FASoS Valorisation Prize 2025 awarded to Eliza Steinbock
The FASoS Valorisation Prize 2025 has been awarded to Professor Eliza Steinbock for the project ‘Field Notes on Artistic Participation in Europe’s Trans and Queer Archive’. Ferenc Laczó received an honourable mention for ‘Intertwined Stories. Writings on Contemporary History’.
Recognising research that contributes to society
Valorisation describes both the contribution that research makes to society and the process of bringing this contribution beyond academia. This can take many forms, including public debate, media appearances, collaborations with civil society and cultural organisations, consultancy, workshops and other forms of engagement with societal partners.
At FASoS, colleagues’ efforts to connect research with society are recognised through the annual Valorisation Prize, which is awarded during the faculty’s Research Day.
Field Notes on Artistic Participation in Europe’s Trans and Queer Archive
The 2025 prize was awarded to Professor Eliza Steinbock for ‘Field Notes on Artistic Participation in Europe’s Trans and Queer Archive’. The professional and scholarly short book was co-authored with former FASoS postdoc Sandro Wellenmann and designed by Edoardo Ferrari.
The book examines how contemporary artists access, question and contribute to archival collections. Drawing on research into established and emerging LGBTQI+ archives across Europe, it showcases different roles artists can play in building queer and trans archives, while providing practical resources and guidance on the ethical questions involved in collaborations between artists, archivists and other communities.
The Valorisation Prize committee praised the project for successfully translating cutting-edge research on archives for relevant audiences while offering practical guidance for institutions and users dealing with the challenges of artist-archive collaborations. The committee also highlighted the quality of the book’s writing and design, its resonance among academic and societal stakeholders, and the extensive involvement of archivists and artists throughout the research and open peer-review process.
Together, the book and its dissemination strategy help bridge communication between artists, archivists, activists and scholars working with trans and queer art, archives and collections.
Read ‘Field Notes on Artistic Participation in Europe’s Trans and Queer Archive’.
Honourable mention for Ferenc Laczó
The Valorisation Prize Committee also awarded an honourable mention to Ferenc Laczó for ‘Intertwined Stories. Writings on Contemporary History’.
The project brings together and translates into Hungarian a selection of Laczó’s public-facing writings on contemporary history, including European integration from an East-West perspective and Hungary’s rightist-illiberal turn under Viktor Orbán in a broader global context.
The committee highlighted the resonance of the book in Hungary as an example of how scholarly perspectives can successfully reach non-academic audiences and respond to a clear societal need.