26 Apr 2012

Art and Public Context: Call for application

Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Nürnberg

Kunst und öffentlicher Raum / Art and Public Context

Open terrain for the exploration of artistic positions in public context.

The four-semester post-graduate programme Kunst und öffentlicher Raum / Art and Public Context at the AdBK Nürnberg offers graduate students an opportunity to develop, place and test their own artistic, conceptual positions within the context of public spaces.

The institution
The Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Nürnberg celebrates its 350th anniversary this year and offers a wide range of programmes in fine and applied arts.
The post-graduate programme 'Art and public context' is the first of its kind in Germany. Established in 1992, it is devoted to research, theory and production of art in the context of public space. From initially focusing on urban planning issues during the 1990s, it has evolved into a laboratory for the study of new methods and critical issues in art in an expanded concept of public space.
The whole academy, all the faculties, the programmes of study, the lectures and its numerous workshops offer a ready-to-use tool for graduate students.

Programmes of study
Students receive professional critical guidance and support for their art projects from Prof. Simone Decker and the visiting professors in seminars, class presentations and discussions as well as individual sessions.
The point of departure is each student's personal approach to art.
Students develop their experimental positions in a process involving direct confrontation and critical examination of urban and suburban spatial contexts. Their projects gain reality in all kinds of forms, actions, interventions, installations, performances, etc.
The working methods are interdisciplinary. The focus is not on the autonomous object itself, but rather on the relationships to its site, its surroundings and the public sphere.

Conceptual and theoretical background knowledge is conveyed in theme-based lectures and seminars, such as 'From institutional to contextual criticism', 'Performance Art in urban context' and 'Appropriating Everyday Life', to cite only a few examples. Students acquire fundamental knowledge in art history and art theory, different models of the public and the city, urban behavior and laws, routines and standards as well as current artistic attitudes, practices and discourses.
The curriculum also covers detailed planning, presentation, organization and precise management as they apply to the realization of projects.

Project Workshops provide different themes each semester and are conducted by visiting lecturers offering further opportunities for experimentation. Past topics include 'Sounding Spaces', 'New Formats in Art' and 'Exploring Performance Art'.

Practical application and cooperating partners
A special feature of the graduate programme is the combination of individual guidance and practice-oriented group projects devoted to project research, development, realization and publication (e.g. 'Tecktopisch', 'Laleheft', etc.).

The practice of art is promoted through (semester-overlapping) cooperative arrangements with a wide range of other institutions. These include urban projects carried out in cooperation with Kunstvereine in other cities, municipal galleries, international art academies/universities and experimental theaters.

Past and future projects:
in urban typecases,
about public surfaces,
on media transports,
in social coatings,
about socio-cultural lubricants,
in intimate outdoor spaces,
on political packaging,
in temporal units,
about historical sensual touches…

The postgraduate programme is open to all graduate students. It is ideally suited for students seeking advanced qualification and specialization following the award of a graduate degree in Fine Arts, Performing Arts, Architecture, Urban Planning, Sculpture and Communication Design.

Application deadline: May 15, 2012

Exact application requirements are provided at www.adbk-nuernberg.de under Application – how to apply - Art and Public Context.

For further information please contact us at: info@adbk-raum.de or our artistic assistant at: rs@adbk-raum.de

Basic skills in the German language are required.

Links:
Class Website: www.adbk-raum.de
The Academy: www.adbk-nuernberg.de

Address:
Akademie der Bildenden Künste
Bingstrasse 60
D - 90480 Nürnberg
Germany