The newly founded Center for Art and the Political Imaginary (CAPIm) is pleased to announce a call for a postdoctoral researcher to join the core team of the first Centre of Excellence in artistic research in Sweden. The position is open to anyone who has completed a PhD in artistic practice (includes but not limited to fine art, design, photography, film, performance, and literature), art history, curating, or cognate disciplines—preferably a PhD that was practice-based or practice-led.
The position is based at HDK-Valand Academy of Art and Design, University of Gothenburg. Since the Centre for Art and the Political Imaginary (CAPIm) spans both HDK-Valand’s campus in Gothenburg, and the Royal Institute of Art’s (Kungl. Konsthögskolan / KKH) campus in Stockholm the postdoctoral researcher’s responsibilities will also span both campuses. The employment period is set for two years, and the start date is September 1, 2024 (or the date we later agree upon.)
As a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Centre for Art and Political Imaginary you will have a major role in shaping the centre’s programme. The position is structured as follows: 80 percent research tasks and 20 percent educational tasks. The 80 percent attached to research tasks is in turn structured as 50 percent (of total employment) for one’s own artistic research project within the framework of the Centre’s remit, and 30 percent (of total employment) to contribute, in concert with colleagues at CAPIm, to a mapping of the different usages of “the imaginary” across the contemporary art field.
Applications are made via the University of Gotheburg’s recruitment site. Applications must be received by: April 22, 2024.
About CAPIm
The Centre for Art and the Political Imaginary is dedicated to interdisciplinary practice and research in the conjunction of contemporary art and the future of politics. Based at two institutions of higher education in art in Sweden; HDK-Valand and The Royal Institute of Art—the center’s aim is to facilitate encounters between research and education through an engagement with experimental approaches to both.
The activities of the Centre are organized around four conceptual strands:
–Climate Imaginaries; engages with radical ecological change and environmental futures.
–Historical Imaginaries; addresses decolonial approaches to collective memory and nationalist representations, as well as non-aligned movements and intensifying globalization.
–Democratic Imaginaries; takes its point of departure from the polarization of the public sphere and emerging forms of illiberalism.
–Technological Imaginaries; is focused on the interactions between art and technological developments and their resulting projections of possible futures.
CAPIm is co-chaired by Prof. Natasha Marie Llorens and Prof. Mick Wilson who together with Dr. Axel Andersson and Prof. Jyoti Mistry form its steering committee.
HDK-Valand at the University of Gothenburg conducts education and research in design, film, photography, fine art, craft, and literary composition. We also educate teachers in visual arts and crafts and provide a master’s program in literary translation. We offer highly specialized educational programmes in an outward-looking and international environment.
The Royal Institute of Art (Kungl. Konsthögskolan / KKH), Stockholm, offers BA, MA, and postmaster level courses in fine art, as well as postmaster courses in architecture. The Institute is an interdisciplinary environment that promotes the encounter between different artistic expressions through experimentation with an emphasis on self-direction.
To view full position requirements and application guidelines, please see the University of Gotheburg’s recruitment site. If you have questions about the position that are not addressed in the online information contact Prof. Mick Wilson, Director of Doctoral Studies at HDK-Valand and Co-chair of CAPIm, mick.wilson [at] gu.se.
