Julia Svarvar

I am a doctoral candidate in Art History at Åbo Akademi University. In my thesis, I examine urban bathhouses in Finland from 1870 to 1930. The aim of the project is to explore how the architecture and interiors of Finnish urban bathhouses can be understood as representations of contemporary ideologies concerning hygiene, class, and power. The thesis investigates both the exteriors and interiors of the bathhouses, as well as their material culture.

In addition to architectural history, I am also interested in archival and collection practices from a research perspective. In future projects, I aim to delve deeper into the broad field of archival studies.

In 2025, I will also gain more hands-on experience in archival work alongside my own research project. From May to December, I am employed by Vaasa City Museums for a cataloguing and digitization project, primarily involving architectural drawings.

I am also interested in writing and have published art reviews. I have completed the course “Criticism for All – The Art of Writing About Art” (2024–2025), organized by Kritikbyrån, which is run by the Interest Association for Finland-Swedish Freelance Critics (IFFF).

I am a board member and the secretary of NORDIK – The Nordic Association for Art Historians. I am also part of the working group organizing the international NORDIK conference “Why so Nordic? The ‘Nordic’ as Fact and Fiction in Art History,” taking place in Helsinki in October 2025.

I have also completed courses in pedagogy (25 ECTS) at the Open University and Higher Education Pedagogy (25 ECTS) at Åbo Akademi University.

As part of an Open Science project at Åbo Akademi in 2024, I compiled guidelines for how bachelor's and master's students in Art History can manage, organize, and store their research materials in an accessible and transparent way (data management).