Rachel Mader is an art historian; she studied art history, philosophy and history at the universities of Basel, Bern and Geneva; since 2012 is she head of the research focusing Art & Public at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences - Art & Design; between 2009 and 14 she worked as the project manager of 'The organization of contemporary art - Artistic practice and cultural policy in Great Britain since 1945; 2008/9 research assistant at the Institute for Contemporary Art, Zurich University of the Arts; 2002-08 research assistant in the field of contemporary art history at the universities of Bern and Zurich; 2006 Completion of the dissertation 'Profession artist, Strategies, construction and categories using the example of Paris 1870-1900 (Frank & Timme 2009); 2006 Deubner Prize for the article 'Master of the fluorescent tube - How Dan Flavin got his style'; Research stays in London, Paris and New York; various grants including 2009-2014 Ambizione (Swiss National Science Foundation); 2002-05 at the interdisciplinary Research Training Group 'Science - Gender - Symbolic Order', University of Basel.In addition, activities as a mentor at art schools; Participation in research projects, among others Owning Online Art (www.ooart.ch); as critic (springer, camera austria) and curator (Shedhalle, Belluard Bollwerk International Friborg); Organization of conferences (cultural policy, Zurich 2013; art funding, Lausanne 2013; radically ambivalent, Zurich 2011; the art project, Bern 2011) and artist talks; since 2008 member of the board of trustees of the GegenwART Foundation, Art Museum Bern, since 2012 member of the Commission for Art in Public Space, City of Bern; since 2011 Associate Editor at the Journal for Artistic Research and Common - Journal for Art and the Public.