ICMA Book Prize Jury

Call for Participation

Due Monday 27 April 2026

The ICMA Book Prize is an international, annual prize open to single- or co-authored books on any topic in medieval art. The Jury is responsible for reading and considering each submission. The Book Prize accepts submissions in English, French, German, Italian, or Spanish. 

We are seeking three volunteer jury members to fulfill varied terms: one 1-year term (for 2026), one 2-year term (for 2026 and 2027), and one 3-year term (2026, 2027, and 2028). 

• The time commitment will be 40+ hours per year, with most of the activity taking place during the June-October period and additional deliberations as needed through the end of the calendar year.

• The number of submissions varies per year (as does workload), but typically 10-20 submissions are anticipated.

• Candidates based in any part of the world are welcome to apply; jurors must remain active members of the ICMA throughout their term.

• We seek an intellectually and institutionally diverse Jury capable of evaluating the field’s many flourishing areas of research. Candidates working in all subfields of medieval art history are welcome to apply.   

• Candidates must hold a PhD or equivalent experience

Please apply HERE by uploading your CV and completing a brief application, including your area of expertise and a paragraph about why you’d be willing to serve on the Jury.

STUDENT TRAVEL GRANTS
due MONDAY 27 APRIL 2026, 11:59pm ET

Applicants submit materials HERE.
Thesis advisor submit letter of recommendation HERE.

The ICMA offers grants for graduate students in the early stages of their dissertation research, enabling beginning scholars to carry out foundational investigations at archives and sites. Winners will be granted $3,000, and if needed, officers of the ICMA will contact institutions and individuals who can help the awardees gain access to relevant material. Three grants are awarded per year, and they are designed to cover one month of travel. 

The grants are primarily for students who have finished preliminary exams, and are in the process of refining dissertation topics. Students who have already submitted a proposal, but are still very early on in the process of their research, may also apply.  

NOTE: All funds must be expended by 31 December 2026.

All applicants must be ICMA members.

Applicants must submit:

1. Outline of the thesis proposal in 800 words or less.

2. Detailed outline of exactly which sites and/or archives are to be visited, which works will be consulted, and how this research relates to the proposed thesis topic. If you hope to see extremely rare materials or sites with restricted access, please be as clear as possible about contacts with custodians already made.

3. Proposed budget (airfare, lodging, other travel, per diem). Please be precise and realistic. The total need not add up to $3,000 precisely. The goal is for reviewers to see how you will handle the expenses.

4. Letter from the thesis advisor, clarifying the student’s preparedness for the research, the significance of the topic, and the relevance of the trip to the thesis.

5. A curriculum vitae.                  

Upon return, the student will be required to submit a letter and financial report to the ICMA and a narrative to the student section of the Newsletter.

Applications are due by MONDAY 27 APRIL 2026, 11:59pm ET. The ICMA will announce the winners of the three grants in May 2025.

NOTES ON FILE SUBMISSION: Please upload PDFs (.jpg, .png also accepted) with the file named as LAST NAME first, then the item. Example: SMITHcv.pdf, SMITHbudget.pdf, SMITHthesis.pdf, etc.

Similarly, please notify the thesis advisor to name the file as STUDENT LAST NAME first, then the item. Example: SMITHletter.pdf

Applicants submit materials HERE.
Thesis advisor submit letter of recommendation HERE.

Email questions to Ryan Frisinger at awards@medievalart.org. The winning applications will be chosen by members of the ICMA Grants and Awards Committee, which is chaired by our Vice-President.

Student Research Grant
due MONDAY 27 APRIL 2026, 11:59pm ET

Upload materials HERE

This grant of $500 is intended to encourage an early-stage graduate student (someone enrolled in a post-baccalaureate graduate program, who may have received a MA or MPhil, or who is otherwise pre-ABD) to pursue research on cross-cultural visual connections involving art produced in parts of the medieval world that until recently have been studied separately. To be eligible, applicants must be involved in research on the connections between art of at least two of the following broadly-defined regions:  

• Africa

• Asia

• Europe and Byzantium

• North Africa, the Middle East, and the Near East

Funds awarded could be used to defray expenses of attending or presenting at a conference or visiting a museum, archive, or site. Applicants must be members of the ICMA (information on memberships can be found here).
 
We are grateful to Robert E. Jamison, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Clemson University, for underwriting this grant. The grant recipient is to send their winning application directly to Robert E. Jamison as soon as the award is announced.

The deadline for submission is MONDAY 27 APRIL 2026, 11:59pm ET.  The winners will be announced at the Spring Board Meeting. Recipients will be asked to forward their winning application to Robert E. Jamison.

 
Applicants must submit: 

1. Description of the project to be undertaken, in 400 words or less.

2. Proposed budget.  Please be precise and realistic: if the budget exceeds $500, state how you will cover the remaining portion of the cost.

3. A curriculum vitae.            

NOTE ON FILE SUBMISSION: Please submit PDF files when appropriate with the file named as LAST NAME first, then the item. Example: SMITHdescription.pdf, SMITHbudget.pdf, SMITHcv.pdf

All applicants must be ICMA members.
All submissions are to be uploaded HERE.


A parallel grant is available via The Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Technology, Science, and Art (AVISTA).  Students may apply for both the ICMA and the AVISTA grants but would be eligible to receive only one of the awards. 

Email questions to Ryan Frisinger at awards@medievalart.org. The winning application will be chosen by members of the ICMA Grants and Awards Committee, which is chaired by our Vice-President.

Exhibition Closing

Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages

January 27 – April 19, 2026

Museum North Pavillion, Plaza Level

Getty Center, Los Angeles, CA

Creation stories imagine the world’s origins, often leading to a shared cultural vision of identity and values. For medieval Christians, the Biblical story of the seven days of Creation was essential to understanding the natural and spiritual realms, as well as humanity’s role in bridging the two. This exhibition features manuscripts from Getty’s collection alongside select contemporary paintings by LA-based artist Harmonia Rosales to explore how the Creation was visualized, represented, and interpreted both in the Middle Ages and today.

