Riitta Nikula

Riitta Kaarina Nikula
Born March 15, 1944, Lahti

Master of arts 1969 and PhD 1981 (art history), University of Helsinki

Professor emeritus of art history 2007–, University of Helsinki
Professor of art history 1994–2007, University of Helsinki
Head of research 1988–1994, Museum of Finnish Architecture
Academy of Finland research fellow and holder of several posts at the University of Helsinki 1970–1988
Employee of the Museum of Finnish Architecture 1967–1970
Theatre journalist 1965–1967, Ilta-Sanomat

Academy of Finland research projects:
Nainen, taide, historia (‘The woman, art, history’) 1985
Arjen taidehistoria (‘everyday art history’) 1990

Director of the national doctoral programme for art history 1999–2007
Member of the Doctoral Council of the Estonian Academy of Arts 1994–2007

A selection of publications, research projects and other academic activity on Professor Nikula’s homepage, or presented in their entirety on the University of Helsinki’s TUHAT database

Awards and honours
Finlandia Prize for Nonfiction, honourable mention 1989 (Armas Lindgren)
Finnish Art Society’s Literature Award 1991 (Erik Bryggman)
Honorary member of Architecta (association of female Finnish architects) 1992
Member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters 1993
Overseas member of the Royal Society of Arts and Sciences in Gothenburg 1997
First Class Knight of the Order of the White Rose of Finland
Museum of Finnish Architecture Bronze Medal of Merit
Wilhuri Foundation honorary award 2007
Honorary PhD , Estonian Academy of Arts
Gold Medal of the City of Helsinki 2009
Nonfiction writer of the year 2015

Photo: Mika Federley
Written by Riitta Nikula and Riitta-Ilona Hurmerinta
Translated by Matthew Billington

My dream

I dream that I will be able to continue writing and that someone will still publish some of my texts.

I also dream that in the future the University will remain a place that gives new students a sense of the unlimited possibilities of study.

I hope humanities students will bravely feel that everything depends on their own actions. Study in the humanities provides a unique opportunity to create your very own job description. This is a long-term perspective, and considering the upheavals in working life, incredibly important.

I also dream that the University will remain for everyone, open to everyone and intellectually rich. Right now the economic recession horrifies me. Short-sighted savings are threatening to destroy our future.