Vice-Chancellor position at Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm

Visual Arts News

May 26, 2022

Kasper Nordenström, Ramar. Installation view, Mellanrummet Royal Instiute of Art. Photo: Patrick Miller.

May 13–June 8, 2022

The Royal Institute of Art has been educating artists and architects since 1735. It is Sweden’s largest higher education in Fine Art and Architecture on an artistic basis. The Royal Institute of Art provides an education with its faculty of seminal artists, theoreticians and architects from Sweden and abroad, by virtue of which alumni and currently enrolled students alike receive acclaim nationally, as well as internationally.

We are now seeking a Vice-Chancellor with a genuine interest in artistic education and research to take one of Europe’s oldest and foremost art schools into the future. As Vice-Chancellor for the Royal Institute of Art, you will be instrumental in shaping the conditions, structures and direction of art, architecture and artistic creation for tomorrow.

About the Royal Institute of Art
The Royal Institute of Art offers a five-year program in Fine Art and a two-year master’s degree in Fine Art. Additionally, it offers continuing professional development in Fine Art and Architecture with a focus on research methodology, as well as postgraduate projects related to artistic research and development. We have at present a body of some 230 students and 70 employees. As of 2021, the Institute is organized into two departments, each with a Board and Head. Our workplace is located on Skeppsholmen, in central Stockholm, amid several art and cultural institutions. Our main building is scheduled to undergo renovation in 2024–25, with the aim of consolidating our operations.

The role of the Vice-Chancellor
The Royal Institute of Art is seeking to employ a new Vice-Chancellor when our current Vice-Chancellor leaves in December 2022. The appointment is for six years with the possibility of two extensions for up to three years each.

Appointed by the government, the Vice-Chancellor holds chief responsibility for the state authority as head of the Royal Institute of Art on behalf of the Board.

The role of the Vice-Chancellor is to advance the implementation of the school’s vision and strategy and, working closely with the new organization, to facilitate the school in a clear direction towards the future. Important priorities for the Vice-Chancellor include promoting education and artistic research in Fine Art and Architecture. As the Royal Institute of Fine Art has an important standing in Swedish artistic and cultural life, the Vice-Chancellor is a key figure in supporting this, while concurrently working with internationalizing the school.

The aspiration in recent years towards securing our organization’s work environment and equality policies continues alongside the work to reinforce our fiscal standing, in part through reviewing costs and increasing revenues, for example, through external financing. The Vice-Chancellor is tasked to manage this challenging work through the new organization and in collaboration with a skilled and committed staff. The goal is an open University College whose self-evident position in Sweden and in the world remains in touch with the surrounding society through putting education and research in Fine Art and Architecture at the forefront.

Required qualifications
The candidate:
–Is qualified for employment as full or associate professor with relevant academic credentials. If a candidate has not held such an employment, this will be examined in due order.
–Is familiar with the conditions for education in Fine Art.
–Is an experienced manager with management responsibilities in the sphere of higher education and/or the sectors of art and culture.
–Has successfully conducted developmental work in one of the areas above.
–Is experienced and knowledgeable in the arts and art research at the level of higher education, and understands how state universities and authorities are run.
–Can communicate fluently in one of the Scandinavian languages, as well as in English, both spoken and written.

Ideal qualifications
The candidate:
–Is experienced in artistic production of Fine Art or Architecture
–Has established domestic and international networks, as well as experience in forming new collaborations
–Is experienced in facilitating various financial collaborations, such as fundraising
–Is experienced in delegating to managers and creating well-functioning teams

Personal qualities:
You are confident in your leadership role by building trust. You have a well-developed capacity for taking responsibility, decision-making and team building, and aspire to promote the role of art and architecture in society. We picture your leadership as one of energy, commitment, courage and integrity. You value student voice, as well as collegial processes and academic freedom. You are communicative, work inclusively, safeguard a good work environment and lead operations with a sense of pride.