Joonas Lahtinen

Joonas Lahtinen, MA PhD, is a Professor of Performance Art & Artistic Research at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna (MUK) since September 2023. Previously, he served as a university assistant in the Department of Art and Education at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (2017–2023) and held teaching roles at UniArts Helsinki, University of Helsinki, and AP Schools of Arts Antwerp. His academic background includes a PhD in Theatre Research (University of Helsinki, 2021) and an MA in Performance (Queen Mary University of London, 2009).

Lahtinen’s research focuses on participatory performance, collaborative design processes, and the sociopolitical functions of art. He explores urban spaces, architecture, and everyday life through interdisciplinary projects such as Love Letters, Demokratie-Zelle, and From nowhere to now-here. His work bridges performance, installation, and theory, emphasizing self-determination and the political dimensions of artistic practice.

He is a member of the SAR Society’s Artist Pedagogy Research Group and contributed to the Tactics for a Collective Body project at AP Schools of Arts Antwerp (2020–2022). His research has been published in Nordic Theatre Studies.