Best History program for collaborative research?

 

I am an MA student in History, about to finish my degree. I am specializing in the cultural/social history of East-Central Europe, with an emphasis on Poland and the Balkans. My work is not straight up, theoretical history, as I focus on monuments, collective memory, and related topics. For my thesis, I am writing on representations of Pope JPII in monuments, museums, public exhibitions and so forth in Poland, for which I did alot of personal observation, photography and interviews to finish. I also am having a photo essay published on pictures I took in Bosnia/Croatia on representations of war, in addition to a work on how the destruction of material culture in Bosnia was reflective of nationalist tendencies. Anyways, the reason I write this, is that I will be done my degree soon, but want to find a way to continue along this path, ie. combining academics with field studies, photography, and material culture. So in effect, I am looking for a way to continue this and make it into a lasting and enjoyable career, either as an academic or independent researcher. Be one of those people who is able to design and research both museum exhibits, photographic compilations, teach courses, etc, where I can one day end up doing similar projects all over the area.  

Does anyone know of a good pHd or other grad program, preferably in Canada, but also the US and Europe? I don't want to end up being your traditional prof, but I do want to find a way to make this work into something more permanent than just a hobby on the side. In particular, I wonder if there are colloborative Phd's, where I can combine cultural studies, history, photography, museum theory, and so forth, with an emphasis on this region? I know the University of Toronto has a good phd program, but am not sure of the possibilities for this kind of work. I have also considered applying for stand-alone degrees in disciplines such as Museum Studies, Visual Anthropology, or Photojournalism, but the disadvantage to these is that they are extremely pricey and fairly focused on one field, whereas with the right pHd program I could be fully funded and have more options open to me in the long term. Thank you in advance for any help!