Senior Lecturer Photography and Visual Culture

LUCA School of Arts is a creative hub for almost 5,000 people: more than 4,000 students and 800 colleagues. LUCA offers them an educational and research environment to further develop their creative talent. We do this by offering higher education in the broad domain of the arts, and through artistic research, embedded within an associated Faculty of Arts at KU Leuven. LUCA has campuses in four cities: Ghent, Brussels, Leuven and Genk. LUCA is a member of the KU Leuven Association and the European University Alliance FilmEU.

The Photography program at LUCA School of Arts, Campus Genk, encourages students to develop the photographic medium as a critical, research-driven, and socially embedded artistic practice within a changing visual culture. The program places artistic experimentation, reflection, and research at its core, with particular attention to the role of images in broader social, cultural, and technological contexts.

Within the Art & Society expertise network and the Future Scenarios team, Campus Genk, LUCA School of Arts is seeking a senior-lecturer in Photography and Visual Culture. You have a particular interest in image practices that question, shift, or expand dominant ways of seeing, representing, and producing meaning. You investigate how images shape meaning, visibility, credibility, and public imagination, and how they can create space for plural, situated, and diverse perspectives.

The proposed start date is 1September2027.

Main location: Campus Genk.

Research

Your assignment encompasses research and teaching duties within LUCA campus Genk, primarily within the academic Bachelor's and Master's programs in Photography, and the Future Scenarios team.

As a senior lecturer, you dedicate 50% of your appointment to research.

From within the field of photography, both theoretically and practice-based, you develop a future-oriented research practice in photography and visual culture. You investigate how images shape meaning, visibility, representation, and public imagination, and how image practices can question, shift, or expand dominant perspectives. In doing so, you pay attention to the ways in which images operate within broader social, cultural, historical ecological, and technological contexts and across diverse communities.

Together with colleagues, you contribute to the development of a research group of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers, produce internationally relevant research output, and attract national and European external funding for further research. The status of Special Guest Lecturer in the Arts allows you to supervise doctoral research in the arts and research projects within KU Leuven.

Teaching

You strengthen the research trajectory within the Photography program by further embedding academic and research skills into the curriculum and by intensively supervising Master's students in their theses and graduation projects.

You teach students to critically analyse and contextualise images within broader social, cultural, and historical frameworks. You stimulate reflection on how image systems shape meaning, visibility, and credibility, while supporting students in developing their own artistic and research-oriented position.

You design and deliver teaching that introduces students to a wide range of artistic and theoretical perspectives, including non-Western, Indigenous, diasporic, and marginalized voices.

The position extends beyond teaching, supervision, and assessment. Together with colleagues, you develop educational and learning activities in line with the curriculum and profile of the program. You actively contribute to educational quality and act as an ambassador for LUCA towards prospective students, alumni, and external partners.

Service

Scientific, societal, and internal service provision are also part of the assignment, as well as professional development and international networking.

Finally, you are also expected to take on a leading role within LUCA at certain times.

Profile

• You hold a PhD and/or have additional experience as a postdoctoral researcher.
• You have built a strong artistic research portfolio with academic/peer-reviewed publications.
• You have a leading international network and experience in applying for external research funding.
• You closely follow current developments in contemporary photography and visual culture.
• Your artistic and theoretical practice critically reflects on dominant Western frameworks while drawing on diverse cultural, epistemological, and artistic traditions.
• You possess social and educational skills, are collegial and communicative, and continue to develop yourself.
• You act respectfully and with integrity, in line with LUCA’s code of conduct. You contribute to an inclusive work and study environment; you are open to different opinions, and value divers