Application period: December 1, 2021–January 3, 2022
Aalto University
School of Arts, Design and Architecture
Otaniementie 14
FI- Espoo
Finland
Aalto University welcomes applications for the two-year major in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art (ViCCA). The ViCCA major is part of the newly established MA Programme in Art and Media. The major merges theoretical and practice-based artistic and curatorial processes, providing an opportunity for students to develop, deepen and re-contextualise their skills and knowledge across disciplines. At ViCCA, the faculty works with students to diversify and develop their knowledge base, offering concrete opportunities to further research competencies, methodologies and a sense for artistic and critical thinking. The wider programme facilitates the exchange of ideas and the development of independent collaborations between students across all programme majors.
Characterised by a strong transdisciplinary approach across art, science and technology, the ViCCA major offers students access to emerging knowledge and practices at the intersections of multiple fields through an arts-driven engagement with societal, political, economic, ecological and philosophical concerns. Students are encouraged to situate, explore and evolve their position as critical thinkers, artists and curators within contemporary contexts. During their time at ViCCA, students are presented with opportunities to meet established cultural and creative practitioners that will support the development of their own knowledge and network.
Encouraging experimentation with diverse practices, contexts and forms of research, the ViCCA major is a study option that is open to artists, practitioners, curators and research-oriented individuals with different backgrounds and experience, who are looking for opportunities to understand, challenge and shift the paradigm of contemporary art and the world around us.
Please note: there will be student intake for the ViCCA major in 2022—application period December 1, 2021–January 3, 2022 3PM (Helsinki Time EET). The next intake will be 2024 (application period beginning iDecember 2022).
Applications must be submitted in English.
For admission queries: arts-admissions@aalto.fi / T +358 2944 29290. See the opening hours of the telephone service at Admission Services contact information.
Study objectives
A graduate of the ViCCA major:
1. will have a broad understanding of contemporary and emerging practices, artistic research, relevant theory and debates in the international and expanded field of visual culture as well as contemporary art and curatorial practice.
2. will be able to contextualize their work in relation to different professional fields, sociocultural phenomena and research frameworks. They have gained seriously-playful, creatively disruptive, agile and social-entrepreneurial attitudes needed for active navigation of creative economies of the 21st century.
3. will be able to engage in open research processes in multidisciplinary fields with a scope of basic theory, philosophy, aesthetics to practice-based cutting-edge experimental engagements with art and curatorial practice. They have gained versatile competencies and perspectives that might fill in gaps between diverse fields and societal sectors, address new demands or counteract infrastructural constraints in our current landscape.
4. have a good understanding of the groundings for artistic approaches conversing with the societal, ecological, technological, aesthetic, sustainable and intersectional approaches for rethinking, diversifying and enriching contemporary artworld roles, infrastructures and economies. The ViCCA ‘tool-kit’ enables the graduates to devise, initiate, impact and lead cutting-edge, cultural, sustainable and socially responsive initiatives.
5. have obtained rigorous, research-based navigation tools which support a reflection of one’s knowledge and practice and enable one to go further on one’s individual path. They have also learned to appreciate and respect the perspectives and practice of fellow students.
6. have comprehensive research and writing skills for further academic studies such as doctorate degrees. This is gained through participation in the offered courses and development of the Master-degree theses under the ViCCA faculty supervision.
Aalto University
Located in Otaniemi, Espoo, a 15-minute metro ride from Helsinki city centre, the School of Arts, Design and Architecture shares a campus with the Schools of Science, Business, Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. This enables students to experiment with different paradigms of knowledge by extending their studies to include a broad variety of courses inspired by Aalto University’s disciplinary scope. The university encourages cross-pollination of disciplines and provides students with opportunities to take advantage of the wider university framework. The QS World University Rankings ranked Aalto the 6th best in the field of Art and Design in 2021.
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