Fwd: Position: Research Officer – Early Japanese Photography (12 months, full-time)

[Travis Seifman]

Dear colleagues,

My apologies for any duplication that may result from me forwarding this to multiple mailing lists at once.

The Villa Guimet, a newly-established research center attached to the Guimet Museum in Paris, is recruiting a Research Officer to work on early Japanese photography for the HikarIA project (2023–2027). This is a full-time 12-month position starting on December 1, 2026.

Please see below for further details.

Sincerely,

Travis Seifman
Art Research Center
Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Edouard De SAINT-OURS <edouard.d...@guimet.fr>
Date: Mon, Aug 31, 2026 at 8:22 PM
Subject: Position: Research Officer – Early Japanese Photography (12 months, full-time)
To: Edouard De SAINT-OURS <edouard.d...@guimet.fr>

Dear friends and colleagues,

The Photography Department at Villa Guimet is recruiting a Research Officer to work on early Japanese photography for the HikarIA project (2023–2027). This is a full-time 12-month position starting on December 1, 2026.

The HikarIA project leverages AI to enhance digital access to the Guimet Museum’s collection of early Japanese photographs (comprising over 20,000 images) and to facilitate research. We are seeking a specialist in Japan studies (history, art history, history of photography, visual culture or aesthetics) to:

- Contribute to the improvement of the HikarIA database (https://hikaria.org/)

- Conduct research on the collections using this tool

- Contribute to research on the history of photography in Japan prior to 1926

- Present findings in written and oral formats and coordinate two international symposia (Kyoto, June 2027; Paris, September 2027) endorsed by the Bicentenary of Photography initiative

Further details are available here: https://www.guimet.fr/fr/appel-candidatures-villa-guimet

I would be very grateful if you could share this call for applications within your respective networks ! 

Best regards,

Edouard de SAINT‑OURS

Responsable du Pôle Photographies – Conservateur des collections photographiques Villa Guimet, centre de recherche sur les arts asiatiques 6, place d'Iéna 75116 Paris

Tél.: 01 56 52 54 26