This exhibition is presented in English and Spanish. Esta exhibición se presenta en inglés y en español.

For more information, visit https://www.getty.edu/exhibitions/creation-story/

Conference

BAA Ninth BIENNIEL International Romanesque Conference

Toulouse – Transmission, Reception and Imitation in Romanesque art and architecture

Hôtel d'Assézat, Toulouse, France

13-17 April 2026

The British Archaeological Association will hold the ninth in its series of biennial International Romanesque conferences in Toulouse from 13-17 April, 2026.

The British Archaeological Association will hold the ninth in its biennial International Romanesque conference series on 13-17 April 2026. The theme is Transmission, Reception and Imitation in Romanesque art and architecture, and the aim is to examine not only the ways in which techniques, iconographic motifs and styles moved around Romanesque Europe but also the ways and reasons they were adopted, and particularly how they were transformed in their new environment.  Some aspects of the question are well-researched: the movement of artists or masons, patronal activity and monastic affiliation are obvious examples, and perhaps in need of critical re-examination. Other factors, the pre-existing artistic  background, liturgical concerns, economic and social factors or transcultural exchanges will also have played a part. 

The conference will be held at the Hôtel d’Assézat in Toulouse from 13-15 April 2026 with the opportunity to stay on for two days of visits to Romanesque buildings in the surrounding area on 16-17 April. These will include visits to monuments and museums in Toulouse itself, and an excursion to Moissac. Booking forms and further information about  the conference will be sent out later in the year. 

Speakers include Dustin Aaron, Claude Andrault-Schmitt, Mañuel Castiñeiras, Kathleen Doyle, Cecily Hennessy,  Wilfried Keil, Nathalie Le Luel, Javier Martínez de Aguirre, Robert Maxwell, Luigi Carlo Schiavi, Béla Zsolt Szakács,  Elizabeth Valdez del Álamo, Rose Walker, and Michele Vescovi.

Conference Convenors: Quitterie Cazes and Richard Plant Conference Secretary: Kate Milburn. All enquiries about the conference should be sent to conferences@thebaa.org.

It would not be possible to mount this conference without John Osborn, and the British Archaeological Association wishes to take this opportunity to thank him for the boost to Romanesque scholarship afforded by his great generosity. 

For more information, visit https://thebaa.org/events/2026-romanesque-conference/

Conference

BAA Ninth BIENNIEL International Romanesque Conference

Toulouse – Transmission, Reception and Imitation in Romanesque art and architecture

Hôtel d'Assézat, Toulouse, France

13-17 April 2026

The British Archaeological Association will hold the ninth in its series of biennial International Romanesque conferences in Toulouse from 13-17 April, 2026.

The British Archaeological Association will hold the ninth in its biennial International Romanesque conference series on 13-17 April 2026. The theme is Transmission, Reception and Imitation in Romanesque art and architecture, and the aim is to examine not only the ways in which techniques, iconographic motifs and styles moved around Romanesque Europe but also the ways and reasons they were adopted, and particularly how they were transformed in their new environment.  Some aspects of the question are well-researched: the movement of artists or masons, patronal activity and monastic affiliation are obvious examples, and perhaps in need of critical re-examination. Other factors, the pre-existing artistic  background, liturgical concerns, economic and social factors or transcultural exchanges will also have played a part. 

The conference will be held at the Hôtel d’Assézat in Toulouse from 13-15 April 2026 with the opportunity to stay on for two days of visits to Romanesque buildings in the surrounding area on 16-17 April. These will include visits to monuments and museums in Toulouse itself, and an excursion to Moissac. Booking forms and further information about  the conference will be sent out later in the year. 

Speakers include Dustin Aaron, Claude Andrault-Schmitt, Mañuel Castiñeiras, Kathleen Doyle, Cecily Hennessy,  Wilfried Keil, Nathalie Le Luel, Javier Martínez de Aguirre, Robert Maxwell, Luigi Carlo Schiavi, Béla Zsolt Szakács,  Elizabeth Valdez del Álamo, Rose Walker, and Michele Vescovi.

Conference Convenors: Quitterie Cazes and Richard Plant Conference Secretary: Kate Milburn. All enquiries about the conference should be sent to conferences@thebaa.org.

It would not be possible to mount this conference without John Osborn, and the British Archaeological Association wishes to take this opportunity to thank him for the boost to Romanesque scholarship afforded by his great generosity. 

For more information, visit https://thebaa.org/events/2026-romanesque-conference/

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

COORDINATOR FOR DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT
DUE SUNDAY 12 APRil 2026, 11:59PM ET

The International Center of Medieval Art (the “ICMA”) invites applications for a Coordinator for Digital Engagement. Established in 1956, the ICMA continues to go strong, thanks, in part, to our aim to serve the needs and interests of our members. Through our digital presence, we strive to reach an ever-developing community of scholars, curators, and enthusiasts committed to exploring the art and architecture of the medieval realm, broadly defined.

The Coordinator for Digital Engagement will work remotely, approximately 10 hours per month on a flexible schedule, and may reside anywhere. Reliable internet and computer access are required. All are welcome to apply; preference given to those pursuing a career in medieval art history.

The Coordinator will collaborate with the ICMA President, Vice President, Committee Chairs, and Executive Director on projects relating to online programming that serve the needs of scholars, instructors, museum professionals, and other enthusiasts and specialists in medieval art history. These projects and tasks include: handling technical aspects of online workshops and lectures, such as multi-speaker panels; managing large group meetings, such as a Town Hall; editing video and audio recordings for posting to the ICMA website; and collaborating with the Digital Resources Committee to maintain and innovate upon our existing website resources, including social media.

Essential skills: facility with Zoom (meetings and webinars); experience with voice and video editing and with podcast software; familiarity with website platforms such as Squarespace; competency with basic HTML and basic photo/video editing software; comfort interacting with a broad membership during live events and fielding questions; eagerness to work with the leadership and members of the ICMA; and overall aptitude for public-facing work.

