Goals and methods
The section "Center for Contemporary Art" is dedicated to concrete questions and problems arising from the arts, art studies and art theory, and which guide social developments - in their current constellation as well as in their historical genesis - in order to discuss the potential of the arts and art studies in the contexts of the present. Innovative interdisciplinary research and cooperation between the subjects are made possible with an emphasis on contemporary art and theory. On the one hand, this makes it possible to unite important questions of contemporary culture in a historical and systematic perspective, drawing on all disciplines that constitute knowledge of the present, and on the other hand, it enables the arts to be released from their still passive state as a purely reflexive medium and to grasp the creative and problem-oriented potential of the arts themselves. To this end, the "Center for Contemporary Art" explicitly develops basic research with the dedicated inclusion of artists. Building on this, in the first few years three fields of work will be developed historically, systematically and methodologically with different thematic emphases. With the working group for contemporary art, the University of Graz is establishing a special research opportunity, namely to observe itself as an actor of science and research. This means that methods, theories and perspectives are not taken for granted, but rather enable the observation and validation of one's own practice. This results in new questions, updated perspectives and points of view, reflective approaches and thus new interdisciplinary subject areas.
Research and teaching
Research
- The section "Center for Contemporary Art" works explicitly from the perspective of basic research, which is developed from the arts and art sciences and transferred into interdisciplinary and international working contexts. The aim is to explore the most active and interesting constellations and zones of exchange. The fact that interdisciplinary projects usually remain stuck in the unsatisfactory form of additive interdisciplinarity, i.e. a series of different academic perspectives on a topic, can be explained by the fact that they are predominantly oriented towards one subject. However, the definition of disciplines via the subject matter is characteristic of demarcations between the disciplines, which art historians such as Walter Benjamin, Aby Warburg and others never tired of polemically criticizing as territorialism or border guarding.
- In the "Center for Contemporary Art" section, interdisciplinary project groups including artists work on current issues.
Teaching
The results of the basic research-oriented, interdisciplinary collaboration between the participants will then be incorporated into teaching in a second step using innovative teaching approaches and methods. The section "Centre for Contemporary Art" explicitly serves the - necessary - specialization of students in the Master's and, above all, in doctoral training. This is achieved through internationally networked, specialized, research-led teaching that complements the courses offered by the Institute of Art and Musicology at the University of Graz.
In cooperation with other institutions of the University of Graz and some departments, it is thus possible to offer a specialized range of courses, which at the same time significantly promotes the internationalization of teaching.
Promotion of young talent
The working method of the "Center for Contemporary Art" - operating with long-term focus topics - corresponds with the longer-term structure of Master's studies and the even longer-term development of doctoral theses. This is because the "Center for Contemporary Art" department enables project-based teaching units - as applied research-led teaching - over a longer period of time (approximately one academic year), from which students can write their Master's theses and doctoral dissertations and also draw on the excellent networking of the Chair of Modern Art in a regional, national and international context.
The "Chameleon" likes to change its color: whether designed by different curators in its exhibition programme, realized in different art spaces, as a field of experimentation for students of art studies in Graz, or as a platform that focuses on a text-based, art-theoretical approach to current art events. As a platform, the "Chamäleon" sees itself as a network based on networking and exchange, which has set itself the task of building a bridge between theory and practice for contemporary art and art studies in Graz. Every year, six projects will be initiated via the Chameleon in various art and cultural institutions in the city of Graz. Existing infrastructure will be used, for example through cooperation with existing institutions. At the same time, a website will be set up that documents all projects and also offers the option of publishing texts on exhibitions, artist portraits, etc. Students have the opportunity to apply for projects with their ideas in two annual calls. A board of experts makes a pre-selection before the application is submitted to the City of Graz for cultural funding. This gives art students the opportunity to realize their first exhibition project with the City of Graz, with the "Chameleon" accompanying them from the idea to the application to the realization. This creates an initial network with the current art scene. At the same time, students are encouraged to visit current exhibitions and write texts such as art reviews, which they can then publish on the Chameleon platform. The plan is to publish the best texts once a year. Contact Elisabeth Passath