PhD position JUST PRODUCTION: ART & SOIL ECOLOGIES

VU Hoofdgebouw

Amsterdam

0.8 / 1

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

PhD

MSc

Closes on

15-03-2026

Publishing date

04-02-2026

Apply

Do you want to research and develop artistic and art-based approaches to address the foundational role of soil ecologies in keeping our planet livable? Situated at VU, this position will be part of the JUST ART consortium on art & climate justice.

Your function

As one out of ten PhDs within the JUST ART consortium, and one of the two positions located at VU, the focus of this PhD will be on soil ecologies.

Soil is a life-sustaining system that serves both human and non-human life. It is a vital site of multispecies conviviality and a highly sophisticated regenerative system. Challenging the conception of the ground as a neutral or passive backdrop, artists and environmental humanities scholars emphasize the fragility of soil as an entity that suffers, remembers, and “retains responsibility” (Fiske 2020). Through nurturing land care practices, cultivating “soil attentiveness” (Puig de la Bellacasa 2015), and experimenting with legal frameworks to defend soil against pollution, artists have been positioning soil as a foundation for environmental justice since the 1960s at least. This Phd position is intended to reflect and build upon such theories and practices by developing artistic and art-based approaches that contribute to more just relationships to and through soil—on and through the ground.

You will thus work in collaboration with local stakeholders in the Netherlands, including but not restricted to our project partners. At VU, you will be working with the Arts & Culture group, the members of the Environmental Humanities Center, with our ArtScience gallery, and profit from the expertise of our systems ecology department.

Your duties

you actively contribute to the JUST ART Consortium community through participation in and organization of workshops with project partners, and participate in the JUST ART School’s writing retreats and other activities and the VU Graduate School training programme
you write a doctoral thesis that complies with the VU Doctorate Regulations and integrates an artistic/art based research format (e.g., exhibition, workshop)
you engage with societal partners, e.g. organise collaborative knowledge exchange as well as educational and dissemination activities
you present your research in academic, artistic, and societal context (e.g. conferences, exhibitions, workshops, community gatherings) and publish at least one peer-reviewed article or book chapter and contribute to other writing projects as required (including JUST ART website)
you take on teaching tasks in year two and three of your PhD
due to the collaborative nature of the project, regular physical presence is expected

Your profile

you must hold a relevant second-cycle degree (MA or equivalent) from an art school or university
applicants with an active artistic research practice - and ideally, established engagement with climate justice and/or environmental questions more broadly — are strongly encouraged to apply
you can work independently and collaboratively in an interdisciplinary and intercultural research environment, including fieldwork
you are enthusiastic about communicating research to academic and non-academic audiences
you have excellent writing and speaking skills in English and Dutch

What do we offer?

A challenging position in a socially engaged organisation. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

a salary of € 3.059,00 (Promovendus / PhD) and maximum € 3.881,00 (Promovendus / PhD) gross per month in the fourth year, for a full-time employment
an employment contract of initially 1 year. If there is sufficient perspective, this will be extended to a total of 4 years. Your dissertation at the end of the fourth year forms the end of your employment contract

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

a full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata
8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
solid pension scheme (ABP)
contribution to commuting expenses
a wide range of sports facilities which staff may use at a modest charge

About us

JUST ART. Creating Common Grounds for Climate Justice Through Artistic Research is a six-year project on climate justice and artistic research in the Caribbean and European parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The project is funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and led by the University of Groningen. It offers 10 fully funded PhD Positions at six universities in collaboration with Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and four universities of applied sciences.

The complexity and scale of the climate crisis is overwhelming. Artistic practice and artistic research can open up new ways of understanding the intersectional dimensions of this crisis and empower people to act. Bringing together artists, researchers, campaigners and communities in rural and urban regions, JUST ART aims to cultivate diverse strategies of climate justice through artistic research and creative practice.

JUST ART PhD candidates will generate new knowledge and critically assess approaches that integrate scientific insights with artistic research to address climate justice. JUST ART PhDs will study and develop concrete cases to learn how art and artistic research can be embedded in ongoing and emerging work on climate justice. They will enhance expertise and skills to take artistic and art-based transformative action on climate justice and will contribute to theoretical frameworks, common methods, educational toolkits and knowledge sharing platforms in co-creation with project partners.

More information and links to all 10 PhD positions: www.justart.info

VU Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

A better understanding of ourselves and social communities, values and meaning, through social sciences and humanities. That is the aim of The Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities. No single discipline can do this alone. The SSH disciplines are characterised by an open way of thinking and the natural urge to seek coherence and connection.

The faculty consists of nine academic departments within three schools: School of Religion & Theology (SRT), School of Social Sciences (SSc) and School of Humanities (SH). You will be joining the Art & Culture group at the department of Art & Culture, History and Antiquity of the School of Humanities.

Are you interested in joining Social Sciences and Humanities? You become part of a dynamic academic community with approximately 900 staff members, over 5,000 regular students and more than 5,000 course participants. In an inspiring and collegial environment, we work together on education and research with impact.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Interested

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application.
Please submit

a cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest in the topic, relevance of qualifications, experience, and motivations to apply for this position. In case you apply for more than one JUST ART position, we appreciate you mentioning it;
a CV;
a research proposal of no more than 500 words explaining how you would approach the theme of soil ecologies, including information on at least one potential case study / collaboration;
a writing sample of 1.500 to 5.000 words (e.g. published article, MA thesis chapter, curatorial text);
if available, please include a short portfolio of artistic work, which may include links to online resources;
the names and contact details of two references who may be approached by the selection committee (please note we do not require reference letters with the application);
official copies of relevant diplomas and transcripts of grades.

We aim at sending out invitations for interviews before the end of April. Interviews will take place the morning of May 12.

If you have questions regarding this vacancy, please contact Kyveli Mavrokordopoulou ([email protected]) or Katja Kwastek ([email protected]).

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.