The International Center of Medieval Art (ICMA) is dedicated to the support of the study, understanding, and preservation of visual and material cultures produced primarily between ca. 300 CE and ca. 1500 CE in every corner of the medieval world. The organization embraces diversity in all forms, serving a membership of scholars with a variety of racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, religious beliefs, and gender identities, among other factors. We encourage applications from candidates committed to forging and sustaining the ICMA’s multifaceted diversity and to being part of a community in which all are warmly welcomed and encouraged to succeed.

Please upload a CV, list of three references, and letter of interest (no more than two pages, single spaced) describing: (1) your research expertise; (2) the history of your engagement, if any, with the ICMA; (3) your knowledge of relevant digital platforms. Finalist candidates will be invited for interview in late April/early May 2026.

Upload application HERE

Deadline for Applications: Sunday 12 April 2026, 11:59pm ET
Term: Beginning May 2026
Compensation: $20/hr for approximately 10 hours per month; no fringe benefits

Email icma@medievalart.org with any questions.

New Scholarly Space

Byzantine Disability Hub

Inaugural Lecture

Community and Difference: Freaks and Byzantine ‘Healing’

Prof. Glenn Peers

Thursday 9 April at 6pm GMT / 1PM EST (Zoom)

Nearly every film dealing with disability falls into the error of the ‘narrative prosthetic’, wherein another character’s disability becomes a mechanism for the normative lead to reach positive self-realization. The only film dealing with disability that has avoided this condescension is a 1932 Hollywood production, Freaks, directed by Tod Brown. Diverse bodies, startling still to contemporary sensibilities, are foregrounded in the film, the actors are given real agency within the narrative, and the people are allowed to express themselves fully and distinctively. And they exact their revenge on the ‘normals’. This paper seeks to perform a thought experiment in which Freaks is the lens by which we look at and try to understand Byzantine scenes of ‘healing’. The scare quotes indicate this paper’s position: the images seldom show healing as such, and perhaps they do imply whole bodies are coming in the next frame, but they still simply reveal non-normative bodies, graced by the presence of divinity. This paper, then, looks at some images from the art of Byzantium and reflects on them from a perspective granted by the extraordinary ‘freaks’ of the film. Were Byzantine artists able to produce empathetic representations of the diversely-abled persons they knew? Can they speak to our own conflicts and ambivalences like Freaks does, if only we ask different questions?

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the Byzantine Disability Hub, a new scholarly space dedicated to exploring physical and mental difference in the Byzantine world. The Hub aims to bring together scholars, students, and all those interested in the lived experiences, representations, and social dimensions of disability in Byzantium and the medieval eastern Mediterranean.

Serving as a central platform for our activities and resources, the Byzantine Disability Hub offers a gateway to lectures, group discussions, conference updates, and a curated repository of relevant scholarship. We envision the Hub as a meeting place—one that fosters connection, collaboration, and contribution within this emerging field of study. By encouraging dialogue and highlighting ongoing work, the Hub seeks to strengthen international networks, inspire new research, and support future projects that broaden our understanding of Byzantium and its diverse communities.

For more information about the Lecture, please use this link: https://byzantine-disability-hub.leeds.ac.uk/events/invited-lecture-prof-glenn-peers/

For more details about the Hub, please use this link: https://byzantine-disability-hub.leeds.ac.uk/

BAA Annual Lecture Series

Thumbnails, or A Digital Wild Goose Chase

Jack Hartnell

Head of Research at the National Gallery, London

Society of Antiquaries of London & Online

Wednesday, 1 April 2026, 5:00pm

Tea is served from 5 p.m. and the Chair is taken at 5.30 p.m. 

As medieval manuscripts make their way into increasingly diverse parts of our digital visual ecosystem, they leave palimpsests of technologies past and the people who once operated them. This talk goes in search of a single finger, but finds instead a complex world of lost photographic labour at the boundaries of the page.

The lectures are open to all; non-members are welcome to attend occasional lectures but are asked to make themselves known to the Hon Director on arrival, and to sign the visitors book.

To watch online, click here.

For more information, click here.

Exhibition Closing

EINE MORD(s) GESCHICHTE

Essener Domshatz, Essen, Germany

08.11.2025 bis 29.03.2026

Vor 800 Jahren erschütterte der gewaltsame Tod des Kölner Erzbischofs Engelbert von Berg das gesamte Reich und die Region, die heute als Ruhrgebiet bekannt ist. Vermeintlicher Auslöser dieses Mordes war ein Streit um die Vogtei des Essener Frauenstifts, die zu diesem Zeitpunkt Engelberts Neffe, Friedrich von Isenberg, innehatte. Die Ausstellung EINE MORD(s) GESCHICHTE vom 08.11.2025 bis 29.03.2026 im Domschatz Essen beleuchtet die Ereignisse rund um Engelberts Tod.

Dabei rücken die Macht- und Besitzstrukturen des Essener Frauenstifts in den Fokus. Warum war ausgerechnet der Besitz dieser Institution von so großem Interesse für die umliegenden Herrscher und welche Mittel und Wege nutzten die Essener Stiftsfrauen, ihn zu wahren? War die Kontrolle über den Stiftsbesitz wirklich alleiniger Auslöser für die dramatischen Ereignisse des 7. November 1225? Und welche Spuren Engelberts lassen sich eigentlich nach so langer Zeit im Essener Domschatz noch entdecken?

Es geht auf eine spannende Reise in das frühe 13. Jahrhundert. Die Ausstellung zeigt selbstbewusste und machthungrige Akteur*innen, die in die Ereignisse rund um den Mord an Engelbert verstrickt waren und betrachten bekannte und unbekannte Objekte des Essener Domschatzes im Licht der dramatischen MORD(s) GESCHICHTE.

Die informationen: https://domschatz-essen.de/der-essener-domschatz/aktuelles-und-termine/details/eine-mords-geschichte

Exhibition Closing

Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages

Gallery 002, The MET Cloisters, New York, NY

Through March 29, 2026

Free with Museum admission

Set in the stunning atmosphere of The Met Cloisters, this exhibition explores the often-overlooked themes of desire, sexuality, and gender in the medieval past, a period of time when most artistic production served religious purposes.

