Marjaana Kella

Marjaana Kella started her studies in photography at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki in the late 1980s. The University is now part of Aalto University, from where Kella also obtained her PhD in 2014. Since the early 1990s Kella has been a sought-after academic art educator, teaching at a number of academies and universities within Finland . Her academic teaching has encompassed practical and theoretical studies in photography and contemporary art. Over the years, she has also acted as a supervising professor and thesis advisor for numerous MFA and PhD students. Since January 2021 Kella has been Professor of Photography in Contemporary Art at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki. She come to the Academy of Fine Arts from Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture, where she acted as professor in contemporary photography in 2017-2020. Kella has a long experience from the Academy of Fine Arts, too. She has held the position of vice dean as well as professor and lecturer in contemporary art and photography in the early 2010's. In her research and artistic practice, she explores the nature of photographic image and the overwhelming imageness of the world around us. Her works have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally since 1990. Over the past decade, she has focused on the ontological issues of photography in her texts and lectures as well.