Decolonizing Initiatives Fellowship

About the Fellowship

Our mission at the Museum can only authentically be fulfilled through a decolonial process that centers truthfulness, accountability, and reconciliation. We call this process our Decolonizing Initiatives. The heart of our Decolonizing Initiatives work comes to fruition through a practice that acknowledges and redresses the ways in which our museum (and the field) is connected to the colonial enterprise. 

The Museum’s Decolonizing Initiatives Department will be offering a Decolonizing Initiatives Fellowship (Fellowship) in 2023 – 2024. The purpose of the Fellowship is to work collaboratively with the Museum team to build decolonizing pathways onsite at the Museum of Us, and to build the capacity of people who are connected to the Museum to work within a decolonial lens. We warmly encourage Museum professionals, artists, culture bearers, educators, and community leaders to apply. 

The Fellowship will be collaboratively designed in partnership with the Fellow. Wherein, the Fellow and our Decolonizing Initiatives team will work together to develop a working plan that best suits the learning style of the Fellow, community direction, and the strategic priorities of the Museum’s departments. The Museum will consider fellowship applications from all individuals over the age of 18 with at least 3 years of experience in any field of work. Previous experience in a museum setting is not required, but is encouraged. 

Who you might be...

• Museum professional or aspiring Museum professional 
• An artist
• A culture bearer: an individual who carries and transmits cultural values, traits and practices between communities
• A community leader or activist
• A researcher or scholar
• A formal or informal educator 

You will work collaboratively with the Decolonizing Initiatives Manager to co-create a custom development plan that celebrates and expands on your unique talents, setting goals along the way as you gain familiarity with the Museum, and the field at large. Over the course of 10 months, our work will focus on the following: skill development, organizational structure, colonial patterns and decolonial change, implementing change in practice, and self-awareness. You will have the opportunity to learn from all departments within the Museum, primarily contributing to and collaborating with the Cultural Resources, Education, and Decolonizing Initiatives departments.

Here are some examples of projects you might participate in:

• Cataloguing and metadata documentation
• Education pedagogy and its implementation
• Digital storytelling and curation
• Impact evaluations 
• Public program planning and implementation

If you have questions or would like to learn more, please contact the Decolonizing Initiatives department at decolonizing@museumofus.org. 

Fellowship 2022-2023

Application Period: February 1st - April 1st, 2023

Fellowship Dates: August 1st – May 30th, 2023 

Stipend: $60,000, including a health benefits package ($0 employee contribution option) and relocation support

Location: San Diego, CA. The Fellow will be responsible for all logistical relocation arrangements. The Museum can provide financial assistance to support relocation costs if necessary.

Staffing Structure: The Fellow will report to the Decolonizing Initiatives Manager and work closely with the Decolonizing Initiatives, Education, and Cultural Resources departments.

Working Model: The Fellow will work primarily in-person at the Museum of Us, which is located in Balboa Park, San Diego and is the unceded ancestral homeland of the Kumeyaay Peoples. The potential for a hybrid model is available through approval from the Sr. Director of Decolonizing Initiatives. Whereas with approval, the Fellow may work remotely for up to 1 day per week depending upon the project calendar and departmental needs. 

Key Projects and Deliverables: The Fellow’s work will primarily support 3 departments: Cultural Resources, Education, and Decolonizing Initiatives. The Fellow will work closely with our Decolonizing Initiatives manager and the Department Leads to determine their role and contribution to existing projects and deliverables. Work will be assigned on an as-needed basis to support existing and new initiatives deliverables within the various departments and in relationship to the Museum’s Decolonizing Initiatives Strategic Action Plan. 

Applications will open on February 1, 2023. Interviews will take place on a rolling basis and applications will officially close on April 1.

Application coming soon

Application Process

1. Monthly Fellowship Application Webinars
   1. Attend one of our monthly informational webinars. The Decolonizing Initiatives Manager will hold an info session via Zoom to introduce themselves, share some context and background regarding the Decolonizing Initiatives department, and answer questions regarding the fellowship structure and application process.
2. Application Submission
   1. Submit your online application via Typeform. The application will consist of several short, open-ended questions which may be submitted via text, video, or audio recording. We also ask that applicants upload a current resume and a sample of recent creative or professional work (optional).
3. First Round: Informative Conversations
   1. Schedule your informative conversation. This will be a space to meet 1:1 with the Decolonizing Initiatives Manager to discuss logistical details and working styles, and to ensure that all questions are answered.
4. Second Round: Panel Interview
   1. Panel Interview with Museum team
5. References
   1. Provide 2-3 references – at least one personal and one professional
6. Fellowship Selection

Application coming soon