Desire in the Middle Ages was multifaceted. It could be courtly or carnal, sacred or subversive, and expressed as a kind of longing, suffering, or joy. Medieval artists could be both deeply serious and comical in their evocations of these feelings. Drawing on decades of scholarship, Spectrum of Desire opens up new ways of seeing the past through stirring works of art that inspire us to think more expansively about people who lived in the Middle Ages, their relationships, and the artworks they produced.

Featuring more than fifty works—from gold jewelry and ivory sculptures to stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, and woven textiles—this exhibition showcases the richness of visual expression in western Europe from the 13th to the 15th century, drawing primarily from The Met collection. This exploration of the visual language of desire in its many forms invites us to reflect on our own ideas of love, identity, and kinship today.

The exhibition is made possible by the Michel David-Weill Fund and Kathryn A. Ploss.
The catalogue is made possible by the Michel David-Weill Fund and Nellie and Robert Gipson.
Additional support is provided by Wendy A. Stein and Bart Friedman.

For more information, visit https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/spectrum-of-desire-love-sex-and-gender-in-the-middle-ages

Exhibition Closing

GLOBAL Nuremberg 1300–1600

GERMANISCHES NATIONALMUSEUM, Nuremberg, Germany

25/09/2025 – 22/03/2026

This special exhibition focuses on Nuremberg’s global networks between 1300 and 1600, the city’s importance as an international trading center in the heart of Europe, and its cultural interactions worldwide. At the same time, the GNM critically reflects on Nuremberg’s role, past and present, in an increasingly globalized world.

Nuremberg was a hub for luxury goods arriving on trade routes from all corners of the world, while businesses such as the arms trade contributed to the city’s thriving prosperity. Churches and ruling dynasties from all over Europe ordered works of art and other precious items here, while most of the traded goods were mass-produced in serial workshop production.

But global trade went far beyond the import and export of goods and raw materials. Pilgrims, merchants, diplomats, and artists from Nuremberg traveled the world. Their city became an important center for the dissemination of news of all kinds. Countless broadsheets and pamphlets describing European expeditions and the people and animals of distant lands were printed in Nuremberg. The world’s oldest surviving globe, the Behaim Globe, was made here.

Nuremberg imported raw materials, too, from all over the world, such as coconuts, ostrich eggs, and sea snails, which local goldsmiths turned into ornate, luxury cups. Artists traveled to Nuremberg from far and wide to hone their skills and take their newfound knowledge back out into the world.

Albrecht Dürer’s motifs were replicated by Indian illuminators, and his famous rhinoceros even appears on a mural as far away as Colombia.

But the exhibition also highlights the darker side of early-modern globalization. Nuremberg merchants were involved in the transatlantic slave trade and the colonization of the Americas. Together with the Portuguese, they waged brutal economic wars on the east coast of Africa and in India.

The exhibition brings together a large number of high-caliber loans from across Europe, all of which relate to Nuremberg and illustrate the city’s many entanglements in early global history.

To buy tickets, visit: https://onlineshop.gnm.de/de/tickets/eintrittskarte

Free admission on Wednesdays from 17.30.

For more information, visit: https://www.gnm.de/your-museum-in-nuremberg/ausstellungen/aktuell/nuernberg-global

The International Center of Medieval Art is co-sponsoring the reception and viewing for Medieval Academy of America’s Annual Meeting attendees at the Smith College Museum of Art on Friday 20 March 2026, beginning at 6:30pm.

Check the Annual Meeting program for further information; a bus from the UMass Hotel at 6:30 is available, but pre-registration is required.

https://maa2026.wordpress.amherst.edu/

CFP -- Queer Sanctity: Contemporary Visions of Medieval and Renaissance Art

due Sunday 15 March 2026

https://differentvisions.org/queer-sanctity-call-for-participation/

I'm pleased to share a CFP for a volume I'm editing: https://differentvisions.org/queer-sanctity-call-for-participation/

Different Visions is an on-line journal dedicated to innovative scholarship on medieval art, and in partnership with them, Queer Sanctity: Contemporary Visions of Medieval and Renaissance Art will be a virtual exhibition and catalogue of work from scholars at any stage of their career (from undergrads to post docs to professors, curators, artists, and more). The focus will be on LGBTQIA2+ artists working in North America (Canada, Mexico, and the US) from about the 1980s to the present who draw inspiration from medieval and Renaissance art, whether directly or indirectly. The chronological limits of medieval/Renaissance and contemporary are quite flexible, as are the queer and trans approaches that we hope to represent by the volume / virtual exhibition.

This project is taking shape beyond the bounds of a museum or gallery, since those constraints were posing challenges to embarking on the collaborative work of creating spaces to share research on the attraction, critiques, or ruptures between LGBTQIA2+ creators, premodern art, and the institutions where these works are found (be they museum, gallery, religious setting, bathhouse, bar, archive, etc.).

There has been a surge of art historical research on queerness/transness in the premodern world, as well as monographic exhibitions devoted to queer/trans contemporary artists and their individual relationships with religion, visual culture, etc. Equally rich is the bibliography on queer/trans European and Brazilian artists working in historicizing modes. With this project, we're hoping to bridge art history, curation, religious studies, and more.

Another goal is to be intentional about expanding beyond Christian histories and visual traditions (Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, etc.) to include Jewish, Islamic, and other religions from the premodern world that create those temporal connections between past and present.

At the above link, you'll see the official CFP, as well as a video introduction I recorded. We're asking interested participants to fill out a Google Form (also linked on the CFP) with the type of contribution they might like to produce: a longer scholarly essay, a shorter object entry, a reflection piece, a video / multimedia work, an interview, etc.

One of the things I love about Different Visions is the creative flexibility we have.

Demonstration & Conversation

How Did They Do That?—Manuscript Illumination

The Met Cloisters, New York, New York

Gallery 7, Cuxa Cloister

Sunday, March 15, 2026, 1–4 pm

Peek at technique and learn—through handling tools and materials—how works of art were created. Stop by for hands-on demonstrations and conversations with educators, conservators, artists, and more! Demonstrations repeat every 30 minutes. For visitors of all ages.

