BASEL.- On March 30, 2020, the University Board of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland appointed Dr. Claudia Perren as the new director of FNHW Academy of Art and Design in Basel.

Dr. Claudia Perren completed her studies in Architecture at the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weißensee in 1997, continued with a MAS in History and Theory of Architecture at ETH Zurich from 1997-1998, and then completed her PhD in Theory of Art and Architecture at the University of Kassel in 2005. After receiving her degree, Dr Claudia Perren taught Design, Architecture, and Urban Planning at the University of Sydney and at the Sydney University of Technology for eight years.

As from 2014, Dr. Claudia Perren served as director and board member of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. Over the last fifteen years, Claudia Perren has organized and realized a wide range of festivals, conferences, as well as teaching and education programmes in such diverse countries as Australia, China, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Dr Claudia Perren is 47 years old, married, and has two children.

Professor Dr Ursula Renold, president of the FHNW University Board, is thrilled about the appointment of Claudia Perren as the new director: “The new director of the FHNW Academy of Art and Design has to fit an extremely challenging profile and have the ability to master future challenges in a goal-oriented and sustainable manner. We are convinced that Claudia Perren is absolutely the right person for this exciting task.”

Professor Dr Crispino Bergamaschi, chairman of the board of directors of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts FHNW and head of the appointment process, said about the election of Dr. Claudia Perren: “I am very pleased about the appointment of Claudia Perren. The new director has the competence and the personality as well as the leadership experience and the necessary international network which are key to this position.”

The FNHW Academy of Art and Design offers BA and MA degree programmes in the fields of Art, Design, and Media. As a practice-guided learning, teaching, and research community, the Academy takes on the challenges of the present from an artistic and creative perspective and is committed to the training of the next generation of artists, designers, educators.