Nina Gerlach

Prof. Dr. Nina Gerlach is the Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts Münster and has held the professorship in Aesthetics and Art History since 2015. She is a leading scholar in contemporary art theory, digital media studies, and film aesthetics. Her research explores intersections between technology, ethics, and visual culture, with a focus on post-digital art, garden symbolism in cinema, and artificial intelligence.

Gerlach studied European Art History, Ancient History, and Media Studies at Heidelberg and Mannheim, earning her MA in 2005. Her 2010 doctoral dissertation, later published as Gartenkunst im Spielfilm, received the August-Grisebach Prize. She has held visiting professorships across institutions including Harvard University (Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship, 2008-09) and served as Prorector at the Academy of Fine Arts Münster (2018-2021).

Her current research projects include Zwischen Pixel und Pigment (2025), co-edited with Simon Vagts, examining post-digital painting practices. She advises doctoral candidates like Malte Frey and Tonio Nitsche, and leads interdisciplinary initiatives linking art with human rights and democracy. Gerlach also chairs the Art Law Clinic advisory board and serves on the Landesrektorenkonferenz NRW.