On Thursday 1 September, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation held their first joint school start. This also marked the official celebration of the merger between the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, the Danish Design School and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Conservation.

The morning started under a clear sky with a little glass of bubbles, and this was followed by speeches and music in the Assembly Hall. Both Karoline Prien, Head of Department in the Ministry of Culture, and Johannes Due, Chairman of the Board, held congratulatory speeches, and the rectors of the three Schools followed suit. The day’s principal speaker was Hanne Boel who gave a fine speech on artistic work as a Sisyphean labour in the search for perfection. Students and employees from the Rhythmic Music Conservatory provided music in between the speeches.

After the event in the Assembly Hall, employees and students at the three Schools were treated to a light meal in the cafeteria. The day ended with the traditional Canal Crossing, where the new architectural students had to cross the Canal to the Opera in vessels of their own making.

On 8 June 2011 the Minister of Culture appointed six external members to the board of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Schools of Architecture, Design, and Conservation.

Henceforth a board of thirteen members will lead the recently merged Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, the School of Architecture, the Danish Design School, and the School of Conservation. The board will consist of thirteen members: six internal and seven external members. Six of the external members will be appointed by the Minister of Culture, and the seventh member will be appointed by The Danish Arts Council. The six internal representatives for co-workers and students will be elected in the institution, where the election process has just begun. It is expected that all the seats on the board will be filled by the end of the summer holidays.

The Minister of Culture has chosen to appoint:

Johannes Due to the position of chairman of the board. Johannes Due holds an MA in economics and is Managing Director of the health insurance company “Danmark”, chairman of the board of the University of Southern Denmark (retiring), and moreover former Head of Department.

Mette Kynne Frandsen will be the deputy chairman of the board. Mette Kynne Frandsen is an architect and holds the position of Managing Director at Henning Larsen Architects Ltd. She is the deputy chairman of The Danish Association of Architectural Firms, chairman of the marketing panel (2010), member of the School of Design’s customer panel, and a member of the government’s growth forum (2011).

Anders Byriel: Lawyer, and Managing Director of Kvadrat. Anders Byriel has in-depth leadership experience from the business world and is committed to architecture and design. He is moreover Chairman of the School of Design’s customer panel.

Jesper Stub Johnsen: Conservator, fil. dr., Conservation Director in The Department of Conservation at the Danish National Museum. He has considerable leadership experience and profound insight in professional conservation, as well as in the labour market of the profession. He is a member of the School of Conservation’s customer panel.

Karen Mosbech: Architect, MAA, Managing Director of Freja Ejendomme Ltd. (real estate management and development). She has substantial leadership experience from a number of administrative positions in the state administration, involving professional knowledge of architecture. She is the chairman of The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture’s customer panel.

Anne-Louise Sommer: Mag. art. (Copenhagen and Aarhus Universities). From the first of September she will hold the position of Director of Designmuseum Danmark. Presently she is acting chancellor of The Danish Design School, where she previously held the position of Research Director. She has published within the fields of architecture and design.