Presented in conjunction with The Met Cloisters exhibitiion, Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages.

For more information, visit https://engage.metmuseum.org/events/education/workshops-and-classes/cloisters/how-did-they-do-that/fy26/how-did-they-do-that-manuscript-illumination/

Exhibition Closing

Modern Bestiary: Creatures from the Collection

Judith S. Moore Gallery (level 3)

Asheville Art Museum, North Carolina

August 20, 2025–March 15, 2026

In medieval Europe, a bestiary—or “book of beasts”—was a popular type of handwritten, illustrated manuscript whose stories and images taught Christian lessons. Animals in the bestiary were associated with particular human traits and behaviors, making abstract moral lessons easier to communicate to a mostly illiterate public. While the books themselves were rare and precious, their thought-provoking tales and vivid imagery were a familiar part of everyday life in the Middle Ages (500–1500 CE). Tapestries, metalwork, jewelry, sculptures, sermons, and popular storytelling all incorporated motifs from the bestiary.

Medieval bestiaries featured real animals alongside imaginary creatures, like unicorns and griffins, to present a holistic view of divine creation. Artists relied on secondhand accounts, written descriptions, and popular legends to depict animals that they had never seen for themselves. As a result, strange hybrids and mythic beasts accompanied realistic portrayals of ordinary animals—blending natural history, misinformation, and metaphor. Bestiaries inspired medieval audiences to observe and collect information about the world around them, setting the stage for a new encyclopedic era focused on gathering and organizing knowledge of the natural world.

Modern Bestiary: Creatures from the Collection explores the artistic legacy of the medieval bestiary through a selection of animals and fantastic beasts from the Museum’s Collection. Building on Anthony Hecht and Aubrey E. Schwartz’ A Bestiary Portfolio (1962), the exhibition examines how contemporary artists across a range of styles and media incorporate real and imagined creatures in their work, drawing on categories rooted in the medieval manuscript tradition.

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and Robin S. Klaus, PhD, assistant curator.

For more information, visit https://www.ashevilleart.org/exhibitions/modern-bestiary/

Exhibition Closing

Praymobil

Medieval art in motion

Suermondt Ludwig Museum, Aachen, Germany

29 November 2025 - 15 March 2026

Special Opening Hours: tur-sun 10-17h

Sculptures which weep, bleed, and talk, sculptures which open and close their eyes and mouths. Sculptures with movable arms and legs, as well as sculptures on wheels for processions. Sculpted doves descending from the vaults of Gothic churches into the nave to represent the Holy Ghost, and angels who seem to ascend to heaven:

Medieval participants in church liturgies, religious ceremonies, and mystery plays were keen on dramatic reenactments of biblical events. During the festive days throughout the year, they therefore set various sculptures, mostly made of wood, in motion in ritual ceremonies. Although moved by human hands, the sculptures thus appeared to be alive. This now forgotten aspect of medieval art is the subject of a fascinating exhibition at the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen, which demonstrates that sculptures in churches weren’t always motionless.

Instead, they were “played” with in a dignified, but also tangible manner, in order to enable people to actively participate in the history of salvation and to involve themselves emotionally in these events.

The exhibition audience is confronted with concrete uses of medieval objects, which live on in folk customs in many parts of Europe to this day. Be enchanted by 80 late medieval objects from European museums, private collections, and remote parishes in this world-first exhibition on medieval art in motion.

A complementary exhibition catalogue is available for 49,95 Euro.

For more information, visit https://suermondt-ludwig-museum.de/en/exhibition/praymobil-medieval-art-in-motion/

Call for Proposals

AVISTA SMART Grant

Due 15 March 2026

The AVISTA START (Science, Technology, and Art Research/Teaching) Grant is a new award that provides up to $3,000 USD in seed funding for the initial stages of a long-term scholarly project. It is sponsored by Robert E. Jamison, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Clemson University, in collaboration with AVISTA (the Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art).

The grant is open to any Ph.D.-holding researcher (full-time faculty, part-time faculty, or independent scholar). Eligible projects must engage the intersection of science, technology, and art or architecture in the medieval world—with a preference for initiatives that feature a public—facing component. Examples include, but are not limited to, publications, exhibitions, symposia, conferences, public demonstrations, research resources, and teaching resources.

The submission deadline is Sunday, March 15, 2026. Complete applications will be reviewed by AVISTA’s Grants and Awards Committee. The winning recipient will be notified in mid-April and announced at AVISTA-sponsored events at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in mid-May.

All questions and applications should be sent to:

Sarah Thompson at: avistatreasurer@gmail.com

NOTE ON FILE SUBMISSION: Please submit PDF files when appropriate with the file named as LAST NAME first, then the item.

Example: SMITHdescription.pdf, SMITHbudget.pdf, SMITHcv.pdf

Applicants are asked to submit the following materials for consideration:

1. A CV (curriculum vitae).

2. Project summary, including a title, list of goals, list of products, and discussion of the expected project impact (two pages max)

3. Project timeline, including a description of which portion of the initiative would be covered by the grant (one page)

4. Project budget, including a description of which portion of the initiative would be covered by the grant (one page)

5. List of additional funding sources to which the applicant has applied or will apply to ensure the successful completion of the project (one page).

For more information, visit: https://www.avista.org/opportunities-prizes-and-grants

Call for Papers

International Medieval Meeting Lleida

The Changing Landscapes of Holiness in the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages

University of Lleida, Spain

3-5 June 2026

Due 12 March 2026

The session seeks to explore the conceptualizations of landscape(s) of holiness in the Mediterranean viewing landscape as a participant in religious life and not only a mere background. Suggested topics, on a time frame between 300-1500, may include, but are not limited to:

• Spaces and places of holiness: Churches, catacombs, and graveyards

• Nature and holiness: landscapes of the wilderness

• Architecture, cosmology, and environments: monasteries, churches

• Political geographies of holiness: use of sacred spaces for political power, identity

• Landscape in textual sources: preaching, hagiography

• Images and landscapes of holiness: maps, pilgrimage routes

• Affective and sensorial approaches to holy places

• Rituals and landscapes of holiness in the Mediterranean

Submissions from a variety of disciplines (and sources) are accepted including but not limited to: history, art history, visual culture, social history, cultural history, hagiography, religious studies, cultural studies, textual studies in a transdisciplinary perspective.

