Offered by the Centre for Continuing Education, Zurich University of the Arts
Organisation: Dr Ronald Kolb, in collaboration with Liliana Escalhão and Paula König
Dates: 19–22 March 2026
Application deadline: 9 February 2026
Early Bird rate (until 12 January 2026) / Reduced rate: 850 CHF
Regular rate: 1050 CHF
The study trip is awarded with 2 ECTS points.
What to expect
This experimental study trip to Lisbon offers an intensive five-day exploration of art as a transformational practic. It intertwines contemporary art, exhibitionary practices and ecological–economic modes of sustenance. Together, we will visit a range of institutions and self-organised initiatives addressing ecologies/economies, practices of sustenance, and postmigratory perspectives—opening space for diverse practices and in-depth exchange. Particular attention will be paid to the operational conditions: exhibition formats and artistic strategies that move in forms of coming together, producing and learning together. We will learn how contemporary projects articulate and practise relative autonomy and create sustainable infrastructures.
The programme includes meetings with Filipa Oliveira (director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art – Chiado Museum), Luisa Santos (Artistic Director of Institution(ing)s), curator Margarida Mendes, Ritó Natálio (Terra Batida) as well as visits to Gulbenkian, CCB and Hangar, among other institutions. A one-day excursion to the dry Alentejo region, which is increasingly affected by soil erosion and monoculture, is planned, including visits to (agro-)ecological and architectural initiatives, exploring permaculture projects such as Oficinas do Convento, Cooperativa Casa Branca with potential contributions from Tadelakt Portugal and Doing.pt. Additional encounters may be arranged as we approach the trip.
Please note: the program is subject to change.
More information and application here.
For inquiries, get in contact: ronald.kolb@zhdk.ch
Dr. Ronald Kolb (PhD) is Artistic Director of M.1 at the Arthur Boskamp-Stiftung, Hohenlockstedt, for the 2025/26 cycle. As an independent curator, transdisciplinary researcher and lecturer, he focuses on curatorial practices at the intersection of art, knowledge and society. He teaches curatorial practice in continuing education at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and is co-editor of the web journal On-Curating.org. His practice is characterised by the choreography of exhibitions and teaching formats as participatory spaces of knowledge.
Image credits: Liliana Escalhão, Workshop by at Associação Regador, Lisbon. Photo: Maria Freitas.
