Opening of the 2017 Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts, Programme of Events 17 July – 26 August

Press release
Programme of Events 17 July–26 August 2017

The Summer Academy starts on 17 July 2017 with the first six of 18 courses.
Since this year’s course programme poses the question “Why produce art?“, we have entitled the programme of events “Produce art!” This lays down a challenge: Yes! Let us produce art, and ask ourselves and one another in what way art is produced today. The primary aim of the programme – which includes lectures, artist’s talks, discussions, town walks, an exhibition and Open Days – is to offer a variety of insights into contemporary art production worldwide.

The 2017 courses and lectures focus particularly on Asia, home to not a few of this year’s teachers – Tony Chakar from Lebanon, Aisha Khalid from Pakistan, Diana Campbell Betancourt from Dhaka and the Philippines, and Grace Samboh from Indonesia. Once again, some 300 students are arriving from about 50 different countries to “produce art”.

Highlights

Polish artist Paulina Olowska will encourage her students to think about painting, to change and challenge it, embracing it as a method of freedom. Michael Beutler concentrates on tools and techniques of art production. With the aid of self-developed tools, students will learn and implement activity-oriented, collaborative approaches. Aisha Khalid deals with the traditional technique of miniature painting, and with making paper, brushes and paints. A first this year is a course directed by Sabrina Möller and Sabine B. Vogel, on writing about art in our digital age, in response to the shift of discourse on art from the print media to online magazines and blogs.

2017 Programme of events
Produce art!

Global Academy lectures
The Global Academy project, which began with a conference in 2016, continues with five lectures focusing on various art scenes in Asia. Ghalya Saadawi will talk about transnational contemporary art, taking the example of Beirut; Virginia Whiles reports on Pakistan, Diana Campbell Betancourt on Bangladesh and Grace Samboh on Indonesia.

We are interested in how art is taught and learned in those regions, and whether there are new initiatives that not only continue the history of the colonial academies, but take new, independent directions. We would also like to know how regional scenes develop, what institutions (such as museums or “off-spaces”) exist, what their history is, under what conditions art is produced, how the market functions, and finally, the nature of the relation between regional connections and the global art world.

In addition, Ruth Noack will lecture on the challenges of Global curating.

Artist’s talks
In evening talks, our teachers will explain their own artistic approaches and strategies. These discussions will be held in the Galerie 5020, the Museum der Moderne (Paulina Olowska) and the Kiefer quarry in Fürstenbrunn (Andreas Lolis).

Exploring Salzburg
Producing art is one possibility of positioning oneself in relation to the world. Sensory experience such as seeing, tasting and hearing allow us access to  our environment, and are closely connected with the fine arts. Starting from these means of perception, we would like to explore Salzburg with heightened awareness. Three walks in selected areas of the town aim to show, beyond the immediate experience, how modes of social conduct associated with vision, taste and hearing – such as the food trade – have left their mark on the town.

Exhibition
In a two-part exhibition entitled In Transition, Summer Academy co-teachers offer insights into their current work. Works by Mirela Baciak, Martin Belou, Sonja Bendel, Martyna Borowiecka, Andrea Durianová, Ines Hochgerner, Anna Hofbauer, Andrea Kopranovic, Susi Krautgartner, Ida Lennartsson, Sophia Mairer, Stavros Mavromichalis, Petra Polli, Viktoria Schmid and Michael Wegerer will be shown, in co-operation with the off-space periscope.

Open Days
Anyone curious to know more about the main topics and the production at this year’s Summer Academy, about the priorities of today’s artists, and what artistic, curatorial and written works have emerged, is very welcome at the Friday Open Days in Hohensalzburg Fortress, the Künstlerhaus (Marc Monzó) and the Kiefer quarry in Fürstenbrunn (Andreas Lolis).

Blogger in Residence
For the duration of the 2017 Summer Academy, writer and blogger Ana Bambić Kostov from Belgrade will observe, reflect on and discuss activities, with daily entries in the blog: www.summeracademy/blog. She has published numerous articles and catalogue essays, and until the end of 2016 she was editor-in-chief of the Widewall Online Magazine.

General information
All events are open to the public free of charge. Details of times and locations are available on our homepage www.summeracademy.at under the menu option EVENTS 2017

Further details and photo material
Simone Rudolph, presse@summeracademy.at, +43 (0) 662 842 113