The Melvin Day Postgraduate Scholarship and the Day Trust Grant in Art History

The Melvin Day Postgraduate Scholarship

The Melvin Day Postgraduate Scholarship in Art History is a significant competitive scholarship for students who have studied Art History at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington and who have been accepted into a postgraduate program in art history (at MA or PhD level) at a university or other institution outside of New Zealand.

Applications are invited by 1 August each year.

Applications should include a letter from the candidate, a copy of the candidate’s CV, a letter of acceptance from an overseas institution (or equivalent correspondence), an outline of the proposed research topic, and two letters of recommendation from scholars familiar with the candidate’s work.

The winner of the Day Scholarship will be announced on 1 September each year.

The amount of the Day Scholarship will be up to $30,000 and may be used as the applicant sees fit in connection with their participation in the overseas post-graduate programme for which they have been accepted, including for payment of fees, travel costs and accommodation and living expenses while attending the programme.

Applications should be addressed to the Programme Director for Art History. The Scholarship will be decided by a panel including representatives of the Art History Programme, and external experts, in consultation with the Day Trust.

At the end of their first year of study, the winner of the Day Scholarship will report to the panel with a financial statement as to how the money was spent and a brief report on their studies. It is expected that Scholars commit to returning to New Zealand and sharing the outcomes of their research in an appropriate manner.

The Day Trust Postgraduate Grant

The Day Trust will also consider providing financial assistance for MA and PhD students and recent graduates in Art History at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington to facilitate their further studies including conference presentations, primary research, and publication.

Funding may be awarded to students to undertake research abroad; to attend and present papers at overseas conferences; and/or to support the publication of a student’s MA or PhD thesis after graduation.

Applications should include a letter from the candidate, details of the travel, research or publication project, a budget, and a letter of support from the student's supervisor, or a letter of recommendation from a scholar familiar with the candidate’s work.

Applications for The Day Trust Postgraduate Research Grant can be made at any time, and should be addressed to the Programme Director of Art History. A decision on funding will be advised within six weeks of application.

The Oroya and Melvin Day Trust

Melvin Day was a well-known New Zealand artist and art historian. Over the course of seven and a half decades, he produced a distinctive and historically significant body of work.

Oroya Day was a lecturer in Art History at the University. She was also the founding president of the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace society and the driving force behind the restoration and preservation of Mansfield's house.

In recent years, the Oroya and Melvin Day Trust has become a regular benefactor of the New Zealand heritage sector.

In 2023, the Day Trust agreed to expand their support of student scholarships to provide philanthropic funding for the establishment of the Oroya Day Fellowship in addition to the Melvin Day Scholarship. The Oroya Day Fellowship in New Zealand Art History is a significant and generous contribution to the future of art history at the University.

The Oroya Day Fellowship in New Zealand Art History

This fellowship, established in 2023 on the centenary of Melvin Day’s birth, enables an early career scholar to research and teach New Zealand art history at Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.

Melvin Day, Seated Figure (c.1958) 840 x 765 mm. Ngā Puhipuhi o Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Art Collection, gifted 2018.

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington’s Art History programme was established in 1995 and since then has built a reputation for the depth of its engagement with art and culture, and its critical approaches to art history in Aotearoa New Zealand and the world beyond. We have a deep commitment to New Zealand’s art histories.

The Oroya Day Fellowship in New Zealand Art History is a significant award that enables an art history graduate to further their career whilst also teaching New Zealand art history to undergraduate students, further promoting and bringing new life to New Zealand art history. The Fellow will extend our research and scholarship in special and unique ways, enabling a new generation of students to be immersed in the close study of topics in New Zealand art history.

Requirements

The Fellowship is open to early-career researchers, possessing at least a Master’s degree in any area of study relating to New Zealand art history. Applicants are invited from emerging or early-career scholars of high potential, who have a particular research area in Aotearoa New Zealand art history they wish to explore. They must be able to devote themselves to full-time research and teaching on their chosen topic for the tenure of the Fellowship.

The Fellowship will be for 4 months from 4 November 2024 until 28 February 2025.

Award of $35,000 plus relocation and/or living costs of $2000.

Applicants will teach one 200/300 level special topic in Aotearoa New Zealand Art History. This is an intensive course over 6 weeks from mid-January until February.

The successful candidate will have a proven knowledge of New Zealand art history and address how their research contributes to or enhances mātauranga Māori. In 2024, applications are especially encouraged from scholars with a specialisation in contemporary Māori art histories.

For further information please contact Professor Susan Ballard susan.ballard@vuw.ac.nz

The Oroya and Melvin Day Trust

Melvin Day was a well-known New Zealand artist and art historian. Over the course of seven and a half decades, he produced a distinctive and historically significant body of work.

Oroya Day was a lecturer in Art History at the University. She was also the founding president of the Katherine Mansfield Birthplace society and the driving force behind the restoration and preservation of Mansfield's house.

In recent years, the Oroya and Melvin Day Trust has become a regular benefactor of the New Zealand heritage sector.

In 2023, the Day Trust agreed to expand their support of student scholarships to provide philanthropic funding for the establishment of the Oroya Day Fellowship in addition to the Melvin Day Scholarship. The Oroya Day Fellowship in New Zealand Art History is a significant and generous contribution to the future of art history at the University.