The language of the panel is English. Fees to be covered by participants.

Please submit a short CV and a 300-words abstract (PDF or Word.doc), in English, clearly underlying the innovative aspect of your current research - that should be at an advanced level.

Deadline: 12 March 2026

Contact email: andreabianka.znorovszky@udl.cat

Contact information: Andrea-Bianka Znorovszky, University of Lleida, Spain (andreabianka.znorovszky@udl.cat)

Special invitation from our friends at the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum

Praymobil: Medieval Art in Motion

Exhibition viewing + reception

Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum
Aachen, Germany

Wednesday 11 March 2026, 18:00-21:45

RSVP  info@suermond-ludwig-museum.de

As the preview day of The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht approaches on Thursday 12 March 2026, the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum and Friends of the Museum welcome ICMA members to their museum in neighboring Aachen.

As in previous years, the team of the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum in Aachen (Wilhelmstraße 18, 52070 Aachen) and the Friends of the Museum are delighted to invite you and your friends on Wednesday 11 March 2026 at 18.00 h (6 pm) to join us for a reception until approximately 21.45h.

This year we have the pleasure to offer you not only snacks and drinks but also an exclusive visit to our current exhibition Praymobil: Medieval Art in Motion. Michael Rief, Deputy Director of the museum and Curator of this critically acclaimed exhibition, will offer guided tours before the show closes on 15 March.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you and ask that you send a short RSVP to: info@suermond-ludwig-museum.de

Upcoming Exhibition

Licornes!

Musée de Cluny, Paris

10 Mars 2026 - 12 Juillet 2026

Connue depuis l’Antiquité, souvent mentionnée et représentée au Moyen Âge, la licorne est aujourd’hui encore une créature mythique qui suscite la fascination. Elle peuple la littérature fantastique comme les univers enfantins. Elle revêt des significations variées, évocatrices de singularité ou de succès, à l’exemple du terme licorne pour désigner une start-up florissante.

L’exposition invite petits et grands à explorer l'histoire fascinante de cette créature. Elle révèle la licorne non seulement comme un animal fantastique, mais aussi comme un symbole aux multiples résonances. Organisée en huit sections, elle étudie l'iconographie de la licorne dans une perspective historique, mais aussi intellectuelle et esthétique, et incite les visiteurs à des lectures multiples.

Une exposition du Museum Barberini, Potsdam et du musée de Cluny - musée national du Moyen Âge, Paris, en collaboration avec le GrandPalaisRmn.

Consultez la page dédiée à l'événement. 

Pour plus de détails, consultez https://www.musee-moyenage.fr/activites/programmation/licornes.html

Exhibition Closing

Mandorla, les métamorphoses du sacré

Abbaye de Maubuisson, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, France

Du 5 Octobre 2025 au 8 Mars 2026

Tirant son nom du mot italien signifiant “amande”, Mandorla renvoie à une figure symbolique majeure dans l’iconographie chrétienne : celle de l’ovale lumineux formé par l’intersection de deux cercles, image de la rencontre entre le céleste et le terrestre, entre le spirituel et le corporel. L’exposition propose une relecture contemporaine de cette zone d’interpénétration des contraires, véritable matrice du sacré et de ses multiples résurgences. Pensée comme une traversée des seuils – entre les âges, les cultures, les corps et les imaginaires – Mandorla met en regard une sélection de sculptures de saintes portant leurs martyrs, provenant du Musée Krona à Uden (Pays-Bas), avec des œuvres contemporaines dans un dialogue fertile. Sculptures médiévales, dessins, photographies, installations, vidéos et objets rituels viennent ainsi célébrer le sacre de la chair, de la vie et de la nature et la résonance entre l’intime et l’universel.

Avec Gaylene Barnes, Lara Blanchard, Hildegarde de Bingen, L. Camus-Govoroff, Alexandra Duprez, Charles Fréger, Annabelle Guetatra, Balthazar Heisch, Lauren Januhowski, Kate MccGwire, Rachel Labastie, Yosra Mojtahedi, Armelle de Sainte Marie, peggy.m & Scarlett Owls, Chloé Viton.

Co-commissariat : Marie Ménestrier et Emmanuel Reiatua Cuisinier.

Pour plus de détails, consultez https://abbaye-de-maubuisson.fr/evenements/exposition-collective-mandorla-les-metamorphoses-du-sacre/

Exhibition Closing

Shaping the Soul: Medieval Manuscripts Exhibition

Aubrey R. Watzek Library, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, ORegon

12 January to 6 March 2026

From January 12 to March 6, over thirty items from the 13th through 16th centuries will be on display in Aubrey R. Watzek Library. Bringing together books normally unavailable to the public with recent acquisitions by Lewis & Clark’s Watzek Library, Shaping the Soul is the first public exhibition of medieval manuscripts in Portland in nearly three decades.

Viewing a medieval manuscript is a profoundly intimate experience. Unlike today’s mass-produced publications, medieval manuscripts are unique, bespoke productions, revealing traces of both their makers and their readers. Medieval books also performed a number of roles: developing moral character through education, nurturing interiority through meditation and prayer, creating community through shared use in worship, forming the public self through legal documentation, and more. Shaping the Soul demonstrates the various ways that people understood themselves and their world through books. Highlights include a nun’s private devotional handbook, a lawyer’s manual with amusing doodles for memory aids, a grand choir book, a thirteenth-century Bible, and sumptuous books of hours.

Curated by Professor Gross (Professor of English) and Alli Sanders (BA ’26), this exhibition is made possible in part through the Manuscripts in the Curriculum initiative developed by the international art dealer Les Enluminures (Chicago, New York, and Paris). Lewis & Clark is the first liberal arts college to participate in this program. Shaping the Soul also benefits from generous loans made by Phillip J. Pirages’s Fine Books & Manuscripts (McMinnville, Oregon). These partnerships attest to the unique opportunities created by Lewis & Clark’s instruction in Special Collections and the strong reputation for research by faculty, staff, and students.

