Jacob Jessen is Head of the Trondhem Academy of Fine Art

Jacob Jessen is an artist, researcher and professor with a focus on material and spatial practices.  Currently Head of Department in the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, NTNU I am engaged with addressing and transforming the role of art in society. I aim to redefine the notion and possibilities of visual art with a focus on research and instrumentalization creating new interdisciplinary collaborations across institutions and sectors. 

On the basis of a research informed by context and interaction, I am investigating the transformative qualities of material and spatial factors in a range of settings and frameworks - public as well as institutional. 

Over the last decade I was involved in the development of the context specific artist run scene in Scandinavia. As artist, organizer and curator he has since 2010 been engaged in artistic and curatorial platforms among other TOVES and OENgroup, exploring contemporary formats of artistic exhibition and production. In my academic career I have been engaged with developing the institutional frameworks for understanding the role of art and artists in relation to society and transistion. 

As Professor with a focus on material and Spatial Practices, former Professor at the Estonian Academy of Arts and has lectured and given workshops at among others The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Art, The National Gallery of Denmark, The Institute of Art and Sciences in Rome.