30 Nov 2016

Call for Applications - Professor in Moving Image to Uniarts Helsinki

The Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki will fill the post of Professor in Moving Image for the term of 1 August 2017-31 July 2022 by an application procedure, based on artistic merits. The reason for the fixed-term nature of the post is the need for flexibility deriving from the constant development of the training, artistic renewal and changes in the needs of tuition. The application period for the post is 27 November 2016- 12 January 2017 at 15.00 local Helsinki time (UTC+2). The position of Professor in Moving Image will be allocated in the Time and Space Arts subject area.

Launched in January 2013, the University of the Arts Helsinki is the result of the merger of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, Sibelius Academy, and Theatre Academy Helsinki. The total number of students is approximately 2,200.

The Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki is an international academy that has trained visual artists since 1848. At the Academy, it is possible to complete Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts degrees in five subject areas: Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking, Time and Space Arts, and Joint Studies. In addition, the Academy of Fine Arts has Praxis – Master's Programme for Exhibition Studies, where it is possible to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree. The Academy's Postgraduate Programme offers doctoral degrees in fine arts. The Academy of Fine Arts has approximately 270 students.

Instruction at the Academy combines theory and practice to support students' artistic development. The programmes emphasise individual instruction, allowing students to receive sustained personal guidance while working independently. The Academy of Fine Arts maintains a dynamic relationship with the world of fine arts as the Academy's instructors pursue active artistic careers alongside their teaching work.

Students' own artistic practice and its assessment are at the core of learning. Discussion is also an important part of learning at the Academy of Fine Arts, as it allows students to examine the relationship between the form and content of works of art and their communal meaning. Through discussion, students learn to understand the links between different forms of art as well as their traditions and history.

Subject area: Time and Space Arts and tuition in Moving Image

In Time and Space Arts, tuition focuses on the spatial, conceptual and bodily dimensions of artistic work, with the essence of art as a process and an event as the starting points. The Time and Space Arts have a strong outward orientation, with constant exploration and experiments being an inherent part of them. They also have a strong connection to the present, defined by mediality and visuality.
The subject area: Time and Space Arts offers tuition in the following fields: Moving image, Photography and Site and situation specific arts. The objective in this subject area is to provide students with an extensive knowledge of these fields of art and an understanding of their connections to each other and to the history and theory of contemporary art.

The primary goal of the Moving image teaching at the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki is to provide a solid foundation for independent artistic work and contains both practical and theoretical instruction. Both media specific practices and combinations with other media and the understanding of different contexts are encouraged. The field of moving image teaching can involve different technologies, be based on a wide variety of conventions and historical traditions. The main emphasis in teaching is on the students' artistic development.

Cooperation between the subject areas at the Academy of Fine Arts and the flexible mobility that the students have between subject areas are an additional dimension of the position; in addition to supervising the subject area's own students, the professor will also instruct students from other subject areas on their use of the photograph.

Duties of the Professor in Moving Image

The Professor in Moving Image shall determine the framework of the tuition in photography. The professor shall be the representative of the field of expertise in the University bodies and provide statements as an expert in the field.

The special responsibilities of the Professor in Moving Image include:
• To provide instruction in moving image and develop it.
• To bear special responsibility for the instruction and personal guidance of Master's students.
• To supervise and examine theses.
• To be involved in the general development and planning of the instruction in the subject area: Time and Space Arts.
• To participate in the cooperation between all subject areas at the Academy of Fine Arts.
• To carry out independent artistic activities.
• To participate in the Academy's administrative activities (including membership in administrative bodies or committees and related tasks as well as student admissions).
• To collaborate with the other academies at the University of the Arts Helsinki as well as with other universities and institutions.
• To constantly follow the developments in photography and contemporary arts and participate in interactions in society and international cooperation.
• Other duties belonging or assigned to the professor

Working hours and salary

The professor's working hours will be based on a total annual workload of 1,624 hours, as defined in the collective agreement. The professor's duties will be specified and their quantitative ratios confirmed in the annual workload plan.
The job-specific salary component will be based on level 8-9 of the requirement scheme for teaching and research positions in the salary system of Finnish universities. In addition, the appointee will receive a salary component based on personal work performance.

Eligibility and qualification requirements of the Professor in Moving Image

The qualification requirements of the Professor in Moving Image include an applicable educational background, excellent artistic merits and good teaching skills.

