The Academy goes to School. Increasing opportunities via cross-cultural education.

The aim of the project The Academy goes to School is to develop and facilitate means to open the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna to those students who are currently under-represented at the Academy. Scheduled are activities employing low-threshold information formats that show ways to studying at an art school as well as the implementation of structures that enable these studies. The long-term intention is to decrease educational inequality through future-oriented initiatives with a specific consideration of cross-cultural education's relevance. In this undertaking, the students of the art education department are of particular concern; they are the ones who after graduation will apply new forms of mediation in the educational as well as the art pedagogical field. The project offers a framework in conjunction with actual practice for the development and implementation of formats to acquire cross-cultural curiosity/ interest for the Academy's teaching staff and students.

Synergetic effects

This project contributes to decreasing educational inequality. Cross-cultural education is being established as a learning process comprehensively for the Academy's students (especially in the educational/pedagogical training) and teaching staff. Within this project, the possibilities for project studies, team teaching and cooperations with institutions of art and culture are being enhanced and extended.

Arrangements/ Measures

Establishment of a coordinating position at the Academy to implement a direct contact person for youngsters who are interested in studying at the Academy and to coordinate the exchange and activities between and with the interested institutions, schools, and associations. The coordinating position paves the way to contact the staff and students at the Academy; collects information for prerequisites to enter the study programs for untypical educational paths, events, workshops; and supports networking among equally minded initiatives.

By the means of selective and medium-term events, cooperations and workshop series, contacts are established; relationships with schools and other institutions are being built and therewith, actively growing networks are founded. An already well-established format are information events for artistic professions and educational possibilities ("speed datings") at Middle Schools in Vienna which were held by the Academy's teaching staff and students in cooperation with the initiative "arbeiter-kind.at". The development of a modular system for the teaching staff's advanced training to consolidate the emphasis on cross-cultural education should increase migration awareness within the teaching staff regarding the students at the university as well as in schools and in regard to staff colleagues. The (further) development of participatory formats and projects for 'cross-cultural education' and questions of pedagogy, arts and culture on the intersection of artistic practice and research are also subject matter in the project

Furthermore, the Academy is opening the workshops and computerlabs of the Institute for Education in the Arts for students at PROSA; in addition lecturers and students of art education are realising activities with PROSA within the course programs.