Bild- & Raumpolitiken
künstlerische Mitarbeiterin: Manuela Unverdorben
Portrait of the Class
Work within the Class
The programme centres on the development of an independent artistic practice within a supportive and critically reflective community. Teaching therefore begins with the establishment of a social community in which a respectful and constructive culture of feedback forms an essential part of working together. The Dutch ‘DASArts Feedback Method’, developed at the DAS Art Institute in Amsterdam, has proven effective in this regard. It is based on a clear set of rules that has been adapted to the classroom context and can be modified as required. The central focus is on consistently prioritising the person presenting and their artistic work, whilst the perspective and ego of those giving feedback are deliberately set aside.
This practice is complemented by an active commitment to anti-discrimination, which takes into account the diversity of students in terms of cultural backgrounds, pronouns and language skills. Community is not understood solely as a foundation for academic and artistic exchange, but is also shaped and strengthened through shared social activities. Joint class projects, as well as the celebration of festivals and other occasions, are accordingly seen as part of the class culture and as an opportunity to foster a sense of togetherness beyond the immediate artistic work.
Learning Spaces & Fields of Activity
Work with the class takes place both within the Academy’s internal context and across various fields of activity in the external environment. The Academy’s internal context encompasses studio work, the use of 22 artist-led workshops, class meetings and special sessions for first-year students. Lectures and workshops with external guests create bridges between the academic environment and various artistic and social contexts.
At the same time, the external environment is explored as an independent space for learning and experience. This includes visits to exhibitions, excursions, and discussions and encounters with artists, curators and other practitioners. Furthermore, the development and implementation of projects with institutions in non-academic contexts and in public spaces are of particular importance. In this way, artistic working methods are tested not only within the Academy, but also in various professional and social contexts.
The combination of these two learning spaces creates, on the one hand, a safe and intimate setting in which students can develop, reflect upon and deepen their own artistic practice. On the other hand, it opens up opportunities to test their own work in different contexts, gain experience of professional structures and further develop their own artistic stance through engagement with the public.
Visual and Spatial Politics
Rather than committing to a specific medium, the class focuses on the critical analysis of images and spaces. It examines the nature of our environment and the aesthetic, economic, ecological, social and political processes involved in its shaping. This approach encourages students to situate their own creative practices in relation to these complex systems and to develop a conscious approach.
„It is about gaining new access to things: about establishing a mode in which one not only sees something differently through the images, but sees the images themselves differently.“ Harun Farocki
Artistic Agency
The programme aims to equip students with a broad spectrum of skills for the development, contextualisation and communication of their artistic practice. In addition to technical skills and the development of an independent form of artistic expression, this includes the ability to situate one’s own work within the contemporary art context, to reflect upon it and to communicate it verbally. Practical knowledge – for example, in the areas of grant applications, budgeting and collaboration with external institutions – is just as integral a part of the programme as experience of collective and project-based working processes. Working in changing teams, students take on a variety of tasks, for example in the areas of curation, public relations or editing.
Artistic practice is also situated within the context of various aesthetic and social forms of analogue and digital everyday life. Social networks, pop culture, science fiction and activism are thus drawn upon as points of reference, as are theories from diverse contexts of knowledge and experience, as well as poetry and literature. These diverse perspectives broaden the frame of reference for artistic work and enable students to situate their own practice within broader social, cultural and political contexts.
The Class for Visual and Spatial Politics sees itself as a process-oriented and open laboratory for change. Experimentation, exploring scope for action, and the courage to claim space and take a stand are central elements of both collective and individual work. The focus is on trust, personal responsibility and collective processes rather than rigid hierarchies. The interplay of theoretical reflection, practical skills and a trust-based social structure creates a framework within which students can develop their artistic agency and actively situate and contribute their perspectives in a complex and crisis-ridden society.
Further information on the programme’s academic focus, the exhibitions, projects and student work from Schäfer’s class can be found here.
You can find information on portfolio consultations and application deadlines here.