For more information, visit https://college.lclark.edu/live/news/57521-shaping-the-soul-medieval-manuscripts-exhibition

Met Expert Talks

Medieval Desire

Thursday, March 5, 2026, 3–3:30 pm

The Met, Fifth Avenue, New York, New York

Gallery 305, Medieval Sculpture Hall

Explore the ways love, sex, and gender are represented in the Medieval Art galleries at The Met.

Join Museum experts, including curators, conservators, scientists, and scholars, for a deep dive, into a selection of objects in the galleries. Hear new insights and untold stories from Met insiders and take a closer look. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions. 

Presented in conjunction with The Met Cloisters exhibition Spectrum of Desire: Love, Sex, and Gender in the Middle Ages.

Note: Space is limited; first come, first served. Priority will be given to those who register.

For more information, visit https://engage.metmuseum.org/events/education/talks/cloisters/met-expert-talks-at-the-met-cloisters/fy26/met-expert-talks-medieval-desire/

Call for Book Proposals

Bloomsbury Academic

Bloomsbury's Trans Studies Book Series

Due 5 March 2026

Contact email: dvakoch@meti.org

Trans Studies, a book series published by Bloomsbury Academic, is seeking proposals for books that provide leading-edge scholarship on transgender and nonbinary topics from any discipline in the humanities, social sciences, and biological sciences. Bloomsbury’s Gender & Sexuality Studies list pioneers the publishing of innovative scholarly research from the Global South, and from marginalized gender identities and sexualities across global and transnational contexts. Bloomsbury has a longstanding commitment to publishing insightful books on LGBTQIA+ topics.

To propose a book for Trans Studies, please complete this form and submit it to General Editor Douglas Vakoch (dvakoch@meti.org) and Senior Acquisitions Editor Courtney Morales (Courtney.Morales@bloomsbury.com). Please include your CV, a list of five to seven potential reviewers you do not know personally, and a sample chapter. If you do not have a sample chapter for the book, please include a previous writing sample written in the same style that you envision for the book.

On the form, list the highest degree for each author, editor, and chapter author. Authors and editors should have already completed their PhDs. For edited volumes, all chapters should have at least one author who has already completed their PhD. 

Books in this series include only original content, and no materials should be previously published.

High priorities for the series include books that provide intersectional perspectives, as well as works that examine transgender and nonbinary topics with reference to particular linguistic, national, and regional groups. We encourage authors from around the world to contribute to the series, incorporating culture-specific insights as feasible.

Contemporary and historical works are equally appropriate. Books in this series include monographs and edited volumes that target academic audiences. We value books that explore socially relevant issues and that both clarify and question the premises of fields outside of trans studies.

All books in the Trans Studies series—whether they are grounded in the humanities, social sciences, or biological sciences—reflect on the assumptions that guide the book’s specific version of trans scholarship. We especially seek works that provide innovative reformulations of the scope and practice of trans studies, including novel methodologies and theoretical concepts that challenge the status quo. We welcome books from disciplines that are underrepresented in trans studies.

All books follow the most recent guidelines for best practices in using accurate and respectful language when discussing transgender and nonbinary people and topics. Key resources to these best practices include GLAAD’s overviews of Transgender People and Nonbinary People, as well as this Glossary of Terms.

Contributors to this series come from disciplines including but not limited to anthropology, architecture, area studies, art, biology, cinema studies, classics, communication studies, cultural studies, disability studies, ecology, economics, education, environmental studies, ethics, ethnic studies, gender studies, geography, history, law, literary studies, masculinity studies, media studies, medicine, medieval studies, philosophy, political science, psychology, public policy, queer studies, religious studies, rhetoric, science and technology studies, science fiction studies, sociology, theology, trans studies, and women’s studies. Proposals grounded in other disciplines are equally welcome.

Bloomsbury Academic’s Trans Studies book series is based on a three-fold commitment to:

• Provide inclusive, global representation of transgender and nonbinary topics and authors

• Challenge assumptions of trans studies and other fields

• Engage diverse disciplines from the humanities, social sciences, and biological sciences

For more information, visit https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/series/trans-studies/

BAA Annual Lecture Series

The transformation of the monastic enclosure at Marmoutier (Tours, France) between the 11th and the early 13th centuries

Elisabeth Lorans

Emeritus Professor of Medieval Archaeology, University of Tours (France)

Society of Antiquaries of London & Online

Wednesday, 4 March 2026, 5:00pm

Tea is served from 5 p.m. and the Chair is taken at 5.30 p.m. 

A re-reading of the narrative sources produced by the communities at Marmoutier and at St Martin between the 11th and the 13th centuries, when confronted with the archaeological data, allows us better to understand the topographical and architectural transformation carried out by Marmoutier during this period. This paper will examine in turn the four major aspects of these transformations: a. the formation of the enclosure and its surrounding funerary areas (or not) around 1096 as a sacred space; b. the growing role of the Repos de St Martin as a sanctuary; c. the development of a new devotional core centred on the chapel of Our Lady of the Seven Sleepers, with easier access for the pilgrims; and finally d. the lengthening of the nave of the Romanesque church, which required the destruction of the Galilee porch and the removal of the abbatial and seigniorial tombs which it contained to the chapter house. These transformations show the community’s desire to augment the surface of the enclosure and the monumental nature of its buildings, in order to move further away from the episcopal authority, within the framework of the Gregorian Reform, as well as to create a martinian centre on the right bank of the Loire, which would rival the left bank sanctuary containing the tomb of the saint.

The lectures are open to all; non-members are welcome to attend occasional lectures but are asked to make themselves known to the Hon Director on arrival, and to sign the visitors book.

To watch online, click here.

For more information, click here.

Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture 2025-2026 Lecture Series

Spindle Whorls and Women’s Work: Reframing Middle Byzantine Lives in the Athenian Agora

Fotini Kondyli

University of Virginia

March 4, 2025 | 12:00–1:30 pm (Eastern Standard Time, UTC -5)| | Zoom

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture is pleased to announce the final lecture in our 2025–2026 lecture series.

Over 150 Middle Byzantine spindle whorls in bone and steatite have been uncovered in the Athenian Agora Excavations, found in domestic and work spaces as well as in burials. In this lecture, I move these objects out of the artifact catalogues where they often linger and let them speak, telling the stories of the women who used them and the non-elite lives they illuminate.

By tracing the “biographies” of these tools—their birth (materials, making, design), working life (use, skill, transmission), and economic movement (exchange, display, disposal)—we can reconstruct rhythms of women’s labor and situate spinning within the urban economy of Byzantine Athens. Highly decorated surfaces, combining polished planes with incised grooves and circles, reveal a tactile aesthetic meant to be felt as much as seen. These designs, often associated with sacred or protective motifs, suggest that spindle whorls were not merely functional but active participants in religious experience and domestic protection. Decoration also connects these objects to a wider world: parallels with Islamic spindle whorls from the 9th–10th-century point to cultural exchange through textiles and luxury goods, and their appropriation for aesthetic and apotropaic purposes in Byzantine contexts.

Portable and publicly performed, spinning transformed these tools into communication objects, signaling skill, status, and adherence to social norms, while transmitting tacit knowledge across generations. Thinking through these encounters, this lecture reframes spinning as a socially and religiously meaningful, economically consequential performance at the heart of Middle Byzantine urban life.

Fotini Kondyli is Associate Professor of Byzantine Art and Archaeology at the University of Virginia. She researches spatial practices, community-building processes, the material culture of Byzantine non-elites, and cultural, economic, and political networks in the Eastern Mediterranean in the Late Byzantine period (13th-15th centuries).

Advance registration required. Register: https://maryjahariscenter.org/events/spindle-whorls-and-womens-work

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.

Online Workshop for Graduate Students and ECRs

GIS Basics for Byzantinists Workshop Series

Becky Seifried

University of Massachusetts Amherst

March 13 and March 20, 2026

Zoom

Registration Ends 4 March 2026

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture and the Byzantine Studies Association of North America are pleased to offer a a GIS basics workshop series for graduate students and early career researchers in collaboration with Becky Seifried of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The GIS Basics for Byzantinists workshop series will provide an introduction to the core concepts of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) through participatory sessions geared towards map creation and design. Using QGIS, a free and open-source GIS desktop software package, participants will learn how to create new research data and then transform it into an effective digital or static final map. The sessions are independent, but attending both is recommended to get the most out of the series. Participants are invited to use their own research project or idea as a basis for exploring the tool. Demo data will also be provided if needed. This workshop series is intended for those who have very little or no experience with GIS.

Each workshop is limited to 15 participants. Students enrolled in graduate programs in North America and early career researchers working in North America will be given priority. Registration is first come, first served.

Registration closes March 4, 2026.

To read a full description of the workshop series and register your interest, please visit https://maryjahariscenter.org/events/gis-basics-for-byzantinists.

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture, with any questions.

Exhibition Closing

Impressions of the Imagination: New Medieval Beasts in Print

The MET Cloisters, New York, New York

Gallery 007

Until 3 March 2026

Snarling, prancing, prowling, and peeking out from stone and thread, animals both real and fantastical fill medieval art with energy and imagination. As part of The Met Cloisters’ commitment to serving neighbors in upper Manhattan, fifth-grade students from P.S. 48 P.O. Michael J. Buczek were invited to immerse themselves in this lively world of hybrid creatures and respond with beasts of their own invention.

During two gallery visits, students studied the curves of a dragon’s tail, the proud stance of a griffin, and the shimmer of a unicorn’s tail woven into tapestries, taking careful note of how medieval artists used line, pattern, and material. Back in the classroom, students brought their ideas to life through printmaking that required layering textures and shapes to create bold, whimsical creatures, each one stamped with the imagination of its maker.

The Met Cloisters gratefully acknowledges P.S. 48 art teacher Félix Portela, Met teaching artist Pamela Lawton, and the entire P.S. 48 community for their support of this program.

For more information, visit https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/impressions-of-the-imagination-new-medieval-beasts-in-print

Call for Papers

Centre for Scottish & Celtic Studies Postgraduate Symposium

Where is Scotland? Navigating Identities and Communities by Land and Sea

University of Glasgow, 28th May 2026

Due by 2 March 2026

We are pleased to invite PGTs and PGRs to submit proposals for a 15-minute paper, in English or Gaidhlig, for the annual Centre for Scottish and Celtic Studies (CSCS) hybrid postgraduate symposium to be held at the University of Glasgow on 28th May 2026.

Movement and the landscape are increasingly recognised for their role in shaping not only Scotland but Celtic nations of the present and Celtic cultures of the past. This interdisciplinary conference aims to foster dialogue across institutions and showcase the latest research of postgraduates across the fields of Scottish Archaeology, History, Literature, and Celtic & Gaelic Studies.

We encourage abstracts addressing themes including, but not limited to:

• Scottish and Celtic diaspora: the nation beyond its borders

• The role of empire and colonisation in Early Modern identities and beyond

• Boundaries and points of contact

• Mapping populations, landscapes, identities, languages, archaeological sites

• Scotland's literary topoi

• Popular memory and folklore in shaping Celtic arts, literature, media

This conference provides a supportive and friendly environment for postgraduates to share their latest research or works-in-progress with an audience of peers including Post-Docs, Eatly Career Researchers, and foremost thinkers in similar themes across a wide array of disciplines.

Prospective speakers should submit a title, abstract (100-200 words), and a brief biography (c.50 words) in English or Gaidhlig, by 2nd March 2026

Additionally, if you are a PGT and would like to attend the symposium but not present a paper, we invite you to send us a brief, one sentence summary of you research interests, or thesis title, for inclusion in a PGT research spotlight.

Please send any abstracts or questions to arts-cscs@glasgow.ac.uk.