Job Vacancy

BEAR is looking for a theory tutor starting from September 2025.

Theory tutor (0,4 FTE)

Theory education at BEAR is twofold. First of all it offers the tools to reflect on the role of art in society, combining art historical and art theoretical perspectives. Secondly, it aims to develop the crafts of reading, writing and thinking in a way that is useful for practising artists -  for instance to support artistic research, or contextualising and conceptualising one’s practice. It is often useful to bring in sources from other disciplines such as philosophy, art theory, media theory, sociology and psychology.

The theory programme starts in BEAR 1 with THiNK, a series of four blocks, each one focusing on the place of art in society in a specific historical period. In BEAR 2 and BEAR 3 students follow Theory Blocks, choosing between four thematic theory workgroups. These explore topics relate to contemporary visual art, politics, philosophy, sociology and beyond. The student takes a total of four thematic workgroups in the course of the second and third year.

From BEAR 2 to BEAR 4, theory is also integrated as part of the Artistic Research component, which supports students in their individual research. Artistic Research, which aims to develop a toolkit of methods and frameworks for making, thinking, talking and contextualising. It asks the question: What is research for you, as an artist? At BEAR, research is always practice-based. Besides a discursive and textual component, it can include things that are sometimes considered non-artistic such as exercise routines, family histories, activism and gardening.

Your work 

The Theory tutor should build a supportive and empowering environment in which students can develop individually and in connection with others. The theory tutor performs a number of roles dependant on the make up of the theary team these include: teaches and updates 1st year THiNK blocks, develops and teaches theamatic 2nd and 3rd year Theory Blocks for the students, is an artistic research tutor for 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students. In all of these tasks the Theory tutor brings examples of contemporary artistic practices, asks questions, supports, connects and guides both the group and individual process of the students. The Theory tutor is also responsible for assessing the students.

You will teach weekly classes on Thursdays & Fridays. There are also other commitments, such as joining assessments, participating in the introduction day, team development days, open day, admissions and graduation committee that take place in other days than Thursdays or Fridays.

Your profile 

All our tutors are art professionals with a strong position in the (international) field. Each tutor represents a particular area or approach in fine art. We are looking for someone that is capable of inspiring, informing and supporting students in developing knowledge and skills within the domain of theory and artistic research. We are looking for someone with a wide knowledge of the field and a unique personal perspective.

In this role you will become an important part of our small BEAR team in which we together plot the future direction of our education, and through that stake-out an evolving proposition about the future of art, and the role of the artist in society. It’s important you are committed to the development of the next generation of artists and to innovating educational practices. We see BEAR as an ever changing and evolving program and you would be expected to be part of the driving force of this evolution. We expect that you must be energetic, collaborative, caring, open-minded, creative and have a deep knowledge of the field in which you work. With this role comes a responsibility in terms of availability and commitment to the students and the team. You preferably have teaching experience and/or BKE certificate or are prepared to participate in this in due course. 

 FIND MORE HERE.