Research and doctoral education at the Academy of Fine Arts
Our international community conducts artist- and art-based research in fine arts and educates artist-researchers who renew the arts.

Our international community conducts artist- and art-based research in fine arts and educates artist-researchers who renew the arts.
We are responsible for doctoral education and research in the Academy of Fine Arts. Our unit delineates and implements the research-oriented basic function of the Academy, which is to train artists and artist-researchers working in the field of fine arts, and to conduct research in this field. The term ‘fine arts’ here refers to the areas of contemporary art that are represented in the Academy of Fine Arts. Our research community is an academic community of doctoral candidates, teachers and researchers, along with administrative personnel. The Academy of Fine Arts conducts artistic research as well as research on contemporary art.
Specialist Michaela Bränn is the contact person for matters concerning research and publishing in the unit. Planning officer Ella Anttila is the contact person for matters concerning doctoral education in the unit.
We conduct artistic research and research on contemporary art. Read more about our researchers’ projects.
How to make artistic research public? How do artworks engage with their immediate surroundings, neighbourhoods and public space? How to bring forth artistic research in its diversity and variety? The gathering of the European Artistic Research Network (EARN) and the accompanying exhibition engages with these questions.
The call is open for all artists and artist-researchers, regardless of the institutional or freelance status, mode of practice or medium. You can apply for only one of the three residency options. The deadline for the applications is 31 October 2022.
The fifth Uniarts Research Pavilion involves residency periods for artists and artist-researchers during the spring 2023, and culminates in a public event at the Augusta Gallery in Suomenlinna as well as at the Helsinki Music Centre between 5 and 21 June 2023. The application period for the artist residencies will open in the autumn 2022.
The project funded by Kone Foundation (2021-2024) strengthens polyphony of urban space and thereby develops a more just city.
The project aims to decolonize art and museology in order to to recover the art and knowledge of Indigenous communities.
Find out more about the artistic research carried out in our unit.
Our annual Research Days are a forum for researchers, doctoral candidates and invited artists and researchers from both Finland and abroad.
Research in the Academy of Fine Arts aims to assess and reflect critically it’s themes and to produce new knowledge.
The blog highlights the activities of the research unit and doctoral programme at the Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki.
Find our experts and graduate students.
The Academy of Fine Arts offers doctoral education that emphasises high-quality artistic work and related research in the field of fine arts.
Admissions results to the Academy of Fine Arts’, Theatre Academy’s and Sibelius Academy’s doctoral programmes.
Browse doctoral theses in fine art from our unit in Taju.
The list of thesis over the last 20 years.