Doctor of Fine Arts Jan Kaila was selected as the Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki (Uniarts Helsinki) for the term of office from January 2018 to December 2022. Artist professor Jan Kaila has held international positions as a teacher, curator and advisor in artistic research. Kaila is also Frame Foundation’s Chair of the Board.
Jan Kaila (b. 1957) is a visual artist and a teacher in fine arts, and he has previously worked at the Academy of Fine Arts in various positions, including as a vice rector, director of the doctoral programme and professor of artistic research. Kaila received his doctoral degree in fine arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in 2002 after over a decade’s experience in different teaching positions in fine arts and photography. Kaila is currently the head of a three-year multi-disciplinary research project, Poetic Archeology, at Uniarts Helsinki.
The recruitment committee emphasised Kaila’s international experience and merits in developing artistic research. Kaila is an active curator and debater, and he has written extensively on contemporary art and artistic research.
“The Academy of Fine Arts has a strong international profile, and I want to continue the work of bringing it to a higher level. I also believe that the cooperation between the research of different art disciplines can be deepened even further. One of the biggest transitions during my term will naturally come in the beginning of the 2020s when the Academy of Fine Arts will relocate to the new facilities that will be built next to the Theatre Academy”, Kaila comments on the goals of his upcoming term.
Read more: Uniarts Helsinki
Photo: Petri Summanen / Uniarts Helsinki.