Mara Raţiu is Associate Professor within the Theory Department of the University of Art and Design in Cluj-Napoca, Romania (since 2014), teaching courses in philosophy and aesthetics of the visual arts. Her main research interests are in aesthetics, contemporary artistic practices and institutions and their socio-political implications. She has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and has presented papers in more than a dozen national and international conferences. She is the author of the book Arta ca activitate socială / Art as social activity (2011) and the editor of the volume Discursuri asupra artei / Discourses on Art (2014). She is a GETTY – New Europe College Bucharest fellow, as well as a scientific adviser (2010-2012 and 2019-2022).

Between 2012 and 2022 she was vice-rector and interim rector, respectively, within her university. Since 2016 she is a member of the Representative Board of ELIA – European League of Institutes of the Arts and since 2020 she is a member of the MNAC Scientific Board.