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
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MA Critical Studies Lecture Series: Concert with Trace Polly with a following Q&A
The student-organized lecture series invites you to a concert followed by a moderated Q&A with musician and performer Trace Polly.
Concert with Q&A
Studio Building/ Prospekthof, gate 2
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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Archives as Method: Kaucyila Brooke in conversation with Manuela Ammer
Kaucyila Brooke in conversation with Manuela Ammer, curator, mumok - Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien on the role of archival practice in research, art, and curation, organized and moderated by Alena Williams, Professor for Theory and Mediation of Contemporary Art, Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies
Artist Talk
Schillerplatz/ M13a
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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Performance and Contemporary Art History: Mapping a Critical Subject, Medium, and Method in a Transdisciplinary Field
A conference organised by Prof. Dr. Lisa Beißwanger (University of Koblenz) and Dr. Lisa Moravec (IKW, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna).
Conference
Schillerplatz/ Conference room
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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Harvesting Otherwise
A gathering co-organized by the PEEK Research Project Harvest Rituals: A Call for Visitation (FWF) at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Institute for Collective Place Leadership at Teesside University.
Conference
Postsportakademie
Schumanngasse 101
1170 ViennaArt Theory and Cultural Studies
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Kritische Selbstverständnisse. Ein Podium zum Stand der Kunstwissenschaft
Talk with Sebastian Hammerschmidt, Isabelle Lindermann, Lotte Püttmann, Thorsten Schneider, Ruth Sonderegger, organized from the Institute of Art Theory and Cultural Studies.
Book launch
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Schillerplatz/ M13a
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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"Métro, Boulot, Lycée, Caveau" (Metro, Work, High School, Grave). A slogan of French high school students during the school blockades in October 2026.
The lecture follows up on an exchange that took place in 2010: In the wake of a student occupation of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Anthony Davies invited Sabeth Buchmann to Central Saint Martins (University of Arts London) to discuss the relationship between institutional critique and institutional politics from the perspective of a ’squatting academy’. Now, Davies and Rowan Parker-Renwick are coming to Vienna to shed light on current developments in British art higher education and the “polycrisis” facing the University sector.
Lecture
Schillerplatz/ M13a
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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PhD in Practice | Info Meeting
In advance of the PhD in Practice application process 2027, the program invites potential and interested applicants to an online information session where you will have the opportunity to meet the program leaders and professors Anette Baldauf and Renate Lorenz, learn about the program, the call for submissions and decision procedure of the PhD in Practice program at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Info event
Online via Zoom
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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Visiting and the Land Education Dreambook
Lecture by Eve Tuck, Impulse Professor for Indigenous Studies at the Institute for Art Theory and Cultural Studies.
Lecture
Room tba
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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PhD in Practice | Info Meeting
In advance of the PhD in Practice application process 2027, the program invites potential and interested applicants to an online information session where you will have the opportunity to meet the program leaders and professors Anette Baldauf and Renate Lorenz, learn about the program, the call for submissions and decision procedure of the PhD in Practice program at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.
Info event
Online via Zoom
Art Theory and Cultural Studies
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HUMAN ATTEMPTS
The group exhibition HUMAN ATTEMPTS - of Curators’ Agenda: VIENNA 2026 - stems from the need to explore the intuitive human action that stubbornly confronts the complexity of reality.
Exhibition
DAS WEISSE HAUS
Souterrain
Hegelgasse 14
1010 ViennaArt Theory and Cultural Studies
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Bourdieu Lectures: From the Left to the Right Hand of the State: Polarizations and Authoritarian Transformations
The Bourdieu Lectures 2026 are an interdisciplinary conference, created as a joint initiative of Bielefeld University, Zeppelin University (Friedrichshafen), Freiburg University of Education and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna in close cooperation with the Fondation Bourdieu.
Conference
Kunsthalle Bielefeld
Artur-Ladebeck-Straße 5
33602 Bielefeld
DeutschlandArt Theory and Cultural Studies