Excellence of artistic activities and the ability to provide teaching and supervision based on excellent artistic activities are requirements of the successful candidate, as is the particular interest and enthusiasm in the development of the subject area and its instruction. The position also requires familiarity in the field the candidate represents, experience in international work and the ability to engage in broad-based cooperation activities.

The languages of teaching are Finnish, Swedish and English. In order to be selected for the position, the candidate must have good Finnish and English language skills and at least satisfactory Swedish skills.*) In accordance with the University of the Arts Helsinki's guidelines pertaining to faculty, the Rector of the University of the Arts Helsinki can decide on exceptions to the language requirements when successful performance in the position is possible, and the exception is required in order to select the candidate who is most competent in other respects. Foreign applicants are required to master the English language well. The skills are demonstrated in the demonstration of aptitude. If chosen for the post, a foreign applicant who does not have a sufficient command of the Finnish language is obliged to commit to acquire the basic skills in Finnish by studying Finnish at least for one year in a separately agreed manner.

In assessing the applicant's merits, the following factors will be considered: extensive competence in the field of the position, pedagogical experience and pedagogical training. University-level experience in arts instruction is considered a merit.
In addition to these, the applicant's suitability to the task and the work community will be assessed, with special attention paid to interaction and cooperation skills.


The selection process

The call for applications will be posted on the website of the University of the Arts Helsinki on 27 November 2016. The call for applications may also be published in other Finnish and international contexts. The application period will open on 27 November 2016 and close on 12 January 2017 at 15.00 local Helsinki time (UTC +2).

The Recruitment Committee of the Academy of Fine Arts prepares appointments for teaching positions at the Academy. The Dean of the Academy selects the assessors for the appointment process. The Recruitment Committee decides on the format for teaching demonstrations and interviews, selects the applicants invited to teaching demonstrations and interviews, and prepares the proposal of appointment. The most suitable individual, based on the overall evaluation, will be selected for the position. It is possible to use an external suitability assessment and reference checks to assist the decision-making process in the filling of the position. The Rector of the University of the Arts Helsinki selects the professor based on the proposal of the Dean of the Academy of Fine Arts and concludes an employment contract with the selected candidate.

The Universities Act (558/2009) stipulates that statements on the qualifications and merits of a person applying for or invited to a post must be requested from a minimum of two assessors if that person is to be appointed to a position indefinitely or for a fixed period of at least two years. Sections 27–29 of the Administrative Procedure Act will apply to the disqualification of assessors.

How to apply

Applications, together with the required enclosures, should be submitted in four copies. All application documents should be submitted in English for the perusal of any international assessors. The Academy of Fine Arts will not have any application materials translated.

Applications must include the following enclosures:

• A freely structured statement indicating the applicant's views on moving image in relation to contemporary art and the contents of instruction in moving image as a part of artist education.
• A teaching portfolio or another kind of statement, in writing, of the experience that bears relevance to the position and the applicant's teaching philosophy.
• A portfolio of the applicant's artistic activities or, alternatively, a selection of key pieces from the applicant's artistic work presented in some other manner (possible electronic material should be submitted in USB)
• A curriculum vitae
• A list of publications
• A certificate of language skills

Applications must be submitted by post to the following address: Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki, Registry, PO Box 10, 00097 UNIARTS, Finland. If applicants send their application via a courier service such as FedEx, DHL, or an equivalent carrier, they should use the visiting address: Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki, Registry, Elimäenkatu 25 A, FI-00510 Helsinki, Finland.

The closing date for applications is 12 January 2017 at 15.00 local Helsinki time (UTC+2). Late applications will not be considered. The envelope should be marked: 'Professorship in Moving Image.'
Application documents will not be returned by post but can be collected from the Academy of Fine Arts after the closing of the application period (one copy will be retained for archiving).

More information about the contents of the post will be provided by Professor Ulrika Ferm (ulrika.ferm@uniarts.fi) and about the application procedure Head of Development Marjatta Tikkanen (Marjatta.tikkanen@uniarts.fi) and Senior Coordinator Laura Viertola (laura.viertola@uniarts.fi).

*) Proficiency in Swedish or Finnish must be demonstrated as follows: 1) A certificate provided by a member or deputy member of the State Board of Language Examinations or another method described in Government Decree No 481/2003 on the Demonstration of Proficiency in the Finnish and Swedish Languages in Civil Service (the completion of a language test included in an academic undergraduate degree); 2) a certificate provided by a professor, assistant professor, or lecturer who teaches the language in question at a Finnish institute of higher education; or 3) a passing grade in the language in question awarded in the Finnish matriculation examination.