Course: Art and Politics (BAK Public Studies)

From 23 September until 28 October 2019, BAK organizes the course “Art and Politics.”

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 Propositions for Non-Fascist Living (2017–ongoing), Former West (2008–2016), and Future Vocabularies (2013–2016), and include works by 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. The course addresses 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 art can do in times like ours. Prior knowledge or experience in the subject matter is not required.

Practical information
Deadline for Applications: 17 September 2019
Deadline for Scholarship Applications: 15 September 2019
Dates: Mondays 23 and 30 September, and 7, 14, 21, and 28 October 2019
Time: 19–21 hrs
Venue: BAK, Pauwstraat 13a, Utrecht
Language: English
Fee: € 250 (individuals, incl. VAT) and € 400 (institutions, incl. VAT), to be paid before the start of the course. Participants are welcome to pay a larger fee in case they are willing and able to do so; BAK will match these additional funds and offer additional scholarships (fee waivers) to those unable to afford the course fee.
Scholarship: BAK offers two scholarship positions (fee waivers). Additional scholarship positions may be created as described above. Please indicate as such in your motivation letter in case you are applying for a scholarship. The deadline for applying for a scholarship is 15 September 2019.
Study material (reader): € 15

To apply, please send a brief motivation letter and biography (including address, postal code, and place of residence) to Steffie Maas: steffie@bakonline.org before 17 September 2019 (deadline for scholarship applications: 15 September 2019).

Click here to view the terms and conditions.

BAK Public Studies
BAK Public Studies offer critical insights into theoretical foundations and concrete actualizations of art as public practice. Understanding art in relation to both theory and social action, BAK Public Studies form a space for collective thinking, imagining, and acting in parallel to BAK’s politically-driven and theoretically-informed research, discourse, exhibitions, and publications. The introductory course, Art and Politics, consists of six weekly sessions on how and where art meets the political at present. The introductory course takes a broad view on artistic production, institutions, and publics and attempts to build a critical vocabulary through which to reshape understanding and practice of art in the face of present global challenges. The subject-specific courses offer more concentrated learning trajectories so as to allow for an in-depth study of concrete problematics.