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Institute

The courses offered by the Institute of Art Theory and Cultural Studies (IKW) are anchored in historical and social theoretical research, with a strong emphasis on contemporary diagnoses, and are aimed at students in all fields of study. The combination of theory and practice, art and discourse, and scientific and artistic research takes into account the fact that the study profiles at art colleges have developed in a trans- and interdisciplinary way. The development and mediation of art therefore incorporates art and media studies, sociological and philosophical discourses as well as gender, queer and de- and postcolonial studies. 

The teaching of art and cultural studies, philosophical, sociological and media theoretical content and methods aims at historical contextualization and discursive deepening of artistic studies. At the same time, the courses offered by the IKW prepare students for exhibition, publication and mediation occupations in the context of contemporary art as well as for ensuing fields of research.

The subjects range from pre-modern, modern, and post-modern art history and theory, cultural studies with a focus on gender and postcolonial studies and on diaspora aesthetics, to sociology, philosophy and aesthetic theory, media and science theory, and popular cultures, performance practice, and social movements.

The fields of study supervised by the IKW include cultural studies subjects within the framework of the Fine Arts, Architecture, Conservation-Restoration, and Stage Design programs, as well as a master’s degree in Critical Studies, Dr. Phil., and PhD in Practice.

There is interdisciplinary cooperation between all institutes, especially with regard to the master’s in Critical Studies; the PhD in Practice is based on a close cooperation between the IKW and the IBK, which jointly conduct entrance examinations.

The IKW’s research focuses on the entire spectrum of art and cultural studies, philosophical, aesthetic, media and popular culture, (cultural-)political and socio-social topics and discourses; the Critical Studies course forms an overarching content-related and methodological arc.

The IKW’s international orientation currently consists of cooperations with European, African, and Latin American universities – this primarily with a focus on transcultural and migration policy perspectives.

Upcoming Events

  • Opening: Leakage, Breaching, Motley Tongues

    Opening of the group exhibition Leakage, Breaching, Motley Tongues, a cooperation between Kunstraum Niederoesterreich and the PhD-in-Practice program of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. After the opening there will be a performance at 20 h.

    Exhibition opening

    Kunstraum Niederösterreich
    Herrengasse 13
    1010 Vienna

    Art Theory and Cultural Studies

  • Leakage, Breaching, Motley Tongues

    The group exhibition Leakage, Breaching, Motley Tongues challenges the liberal model of solidarity based on empathy and identification.

    Exhibition

    Kunstraum Niederösterreich
    Herrengasse 13
    1010 Vienna

    Art Theory and Cultural Studies

  • Frontier, Border and No Man's Land

    A Lecture Performance by Lee Kai Chung, organized Noit Banai, Professor of Diaspora Aesthetics, Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies, as part of "Diaspora Kitchen"

    Lecture Performance

    Schillerplatz/ M20

    Art Theory and Cultural Studies

  • The Paradoxes of Positionality: Diaspora Aesthetics and Transdisciplinary Research

    Noit Banai with Amanda Holmes. Part of the lecture series ‘Aesthetics of Transformation’, curated by the School for Transformation.

    Discussion

    Angewandte Interdisciplinary Lab
    Georg-Coch-Platz 2
    1010 Wien

    Art Theory and Cultural Studies

  • But the Main Thing is I had the Knowledge: Gertrude Langer, Cultural Translation and the Emerging Art Sector in postwar Australia

    A lecture by Philipp Strobl, organized by Noit Banai, Professor of Diaspora Aesthetics, Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies, as part of "Diaspora Kitchen".

    Lecture

    Schillerplatz/ M20

    Art Theory and Cultural Studies