27 Jan 2011

PhD in Practice | Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is offering a doctoral program for research in and as artistic practice. The PhD in Practice is intended to give participants an opportunity to realize their individual art and research projects in a cooperative environment with a decidedly trans-disciplinary and international bent.

In societies increasingly based on economies of 'knowledge', it is crucial for contemporary visual artists to discuss and transform their own respective positions as producers, agents, designers, archivists, and conveyors of those economies, and the politics, aesthetics and affects related to them. The program critically focuses on the consequences of the shifting social role of art and artists by allowing artists in knowledge-based societies to engage in research into these issues. A deliberate emphasis on the epistemological and methodological foundations and prospects of the fine arts, its practitioners, and its audiences is a distinguishing feature of the PhD in Practice program, as is a particular interest in addressing the question of how art practices are and can be related to important issues of contemporary politics and culture.

The PhD in Practice program is designed for a four year duration (240 ECTS credits). Participants should be prepared to take part in seminars and communal meetings in Vienna for at least one week per month during the semester. Over the course of the four years the participants will develop and implement their projects analytically and experimentally in coordination with the academic and artistic team of co-participants and faculty. Trans-disciplinary modes of art production and research are fostered. An annual thematic research focus provides a common platform of discussion and organization. Importantly, the ability to write academic texts, and to conceive, organize, document, and carry out independent research will be developed by supporting participants in a networked, international and trans-disciplinary environment (The Center for Art/Knowledge/CAK).

The PhD in Practice participants have access to the facilities and resources of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and to the institutions and people that form the broader and expanding network of the Center for Art/Knowledge and the future Doctoral School of the Academy. Participants will be given the means to pursue and develop dissertation work resulting in an artistic project and a written component displaying a strong emphasis on methodological reflexivity and documentation. Moreover, participants are expected to take an active part in organizing the program (coordinating workshops, guest lectures, conferences, exhibitions, screenings, etc.).

Entry requirements

Requirements for admission to the PhD in Practice program are: a degree (Magister, MA or diploma) from a recognized University or Academy, and the submission of a portfolio and a written project proposal. Applicants who are already engaged in an artistic or academic career are encouraged to apply.

The application is online only. Applications (to be written in English) must be received by March 18, 2011, following the online application procedure explained on the website of the program (http://www.cak.akbild.ac.at), and should be sent to: phd-in-practice@akbild.ac.at

Further information can be found at http://www.cak.akbild.ac.at

The results of the application process will be published by mid-May 2011.

Admitted candidates will embark on the PhD in Practice program in October 2011.