Aalto University

School of Art, Design and Architecture (Aalto ARTS)

Aalto ARTS is the largest of its kind in the Nordic countries. The areas of study and research include visual culture, audio-visual representation, contemporary art, digital media, art education and design. For more information go to: Aalto ARTS

The roots of Aalto University are in the merging of three universities: University of Art and Design Helsinki, Helsinki School of Economics, and Helsinki University of Technology. The three universities merged on 1 Jan 2010 to form Aalto University. For more information go to: Aalto.fi

Aalto ARTS units involved

The Department of Film, Television and Scenography ELO is a vital combination of art academy and an active, practice-based and artistic research unit. It teaches all aspects of filmmaking and performance design. The department works closely with the audiovisual field, theatre, and emerging contemporary groups in performing arts. The department’s research brings new understanding of the forms of expression and production processes in cinematic and scenographic art and opens paths to international research. The research orientation is based on a fruitful dialogue between theory and practice.

Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art (ViCCA) is a two-year Master’s Programme at Aalto ARTS. ViCCA’s goal is to optimise the working across disciplines, fields of research, and various occupations that is becoming a hallmark of our times. The programme considers visual culture, curating and contemporary art an agora in which conversations, negotiations, and articulations between theory, science, technology, ecology, urbanism, popular culture, economies and thinking around societal impact can be emboldened. 

Photography research at Aalto is mainly conducted at the doctoral level in the Media department. It reflects the many roles that photography has in contemporary culture and the ubiquity of photographic practices and technologies. The research areas include: 1) the theoretical and empirical study of photographs and photography as research objects, 2) study of the uses and applications of photography in various social, cultural and educational contexts and media environments 3) the use of photography as an artistic research practice.