Discover our research

Our Research Vision

Our Research & Impact Strategy sets out a vision in which our diverse collections and audiences inspire our research, and we aim to ensure that our research inspires, involves and benefits those audiences. Our staff will draw upon both deep knowledge of, and diverse perspectives on, art and material culture to make a difference through innovative and relevant research. Our research projects help us to explore the myriad ways in which art and culture touch people's lives, working with our audiences to develop knowledge, skills, agency and a sense of belonging, as well as enhancing health and wellbeing.

Who we are

Our Researchers and Affiliated Researchers conduct investigation into, or inspired by, the collections and related materials, grounded in specialist curatorial, practitioner, learning, scientific and conservation knowledge.

Our University of Cambridge networks

The Fitzwilliam is a founding institution of three University of Cambridge networks that are catalysing new and enhanced collaborations across the University of Cambridge: Cambridge Visual Culture (CVC), Cambridge Heritage Science Hub (CHERISH), and the Connections-Collections-Communities Strategic Research Initiative (CCC SRI).

Our Research Communities

Our two Research Communities, Participation, Practice & Co-creation and Materials & Materiality aim to increase the ambition of the Museum’s research, leveraging synergies between our research projects, CCC, CHERISH and CVC.

Resources

Our Study Room, Reference Library and Digital Resources provide enhanced access to our collections for external researchers.