Course Art and Politics

“Art and Politics” is an inaugural course of a new public school for art and politics organized by BAK, basis voor actuele kunst in Utrecht. In six weekly sessions, the participants learn about how contemporary art relates to the political in an accessible way. The course zooms in on the historical period starting with the pivotal year 1989 to today. The sessions are based on an in-depth analysis of concrete works of art, supported by readings of texts on contemporary art and its intrinsic links to present-day society and politics.

The course is taught by Maria Hlavajova, BAK’s general and artistic director. The case studies and examples of art works are mainly from BAK’s renowned international projects Former West (2008–2016), Future Vocabularies (2013–2016), and Propositions for Non-Fascist Living (2017–ongoing), and from artists such as Tania Bruguera, Matthijs de Bruijne, Forensic Architecture, Aernout Mik, Rabih Mroué, Christoph Schlingensief, Jonas Staal, Hito Steyerl, and others.

Each sequence of the course provides clear insights into selected artistic practices in order to highlight larger trends and developments in the contemporary art field and the changing understanding of artistic production today, as well as of the notion of the public and art institutions. Simultaneously, the course helps participants to familiarize themselves with main concepts and the most urgent questions at the heart of art and politics.

Participating in the course is open to all concerned with the question as to what can art do in times like ours. Prior knowledge or experience in the subject matter is not required.

To apply, please send a brief motivation letter and biography to Steffie Maas: steffie@bakonline.org before 26 November 2018.

Language: English
Dates: 3, 10 and 18 December 2018 and 7, 14 and 21 January 2019
Time: 19–21 hrs
Venue: BAK, Pauwstraat 13a, Utrecht
Price: € 250 (to be paid before the start of the course)