The Art Academy
Image above: Ballon Head Horse - Sandro Masai / performance course 2020
The Art Academy – Department of Contemporary Art fosters an active and international educational environment that places the individual student’s artistic practice into focus. Students have the opportunity to explore a wide range of artistic expressions and develop through hands-on production, tutoring and critical discussions. The Department has an open structure that allows students to pursue their interests and experiment across disciplinary boundaries. Our eight focus areas are: painting and drawing, sculpture and installation, ceramics and clay, time-based art and performance, new media (audio/video), textiles, printmaking, and photography. Students can choose to specialise in one or more of these areas. The department has its own theory programme at both the bachelor’s and the master’s level. Our BA programme attracts students from all over Scandinavia, while our MA programme in Fine Art and Curatorial Practice enrols students from across the world. The Art Academy recruits research fellows affiliated with the Artistic Research Fellowship Programme (PKU).
Individual tutoring and group instruction are central to the department’s strategy and practice, incorporating both discussion, reflection and critique. Subjects for discussion range from materials and concepts to the relationship between theory and practice to artistic quality. Our aim is to equip students with the necessary conceptual tools to achieve a balance between production and reflection.
The Department has excellent workshop facilities that are used both in teaching and artistic research. Our teaching staff is composed of a broad range of professionals who are active in Norway’s art scene and abroad. This is a prerequisite for promoting a living educational environment within the department.