Magnus Quaife

Magnus Quaife is the Professor of Fine Art Pedagogy at the Academy of Fine Art, University of the Arts, Helsinki. He is an artist, educator, and pedagogical researcher. His research focuses on how the experiences of the art school both as a student and a member of staff inform the development of different artist’s pedagogies and the assumptions they contain. He is a founding director of the organisation Teaching Painting which explores the historical, pedagogical and shifting methods through which the discipline is addressed in higher education. Teaching Painting develops networks of artists and educators and conducts research through curating exhibitions, convening conferences, symposia, and publishing. The organisation has worked with partners including the Royal Academy of the Arts, The Royal College of Art, the Freelands Foundation, and the Whitworth, and academics from across Europe, Canada, China, Russia, and the US. Quaife worked at Manchester School of Art for over 15 years and has been visiting lecturer at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, Glasgow School of Art, York St John University, the University of Lincoln, and the University of West England.

His artistic practice has been described as that of a conceptual artist interested in paint and as being connected through an approach that is akin to an archaeology of the modern and contemporary. He is represented by the Workplace Foundation’s Community of Artists, Newcastle, UK.

He received a Doctorate from the Manchester Institute for Research in Art and Design, a Master’s in Fine Art form Manchester School of Art, a Bachelor’s in Painting from Chelsea College of Art and Design, and Foundation Diploma from Manchester Metropolitan University.