“Deeply human, committed to human rights, to the well-being of the younger generations and to the arts”. This is how Karin Mairitsch describes herself. In March 2022, the Council of Zurich Universities of Applied Sciences and Arts elected her as the new President of ZHdK. She will take office on 1 October 2022. With some 2,100 Bachelor and Master students, ZHdK is one of the largest universities of the arts in Europe. The outgoing President, Thomas D. Meier, has had a pioneering impact on ZHdK over the past 13 years. The staff and students of the University said their farewells to him in a festive ceremony on 29 September 2022. Silvia Steiner, Government Councillor and Head of the Department of Education in Canton Zurich, said: “Directing a university of the arts is an art in itself. And Thomas Meier never lost sight of the bigger picture – the ‘total work of art’.”
A university with social responsibility
ZHdK’s new President, Karin Mairitsch, would like to develop ZHdK further as a leading university of the arts in a global context, while at the same time utilising its roots in the region to have an impact on the cultural life of Zurich and Switzerland. “As a university of the arts, we bear a great social responsibility, we offer a contribution to solving societal challenges. I should like to continue to develop ZHdK as an intercultural, intergenerational, interdisciplinary, free university of the arts”, says Karin Mairitsch. It is important to her to continue along the path that ZHdK took under her predecessor in pursuit of sustainability, diversity and internationalisation. Karin Mairitsch will also continue to implement the major-minor study model.
A manager in education and culture
Karin Mairitsch was born in Klagenfurt and has held various leading positions at universities including the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, and the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. She has also worked as a freelance artist, curator, lecturer and author. She holds a doctorate and has worked in educational and cultural management. Most recently, she headed “Kultur123”, the cultural centre of the city of Rüsselsheim in Germany.
The Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK
With some 2,100 Bachelor and Master students, ZHdK is one of the largest universities of the arts in Europe. Its study and research programmes encompass art education, design, film, fine arts, music, dance, theatre and transdisciplinarity. The University also owns numerous exhibition and performance venues where it presents the results of its activities to the public.
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The University magazine “Zett” has also published a lengthy interview with Karin Mairitsch.