Call for applications: MA Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art

The Department of Art at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University welcomes applications for the two-year Master’s Programme in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art (ViCCA). The programme merges theoretical and practice-based artistic and curatorial processes, providing an opportunity for students to develop, deepen and re-contextualise their skills and knowledge across disciplines. At ViCCA, the faculty works with students to diversify and develop their knowledge base, offering concrete opportunities to develop research competencies, methodologies and a sense for artistic and critical thinking. 

Art, visual culture and the forms of organisation that go into making them public cannot be described as a mirror of society but rather they are and always have been an active agent in worldmaking. Characterised by a strong transdisciplinary approach across art, science and technology, ViCCA offers students access to emerging knowledge and practices at the intersections of multiple fields through an arts-driven engagement with societal, political, economic, ecological and philosophical concerns. Students are encouraged to situate,  explore and evolve their position as critical thinkers, artists and curators within contemporary contexts. During their time at ViCCA, students are presented with opportunities to meet established cultural and creative practitioners that will support the development of their own network.

Encouraging experimentation with diverse practices, contexts and forms of research, ViCCA is open to artists, practitioners, curators and research-oriented individuals with different backgrounds and experience, who are looking for opportunities to understand, challenge and shift the paradigm of contemporary art and the world around us. 

Aalto University
Located in Otaniemi, Espoo, a 15-minute metro ride from Helsinki city centre, the School of Arts, Design and Architecture shares a campus with the Schools of Science, Business, Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. This enables students to experiment with different paradigms of knowledge by extending their studies to include a broad variety of courses inspired by Aalto University’s disciplinary scope. The university encourages cross-pollination of disciplines and provides students with opportunities to take advantage of the wider university framework.

The QS World University Rankings ranked Aalto the 7th best in the field of Art and Design in 2020. 

Apply to ViCCA. Application timeline: December 1, 2020–January 4, 2021, 3PM GMT+2 (Helsinki Time)

For admission queries: admissions [​at​] aalto.fi / T +358 2944 29290. See the opening hours of the telephone service at Admission Services contact information page.

*Images taken before the Covid-19 pandemic and prior to official recommendations for social distancing and mask use. Please follow current guidelines and stay safe!