Minna Valjakka, Ph.D.

Affiliated Fellow, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS),

Researcher, Art History, University of Helsinki
Associate member, Cluster of Excellence Asia and Europe in a Global Context, Heidelberg University

minna.valjakka[at]helsinki.fi
In research database Tuhat

Research Interests:

• Urban creativity in East Asia (e.g. street art, contemporary graffiti, guerrilla gardening,  street furniture)
• Socially engaged arts in East Asia

Airaksinen, Sinkkonen & Valjakka (eds.):
Enemmän kuin puoli taivasta: kiinalainen nainen historiassa, yhteiskunnassa ja kulttuurissa
[More than Half the Sky: Chinese Women in History, Society and Culture.]
 
Published in Finnish by Art House on 7 March 2016.
Cover: Hung Liu Chinese Profile III (1998)
Contents in English (pdf), book review in Finnish.

Academic Research Positions

Jan 2017 - Dec 2018
(forthcoming)

Research Fellow, Asian Urbanisms Cluster, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

Nov 2015 – Oct 2016

Affiliated Fellow, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), Leiden

Sep 2012 – Aug 2015

Postdoctoral Researcher, Academy of Finland
Art History, the Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies,
University of Helsinki, Finland
Research project: East Asian Urban Art - self-expression through visual images in Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul

International activities and affiliations of the research project:

Feb 2015 - July 2015 Visiting Scholar, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea

Jan 2014 - June 2014 Visiting Scholar, Tokyo University of Arts, Japan

Jan 2013 - July 2013 Fieldwork period in Hong Kong

Sep 2012 - Dec 2012 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Art
Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto, Canada

Jun 2012 – Aug 2012

Postdoctoral Researcher in Art History at the Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies. University of Helsinki, Finland
Research project: Urban Art in Hong Kong

Education:

Jun 2011

Ph.D. in Art History. The Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies,
Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Doctoral dissertation: Many Faces of Mao Zedong.

Sep 2006 – Jul 2007

Senior Scholar in Art History in the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), Beijing, China. Scholarship from Chinese Scholarship Council.

Sep 1998 – Feb 2005

MA Student majoring in East Asian studies / Chinese studies
Minors: Aesthetics, Japanese studies, Development studies, Management studies. Department of World Cultures, University of Helsinki, Finland.

Sep 2001 – Jun 2002

Exchange student in Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Bilateral Exchange Scholarship from the University of Helsinki.