition, this project will research the Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts in Australia with reference to the interests of scholars and the general public. National and community benefits include access online to this precious heritage material and its global connections, and communication of research findings in publications and events designed for a variety of readers and audiences. The project will foster collaboration between curators, librarians and academic scholars and ensure Australia's timely participation in important international initiatives in this fieldRead moreRead less
Mapping Matrons: Women's Cultural Patronage Networks in Seventeenth Century Northern Italy: from Maria Cristina of Savoy to Vittoria della Rovere. This project adds an important historical dimension to contemporary debates concerning social capital and female leadership. It retrieves women's significant public engagement and community building in the realm of public taste. Historical precedents show how female networks and agency contribute to the community and public sector. Women's networks of ....Mapping Matrons: Women's Cultural Patronage Networks in Seventeenth Century Northern Italy: from Maria Cristina of Savoy to Vittoria della Rovere. This project adds an important historical dimension to contemporary debates concerning social capital and female leadership. It retrieves women's significant public engagement and community building in the realm of public taste. Historical precedents show how female networks and agency contribute to the community and public sector. Women's networks of taste shaped human creativity then...and now. This study will illuminate how our culture (and democracy) emerged in gendered networks of cultural exchange. The project also contributes to Australia's international reputation for high-quality scholarship on early modern Europe, and adds another dimension to cultural and gender studies in this country. Read moreRead less
Lorenzo de Medici and Renaissance Italy. By providing a scholarly study of Lorenzo de' Medici, and bringing to conclusion the critical edition of his correspondence (a collaborative enterprise by several eminent research institutions in the UK. USA and Italy), this project makes a major Australian contribution to a classic research field of high international prestige, and helps ensure the continued strength of teaching and research in Italian Renaissance and early modern European history in Aus ....Lorenzo de Medici and Renaissance Italy. By providing a scholarly study of Lorenzo de' Medici, and bringing to conclusion the critical edition of his correspondence (a collaborative enterprise by several eminent research institutions in the UK. USA and Italy), this project makes a major Australian contribution to a classic research field of high international prestige, and helps ensure the continued strength of teaching and research in Italian Renaissance and early modern European history in Australia. This period, and Lorenzo, continue to intrigue the general reading public throughout the world, and broadly to disseminate specialist research on these themes, as this project also proposes, is to contribute to the maintenance of a lively and critical contemporary culture.
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Fathers and Friends: Patronage and Patriarchy in Renaissance Florence. This study of patronage and patriarchy in Renaissance Florence, analysing social networks and structures and the relationship between politics, the state, personal behaviour and cultural innovation, addresses issues central to understanding how cultures are constructed. Since the entwined structures and discourses of power, state, and culture that shaped our nation were laid down in Renaissance Europe, the quality of life in ....Fathers and Friends: Patronage and Patriarchy in Renaissance Florence. This study of patronage and patriarchy in Renaissance Florence, analysing social networks and structures and the relationship between politics, the state, personal behaviour and cultural innovation, addresses issues central to understanding how cultures are constructed. Since the entwined structures and discourses of power, state, and culture that shaped our nation were laid down in Renaissance Europe, the quality of life in our multi-cultural communities, the negotiation of our changing relation to the global community, and current public discussions about philanthropy and the investment of cultural capital would benefit from this project, which will add to Australia's investment in international research at the highest level.Read moreRead less
Couples: depictions of sexuality in South and Southeast Asian art. This collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Art Gallery of NSW will explore a central element in the art and society of South and Southeast Asia, the couple, whether divine or mortal. The project explores the nature of partnerships and sexual power primarily through image based research, to establish new contexts for interpreting their history, depiction and representation. The variety in images of couples ....Couples: depictions of sexuality in South and Southeast Asian art. This collaborative project between the University of Sydney and the Art Gallery of NSW will explore a central element in the art and society of South and Southeast Asia, the couple, whether divine or mortal. The project explores the nature of partnerships and sexual power primarily through image based research, to establish new contexts for interpreting their history, depiction and representation. The variety in images of couples illustrates complex and changing ideas about relationships between the sexes. Equally complex are depictions of the goddess, androgynous figures such as the form of Shiva as half male, half female, and same sex partnerships. Expected outcomes are a major publication, a symposium and an exhibition.Read moreRead less
Facing new worlds: comparative histories of Australasia and North America. This project aims to develop comparative research into Indigenous and settler experiences in Australasia and North America in order to discover new connections or distinctions between the two regions for both public and academic audiences. The project will centre on a major exhibition with a focus on biography and life representation and will develop new methodologies for examining the shared or different histories of com ....Facing new worlds: comparative histories of Australasia and North America. This project aims to develop comparative research into Indigenous and settler experiences in Australasia and North America in order to discover new connections or distinctions between the two regions for both public and academic audiences. The project will centre on a major exhibition with a focus on biography and life representation and will develop new methodologies for examining the shared or different histories of complex indigenous-settler relations across "New World" sites. The expected outcomes of this project are to promote a deeper appreciation of Australia’s place in a Pacific world with as yet unexplored links to the Americas, and also to model new ways for art history and socio-cultural history to come together to explicate a shared, complicated past.Read moreRead less